Few politicians have spoken as comprehensively as General Tamogami did. Instead they have telegraphed their sympathies with the rightist view of history. The current prime minister, Taro Aso, in the past publicly praised Japanese colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula. Mr. Aso, whose family’s mining business used forced laborers during World War II, also said Koreans gladly adopted Japanese names.The real story, then, is that Taro Aso, who had as one of his first acts as Prime Minister accepted the Murayama Kono Statements, fired General Tamogamo in a political instant. Now what does that say about the Japanese polity?
Hours before the general’s dismissal, Mr. Aso said, “Even though he published it in a private capacity, given his position, it is not appropriate.”
Last year, Shinzo Abe, then the prime minister, drew anger in Asia and the United States by denying the Japanese military’s involvement in recruiting the wartime sex slaves known euphemistically as “comfort women.”
His comments led the United States House of Representatives to adopt a nonbinding resolution calling on Japan to acknowledge and apologize for its wartime sex slavery. Japan has yet to respond.
China and South Korea are satisfied; not, it seems, Norimitsu Onishi.
3 comments:
He's got a
new one today about Brazilian immigrants.
He manages to throw in a jab about Koreans in Japan still being treated as "second-class citizens," and a weird line at the end implying that foreigners are denied to health insurance.
It says that without the scrutiny of the outside world this sort of nonsense will continue. Japan needs to held to the same level of accountability as other G-7 democracies. And that Japan's elites are learning that these views are unacceptable.
These men, however, are yet to learn that their talk about promoting democratic values directly contradicts their "personal" views against Japan's "mind control" constitution.
Although the paper was taken down from the Apa site, there are plenty of other great things on their site about moral education and correcting history. Yes, this is the same company that willfully ignored safety and building codes making their hotels and apartment buildings earthquake hazards.
It also says that what the General said is not new nor brilliant. Indeed, it is right off the walls of the Yushukan, before some of recent the editing.
So explain to me how a serving officer of the SDF won this prize? His essay is not original, and I suspect it liberally borrowed from its sources. There is more to this story.
And for the record, Nori did not break the story. He is just reporting; and he is likely to have to report more.
Well, it looks like they reposted the paper in English and Japanese. Proud indeed they are.
http://www.apa.co.jp/book_report/images/2008jyusyou_saiyuusyu_english.pdf
And what choice did PM Aso have but to fire the head of his AF. Basically one of his top generals who helps manage the alliance with the US just said that the Tokyo Trials were a sham, thus negating the SF Treaty. Oops, what a mess. Funny the Japanese press doesn't report that nor do you mention it.
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