[Editorial] Abe should follow Merkel’s lead in historical repentance

A document drafted in 1938 by the Japanese consul general requesting dispatches of comfort women to the Japanese military.

A document drafted in 1938 by the Japanese consul general requesting dispatches of comfort women to the Japanese military.

An official Japanese document has been disclosed that supports claims of the Japanese government and military’s organized involvement in the “comfort women” system of sexual slavery during the Pacific War. Kyodo News reported on Dec. 6 that it had examined a confidential document drafted by Japanese consulates in China in 1938, which reported to the Japanese Foreign Ministry that Japanese military authorities had communicated the need and demand for comfort women. In the report, the Japanese consul general in Qingdao wrote that the Navy “hopes for an increase of around 150 hostesses,” while Army “insists on the need for around one hostess for every 70 soldiers.” A consul general in another region reported on the “introduction of at least 5,000 special females by the end of April in anticipation of the imperial army’s advance,” as well as the “southern arrival of 186 special females by military vehicle.”

Discovered in 13 of 23 comfort women-related documents newly gathered by the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary between 2017 and 2018, the records fully contradict Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s denials that comfort women were forcibly mobilized. Rather than continuing to deny something that is a patent historical fact, the Japanese government should apologize and show remorse for its criminal actions.

In a 1993 statement by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, Japan acknowledged that comfort stations had been “established and operated at the request of military authorities,” and that the military had been “involved in the transportation of comfort women.” But the Abe administration has utterly denied any government or military involvement, claiming that there was “no coercion” in the women’s recruitment. His pretext is ostensibly to move past a “self-tormenting” historical attitude and teach a more honorable history. In reality, it is simply distortion.

Japan’s shameless war crimes have already been exposed through the courageous accounts of women victimized by the comfort women system. The international community has been united in denouncing the system as barbaric. The Abe administration needs to stop trying to conceal these atrocious crimes.

On Dec. 6, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp -- the setting of a massacre of Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II -- to express a heartfelt message of remorse for what happened in the past. Declaring that she felt “deep shame before the barbaric crimes committed by Germans,” Merkel said, “It is our responsibility to ensure that remembrance of the crimes does not end.” She also stressed that “recognizing responsibility is part of our national identity.”

Abe should follow Merkel’s lead in feeling shame for Japan’s criminal acts and offering a heartfelt apology to the comfort women survivors. He should recognize that these repudiations of the Kono Statement, pressure to take down comfort women statues, and efforts to stifle exhibitions will not be enough to cover up the truth of history.

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