George Will is his usual thoughtful self in addressing the Yasukuni issue in his column in the Sunday Washington Post. In a single, short piece, he gives us a concise and thorough outline of the issue and identifies as the heart of the issue the Japanese predicament, which is that we are still living in the shadows of (he Cold War and) World War II, trying to deal with “the problem of honoring war dead without necessarily honoring the cause for which they died.” Particularly striking is the analogy he draws here between Yasukuni and the Confederate flag, all without absolving Japan of its historical debts.
ジョージ・ウィルは、日曜日のワシントン・ポストのコラムで、靖国問題について、持ち前の思慮深さを発揮している。短い論考の中で、ウィル氏は、問題の簡潔かつ行き届いた概要を述べつつ、(冷戦及び)第二次大戦の陰になおも生き続けざるを得ないところからくるジレンマ、つまり、彼の言葉で言えば「戦死者を讃えつつ、しかも戦死の大義を必ずしも讃えないという課題」こそが問題の核心であると指摘している。とりわけ目を引くのが、靖国神社と南北戦争の連合国旗との間に相通じるものを見出していることである。もちろん彼は、そこで日本の歴史的責任を説いているわけでない。
Mr. Will mercifully spares us from three-point programs or some such fixes that pundits (yours truly included) try to inflict on us. The difficulties lie in figuring out how to traverse the paths, much less the path itself, or even the actual goals. Whatever the merits of the ambiguity that Mr. Abe has imposed on his visit/non-visit to Yasukuni - I personally favor a more permanent solution that takes the historical interpretation that is Yushukan out of Yasukuni - he should be commended for actually choosing and navigating a path of his choice. Let’s hope that China, and also South Korea, will take up the offer by not demanding to know where Prime Minister Abe will be sticking Admiral Nelson’s Fire Poker.
2 comments:
I concur completely - George Will's article on Yasukuni was one of the best I've seen so far. Kudos to Mr. Will.
Thanks, wdsturgeon, I assume you already know that the Shisaku blog has a similar take, from a broader, US parspective. Plus, it's funny.
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