I can't say that I'm surprised to hear that North Korea delayed the start of normalization talks with Japan in Hanoi, right after reports out of New York suggested that the US and North Korea had positive talks.The unfolding of events seems almost too scripted to be real: just as international opprobrium falls on Abe's …
Continue reading All going according to plan…but whose plan?
The Sankei Shimbun's Komori Yoshihisa, editor-at-large based in Washington, DC, illustrates why the congressional comfort women resolution is so disastrous.In response to this NY Times editorial, Komori, in this post, shows the defensiveness of Japanese nationalists -- and why Congress is not in a position to criticize Japan's treatment of its own history.He wrote (my …
The news today is that the Abe Cabinet, while apparently still respecting the 1993 Kono statement on the 'comfort women' issue, will not issue another apology, even if the US Congress passes a resolution calling for Japan to apologize.As suggested by two articles in South Korea's Chosun Ilbo -- found here and here -- Abe's …
A couple articles caught my eye in today's edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun, both of which appear to be unavailable online. (Articles from Sunday's paper never seem to be posted online.)The first was an interview with US Japan hand Michael Green, focused on the "comfort women" resolution, the title of which summarizes the interview fairly …
The Japan Times reports that US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has criticized Congress for the comfort women resolution, saying, "Our view is what happened during the war was most deplorable. But as far as some kind resolution of this issue (is concerned), this is something that must be dealt with between Japan and …
So Prime Minister Abe has commented upon the US House Resolution 121 -- the so-called "comfort women resolution" -- currently under debate in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.The resolution states that Japan(1) should formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young …
Tobias S. Harris 