Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other right-wing Japanese figures seem to think time is on the side of their historical revisionism. While glossing over Japan’s militarist past and making no clear apology for its wartime atrocities, they may hope that the troubled history shared with neighboring countries will be put into oblivion as remaining victims and witnesses dwindle away.
Recent remarks by two Japanese conscientious intellectuals should be a reminder that this attitude is not what is needed to secure Japan’s long-term interests and its due place in the international community.
Haruki Murakami, a world-renowned novelist, said in an interview with a Japanese news agency last week that Japan should admit what it did and apologize for it until other victimized countries say “it’s enough.” He said tersely: “Apology is not a shameful thing.”
Haruki Wada, a professor emeritus at Tokyo University, said during his recent visit here that Japan should continue to apologize for its sexual enslavement of Korean and other women for its troops during World War II. He said only victims could say “enough is done.”
Abe needs to pay heed to the views of the two Harukis in building his position on Japan’s pre-1945 wartime history to be expressed in his speech to a joint session of U.S. Congress late this month and his statement to be issued in August on the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.
As many concede, the Japanese leader may not be ready to seriously listen to their suggestions. Still, their remarks reflect the voices of conscientious Japanese figures and their concerns about Abe’s attempt to shift Japan too far to the right by encouraging nationalist sentiment. The spread and strengthening of the perception held by the two intellectuals would help Japan narrow differences with neighboring countries and make it a country free of negative historical legacies.
Koreans still have bitter memories of Japan’s harsh colonial rule of the peninsula from 1910-45. But they also need to respond to conscientious voices in Japan by becoming more moderate, while remaining principled, in handling historical issues with Japan.
