Tokyo Needs to Prove Its Sincerity With Action

If the admission of one's own fault indicates the maturity of a person or even a nation, then Japan seems to be finally growing up.

Japanese Emperor Akihito, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his enthronement last Wednesday, expressed concerns over Japanese people's deepening oblivion of its colonial past and the war of aggression, saying, ``It is important to fully understand historical facts and prepare for the future.''

A broader context of the emperor's remark was probably to emphasize today's Japan has been built upon the efforts of numerous Japanese people. To put it another way, however, it shows how rapidly the Japanese population, three fourths of which is of the post-war generation is forgetting, or not even conscious of, their country's shameful past. If the Japanese aren't concerned about the sacrifices ― by Tokyo's standards ― of their own ancestors, why would they care about foreign victims?

And this is why Japan's neighbors should pay keen attention to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's address in Singapore last Sunday, which, although eclipsed by the U.S. President Barack Obama's earlier speech on Asia, was no less meaningful particularly for East Asians.

``After 60 years have passed since Japan inflicted enormous sufferings and damages on other Asian people, a genuine reconciliation has not been made yet,'' the Japanese leader said. Noting the post-war cooperation between France and Germany has created a regional no-war alliance, which later led to the European Union, he once again insinuated the importance of his trademark slogan for the East Asian Community.

Certainly, there is no reason Korea and Japan should not become like France and Germany ― provided the Japanese can follow in the steps of the Germans ― by admitting their past mistakes and take steps to correct them.

A Japanese report says, however, nearly half of Japanese people think Tokyo will no longer have to take responsibility for the damages it inflicted on other Asians during World War II. Another report shows that the percentage of secondary schools adopting history textbooks that whitewash over their country's wartime atrocities is rising fast. All this shows the deeply-entrenched imperialism among the Japanese establishment and the inheritance of such unrepentant sentiments by younger generations, which will be hard for the liberal Hatoyama Cabinet to change in the near future.

If the Japanese leader is really determined to change Japan, he should risk his political fortune by showing his will through actions. And, as far as Korea is concerned, the best and fastest way is to admit the unlawfulness of the annexation 99 years ago and declare it null and void on the occasion of its centenary next year. If Emperor Akihito visits Korea and pays homage to the monarchs of the Joseon Kingdom's tombs the following year, it will pave the way to restarting their relationship from the ground up.

The Lee Myung-bak administration has remained rather quiet on historical issues so as not to strain the otherwise most amicable bilateral relationship in decades. But this is a false peace. Only when Seoul raises the issue of war victims, including proper compensation for comfort women ― wartime sex slaves ― will Tokyo come up with concrete responses and actions.

One easy way of judging the Japanese administration's sincerity in self-refection is to how Tokyo will respond to the latest discovery of an old Finance Ministry document, which indicates Dokdo was never its territory. One single action is better than a hundred words.