hankyoreh

prime minister of Japan

By Jeong Nam-ku, Tokyo correspondent

The US government is taking action to put the brakes on movement in the Japanese government headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to retreat on historical statements it has made, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

“In response to indications that the Japanese government could alter the historical position contained in the (Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei) Kono Statement of 1993, which acknowledged that the Japanese military had forced women into sexual slavery, the US government is calling for prudent action. US officials communicated this message to multiple high-ranking Japanese government officials last year,” the Japanese paper reported on Jan. 6.

According to the paper, a high US government official said “If Japan attempts to alter the Kono Statement, the US government will have no choice but to take some kind of concrete action.”

The paper interpreted this ‘concrete action’ as likely being the issuance of a statement expressing the American government’s concerns.

In explanation of the move by the US, the paper said, “Since revision by Abe’s administration of Japan’s historical stance could severely damage the relationship with neighboring countries such as South Korea and China, the US government is concerned that this might compromise stability in the Asia-Pacific region, which it regards as a priority.”

In an interview with the Sankei Shimbun newspaper on Dec. 31, 2012, Abe made a reference to the (Prime Minister) 1995 Murayama Statement, in which Japan showed remorse for and apologized for its colonization of Korea. “The statement was made on the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war. Seeing that time has passed and we are now in the 21st century, I want to make a forward-looking statement from my cabinet, a statement that is appropriate for our time. To achieve this, I plan to form a committee of experts and review our options.”

Regarding the Kono Statement of 1993, Abe said, “I will listen to the opinions of experts and consider our course of action under the oversight of the Chief Cabinet Secretary.”

When the first Abe administration, which took power in September 2006, implied that it was going to retract the Kono Statement of 1993, the relationship between South Korea and Japan started to deteriorate. In response, the US took firm action, with the House of Representatives passing a resolution on July 30, 2007 criticizing the Japanese forced conscription of the so-called comfort women.

On Jan. 3, the New York Times published an editorial titled “Another Attempt to Deny Japan’s History.” The editorial criticized Abe for making a “a serious mistake that would inflame tensions with South Korea.”

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