Modesty before pride

By Lee Myon-woo

One of the biggest events during Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the United States will be his speech to the U.S. Congress on April 29. Many are concerned about what he will say in his speech, not only because it is the first time for a Japanese prime minister to make a speech at a joint meeting of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, but because his ideas about Japan’s prewar years are missing essential points of reflection about the past and for cooperation in the future.

For example, some members of the U.S. House, including Rep. Mike Honda of California have strongly demanded Abe include in his speech messages of reflection and apology for the past wrongdoings of prewar Japan, such as the comfort women issue.

It is for now unlikely that Abe will comply with such demands, however. For instance, Abe’s recent speech at the Bandung Conference (the Asian-African Conference) on April 22 mentioned only a little about World War II, which strongly suggests he will reiterate that tone in his U.S. speech, excluding any mention of apology.

For Koreans, worries pile up that his speech in August commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II will also fall short of meeting such demands, which would throw away recent efforts to narrow the differences between Korea and Japan.

Abe’s position seems to be that Japan has made enough apologies, along with the fact that he would rather emphasize how much Japan has pursued and contributed to peace in the postwar years.

His stubbornness in maintaining his nationalistic stance may come from his pride in his country. Born in the mid-1950s after the war, growing up under the influence of former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi and having been educated in Japan’s heyday of economic prosperity, he has been raised to be proud of his country and its history as suggested by the title and content of his book, “To the Beautiful Nation.”

It is understandable and somewhat natural that people grow up to be proud of their country. But what Abe has to bear in mind is that pride should be matched with modesty.

Otherwise, pride will turn out only to be prejudice. It is not because they are not proud of Japan, that his predecessors such as former Prime Ministers Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi delivered messages of reflection and apology, but because they thought by paying such dues, Japan’s arguments for peace in the region and the world would be better accepted and sustained in pride.

Likewise, his showing of modesty before pride will pave the way to strengthening the U.S.-Japan relationship bring stability and peace to Northeast Asia, and upgrade Japan’s security and prosperity as he desires.

The writer is the vice president of the Sejong Institute.