Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament on Monday that he would not apologize for women who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, even if called on to do so by a US Congress resolution, according to the local media.
“I must say we will not apologize even if there’s a (US) resolution,” Abe, the first premier born after the war, told the House of Councilors Budget Committee.
The US House of Representatives Foreign International Relations Committee is discussing the draft resolution demanding Abe’s apology following his remark Thursday that there is “no evidence” of Japan’s forcing women into sexual slavery.
“The resolution is not based on objective facts,” said Abe in the budgetary meeting.
South Korea expressed “strong regret” over Abe’s remarks disputing the “comfort women” issue.
If you are getting that all too familiar déjà vu feeling only to say, “I have seen all this before,” join the rest of the crowd. It’s a scene that gets played out all too often, one that compels us to ask, why is a public apology so difficult? Is it a high risk move? Most definitely, since leaders speak on behalf of their followers. Their apologies usually have far reaching and broad implications. It doesn’t really matter whether one is a national leader or even a factory supervisor who leads a team of technicians – an apology is an act carried out not merely at the level of the individual but also at an institutional plane, be it nation, firm, department or even as something as small as a household. Read the rest of this entry »
THE INTELLIGENT SINGAPOREAN 