A statue of a Korean girl
kidnapped and coerced into prostitution by
Japanese Imperial troops,
recently erected in Glendale California: The
debate over the
unpleasant piece of World War II history rages on, as
Tokyo uses every tool at
its disposal to erase it from history. In this
case at least, even Pyongyang
can credibly claim the high ground.
'Comfort Women' Outrage Not Confined to Nations
Harmed by Japanese (RodongSinmun,
North Korea)
In this commentary on Japan's refusal to accept responsibility
for its wartime sexual enslavement of young women from across Asia, North
Korea's state-run RodongSinmun points
out that it isn't only the countries Imperial Japan invaded that are offended
by Tokyo's particular slant on history. Referring to Glendale, California,
where controversy rages over a statue in honor of the comfort women, the regime
warns Japanese politicians that 'denying its history will lead the country to
ruin.'
Some
time ago, the authorities of Japan's Higashiosaka city protested vigorously
against the erection of a sculpture in honor of the Japanese Imperial Army's "comfort
woman" in America's Glendale City, California, deciding to suspend plans
for Japanese students to visit.
Glendale
is Higashiosaka's sister city.
Under
an exchange student program, Japanese students have visited Glendale City
for nearly 20 years. The exchange was suspended allegedly due to concern over
student safety - a genuinely clumsy pretext.
[Editor's
Note: North Korea's state-run media overplays the difficulty, as it was a single
Japanese High School - Osaka Prefecture’s Nisshin Senior High School - canceled
its participation - rather than every school in Higashiosaka].
If
Japanese politicians thought like normal people do, they would be ashamed that sculptures
and monuments honoring comfort women are being erected in the United States. It
goes to show that Japan's past is not only an issue of controversy for the
countries it harmed.
Today,
nations around the world are raising their voices to demand that Tokyo
apologize and compensate the victims of crimes committed by Imperial Japan.
For
its part, by turning a deaf ear to the demand of the international community,
Japan is shamelessly attempting to evade coming to terms with its past. Japan's
attitude demonstrates its moral vulgarity and brazen nature.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Far
from apologizing and reflecting on its unpardonable crimes, Japan denies its
heinous past to the very faces of its victims.
Osaka
Mayor Hashimoto has made wild remarks about sex slavery, arousing the
indignation of the entire world. But he feels no compunction whatsoever,
political or otherwise, about saying and doing whatever he likes.
[Editor's
Note: In May, 2012, before nationwide elections, Osaka Mayer Hashimotois reported to have said, "When soldiers
are risking their lives by running through storms of bullets, and you want to
give these emotionally charged soldiers a rest somewhere, it’s clear that you
need a comfort women system. ... brothels were necessary at the time to
maintain discipline in the army." He also went on to claim that there is
no evidence that Japanese authorities forced women in surrounding nations into
sexual servitude].
In
Japan, the distortion of history has become a political trend in Japan. Japanese
politicians should bear in mind that denying its history will lead the country
to ruin.
If
Japan persists in denying its war crimes and running headlong into reinvasion,
it will face only with international isolation and ignominious condemnation.
This
is a stern warning that our era and the public at large serve Japanese politicians
hell-bent on distorting history.
