Truth about Japan

On July 30, U.S. Congress have called on Japan's government to formally apologise for its role in forcing thousands of women to work as sex slaves in World War II. The non-binding resolution was passed during a voice vote in the House of Representatives. According to IHT , Tom Lantos, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, called "nauseating" the efforts by some in Japan "to distort and deny history and play a game of blame the victim." Be logical, Mr. Lantos. The ex-comfort women said only that they might have been victims of somebody who sometimes wore "military-like suits". Ex-comfort women can't prove there were military orders to coerce them. And there are no document or testimony on the side of military officials that they ordered coercion. Many Japanese know the historical fact that there was no "military sex slaves". They feel this resolution shows the arrogance and racism of U.S. Congress.

As commented by pandar on this blog, Professor Yi Yong Hung of Seoul University revealed that the Korean comfort women were just prostitutes in 2004. However, because of the huge pressure from nationalistic media, he was forced to apologize to the former comfort women. In Korea, even a historian is not allowed to state historical facts. There are lots more scholars who were criticized because of their interpretations in favor of Japanese rule before 1945. via The Japanese Rightist

South Korean Professor Che Keiho gives a talk on the history behind Japan’s annexation of Korea, presenting a very harsh image of pre-annexation Korea as a brutal and backwards kingdom that needed Japanese imperialism to modernize. via Japan Probe

A novelist Iseheijiro (Nobuyoshi Ozaki) sent following open letter to Ms. Nacy Pelosi: Madam Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. Office - 235 Cannon HOB - Washington, DC 20515 Re: Comfort Women July 12, 2007 Dear Madam Nancy Pelosi: I take the liberty to write you a letter in the hope that I may have my request met by you. First, I would like to congratulate you on becoming the first woman Speaker of the House in US history. I just read Chairman Lantos remarks regarding “The Comfort Women” resolution by the foreign affairs committee, issued on June 26, 2007. I was very disturbed and disappointed with the committee’s judgment on this issue. There are some flaws in Rep. Lantos remarks. I would call it “an attack.” Please review the remarks in a separate attached sheet and examine the particular underlined phrases. I disagree with Rep. Lantos’s charges and accusations. In addition, I do not accept the provocative and insensitive language used in th...

U.S. Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation Robert G. Joseph said in a press conference held in the Department of Defense on July 3 that the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved "millions of life". QUESTION: In 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on civilian centers over Nagasaki and Hiroshima, consequently killing over 200,000 people. In hindsight, I think we can all agree that that was a very irNonproliferation Robert G. Joseph answered in a press conference on July 3rd that atomic bombs dropped on Hiresponsible use of the technology at the time. So my question is what gives the United States the right to sit at the head of the table and dictate to other countries how the type of technology should be regulated today? MR. JOSEPH: I guess that's probably for me. (Laughter.) Well, I fundamentally disagree with the premise of the question. And in fact, I think that most historians would agree that the use of an atomic bomb brought to a close ...

June 20, 2007 Dear Mr. Chairman: It is our understanding that the Committee on Foreign Affairs will soon vote on House Resolution 121. We would like, once again, to ask all members of the Committee to give serious consideration to the significance of this resolution. As stated in reference material we sent to you on April 27 (a report entitled “No Organized or Forced Recruitment: Misconceptions about Comfort Women and the Japanese Military” by Prof. Hata Ikuhiko and in “THE FACTS” (a paid advertisement in the June 14 edition of the Washington Post), House Resolution 121 is not premised on fact, and is therefore an unjust condemnation of Japan. Human rights are not the heart of the issue. Like you, we have enormous respect for human rights. We are concerned about the damage to Japan’s reputation and the violation of the human rights of Japanese citizens that will result from a resolution that claims to champion human rights, but is based on grossly distorted historical fact. The resolut...