Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto on Monday apologized for his remarks on May 13 that American soldiers should patronize adult entertainment venues in Japan as a way to reduce sex offenses. However, he continued to make excuses about remarks he made regarding Japan’s use of sex slaves during World War II at a press conference in the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Tokyo.
His apology to the United States ― “I understand that my remark could be construed as an insult to the U.S. forces and to the American people and was inappropriate. I retract this remark and express an apology’’ ― was clean and clear. In contrast, he defended Japan’s wartime practice of forcing women to work in frontline brothels, saying it was necessary in order to maintain discipline and provide relaxation for the soldiers.
From these absurd and anachronistic words, we can discern a true portrait of Japan’s two-faced leaders. Ominously enough, Hashimoto, who is also a co-head of the Japan Restoration Party, might be a paragon of Japan’s young politicians who are weak to the strong and strong to the weak.
With regard to the cause of the latest firestorm, he persistently blames the press for only quoting excerpts of his remarks and taking his words out of context and he expressed his “extreme regret’’ regarding this. But his argument that sex offenses committed during wartime was not an issue unique to the former Japanese army can’t be substantiated because he failed to present any evidence showing that the issue existed in other countries including South Korea.
Hashimoto said that Japan’s wartime government didn’t systematically force girls and women into prostitution, arguing that the widely-held view that the state authority of Japan was intentionally involved in the abduction and trafficking of women was incorrect, citing a lack of evidence. But it simply defies our understanding that a possible future leader of Japan negates conclusions about historical facts reached by his administration.
The Kono statement, based on an extensive study by the Japanese government from December 1991 through August 1993, rightfully pointed out Japan’s coercion in recruiting wartime sex slaves during World War II. Apart from this, surefire proof is none other than the “forced sex slaves’’ who remain alive and their testimonies.
It’s nonsense that Hashimoto, who is often referred to as a possible candidate for Japan’s next prime minister, advised Korea to go to the International Court of Justice to resolve bilateral disputes relating to the sex slaves issue.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se was right, when he described Hashimoto’s remarks as “embarrassing and shameful.’’ Japan should listen to what Yun said: “If he (Hashimoto) made such remarks at the U.N. General Assembly or the U.S. Congress, this would cause serious offence to the many conscientious people in Japan.’’ Japanese leaders should repent of past misdeeds genuinely if they are to be free from the yoke of the past, just as their German counterparts did.