It was a very welcome decision for the U.S. House of Representatives to unanimously endorse a resolution Monday calling on Japan to formally acknowledge and apologize to tens of thousands of ``comfort women'' forced into sexual slavery during World War II. The passage proved that justice has won in the end with the support of conscientious U.S. lawmakers who must be applauded for their efforts in condemning Japan's wartime crimes against humanity. The Japanese side saw its expectation fall short, although it has managed to block the adoption of such a resolution in previous House sessions.
The non-binding resolution, initiated by Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calf.), asks Japan to accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its army's coercion of young women into sexual enslavement. We believe the passage of the H.R. 121 Resolution in only 35 minutes with strong support from the U.S. lawmakers proves Japan's continued denial of the mobilization of the Asian women has been inappropriate.
Japan has been claiming the comfort women voluntarily applied for the jobs and were given due compensation. Japan's conservatives even grouped the comfort women together with forced laborers at industrial sites and said they were allowed to return home after the termination of contracts. Japan left no stone unturned in attempting to prevent the resolution from being adopted.
Rightwing Japanese figures, including scholars and politicians, ran a recent advertisement in The Washington Post asserting the women were engaged in voluntary prostitution, which touched off strong wrath from around the world. Japan has also resorted to tactics such as threatening the United States that it might run the risk of undermining its friendly relations with the country should it press for the resolution. Japan also warned there would be a serious setback in U.S.-Japan joint operations in war-ravaged areas such as Iraq.
The passage of the resolution is the result of a persistent campaign by 175 Korean women forced to be sex slaves, who testified before the U.S. Congress with the help of ethnic Koreans living in the United States. Japan has so far maintained a lukewarm attitude concerning its atrocities in the past. Japan should be more frank in admitting to its brutalities and make due compensation to the victims.
The resolution has dealt another blow to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who suffered a humiliating defeat in Sunday's parliamentary elections. Abe has been triggering anger in Asian nations with his unrepentant attitude over Japan's misdeeds. He needs to be more humble and focus on getting trust from the Asian people as well as Japanese with a more straightforward manner over the wartime atrocities.
Admitting past misdeeds is not a shameful act. Rather, it is a brave gesture that paves the way for a bright future. Abe and other Japanese leaders should learn a lesson from former German Chancellor Willy Brandt who moved the world by deeply apologizing to the Jewish people for German atrocities during WWII.