Abe’s words and deeds don’t match

In an article by a Martin Sieff appeaing in the Mypaper on 20 Aug 15, the author explained why Abe’s words didn on match his actions. In his view, he said Abe ‘believe that a few highly qualified and clearly limited expressions of polite regret can wipe clean Japan’s historical debt towards China’ and Korea. He asked, ‘Can the murderous, horrific slaughter of 20 million people in China alone from 1937 to 1945, not to mention the enslavement of the Koreans people for 35 years, be banished by 25 minutes of mumbled politeness?’

What Martin Sieff did not say about the colonization of the Koreans was the brutal oppression of the Korean people to alter their ethnicity and culture, to take on Japanese names and learn the Japanese language, in other words the Japanisation of the Koreans to become Japanese. And this was done in very harse and cruel ways, demeaning and insulting to the Koreans.

So, Abe thought what he said in 25 minutes was enough and Japanese can forget about their crimes against China and Korea and the rest of Asian. There is no need for the future generations of Japanese to apologise anymore.

And what has he been doing while apologizing at the same time? ‘Abe has pushed ahead consistently and relentlessly with policies to resurrect the Japanese armed forces and clear the way for their use far from Japanese territories and waters.’ Abe is repeating what his grandfather did in the Second World War and shoving aside the objections of the Emperor. Emperor Akihito and the royal house have been defending Article 9 of the Constitution and the values it embodies, to renounce war. If this is an indication of what the Emperor thinks, and if this was what his father, Emperor Hirohitho believed, we are seeing Japanese history being repeated. The hawkish politicians are seizing power to conduct wars and overruling the Emperor. A weak Emperor would eventually be put to blame for the war crimes committed by the politicians who would wage wars in the name of the Emperor.

Abe and his warlike politicians are unremorseful of their heinous war crimes and wanted the country to go to war in the name of defense, the same myth the Americans created to justify war. The Americans have been conducting wars all over the world since the end of World War 2 in the name of defending America and the rest of the world, in the name of peace. Japan under Abe is adopting the same warmongering formula, to reject its pacifist Constitution, to set Japan in the course for war.

How can China and Korea forgive a unrepentant Japan that arrogantly thinks a few words of apology could atone their war crimes against other countries and people?