I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Forcing ghost of Imperial Japan back into casket
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Koreans today commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the annexation of Korea by Imperial Japan.
On this day, their duty is to prevent a history of 36 years subjugation and suppression from repeating itself. This self-admonition is relevant due to the way Japan is behaving these days.
Despite its defeat in World War II and surrender to the Allied forces, by all indications, Japan has learned little from history, not just denying its wartime crimes but laying its claim on other countries’ territories.
Leading this back-to-the-past attitude is Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. His nationalistic nonsense is obviously raising the ghosts that led Japan on its warpath for the conquest of the world.
One such ghost is former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who Tuesday joined forces with the right-wing politicians and cabinet ministers to deny the government’s involvement in wartime atrocities.
In an interview with Japanese media, Abe was quoted as saying that the Japanese government will have a critical review of all its past documents that admitted its past wrongdoings to set a new position, if he is elected prime minister again.
The documents in question include the statement of Chief Cabinet Minister Yohei Kono which was released in 1993. It admitted that comfort women were recruited against their own will through coercion. “At times, administrative/military personnel directly took part in the recruitments. They lived in misery at comfort stations under a coercive atmosphere,” the statement read.
It is no surprise that Abe denied Japan’s involvement in wartime crimes, given his past record.
In 2007, Abe, then prime minister, provoked fury from South Koreans by denying that wartime sex slaves were forced to serve the Japanese military during World War II.
On Monday, Noda repeated his predecessor’s position on comfort women, saying there is no proof to support that the victims were forced.
The Japanese politicians’ revealing of their flawed understanding of history indicates that Japan is not ready to listen to its neighbors’ call to look back on what it did in the past and take responsible measures to move on.
The diplomatic provocation came just before Koreans faced their worst anniversary — the country’s annexation.
The annexation agreement, which was signed on Aug. 22, 1910 at a closed-door meeting between Lee Wan-yong, then prime minister of Korea, and Japanese Minister of War Masatake Terauchi, was published today 102 years ago.
Over the past century or so, there has been a shift in the status of Korea.
It is no more a poor, hopeless country it used to be back then. Korea is one of Asia’s most resilient economies, an active player in the international community and a culture power. K-pop and Korean dramas set a new trend in the global entertainment industry as fans all round the world are eager to meet their idols.
Can Japan turn the clock back to the past? We say an assertive “No” but with an eye out for what beast the samurai country will turn into.