China, S Korea criticize Hashimoto over comfort women comments

Gee, I didn't see this coming...

In other news, I see Hashimoto is making the cover of all the mainstream non-Japanese news sites...

Maybe giving him some attention that he craves desperately but making Japan look like some throwback to the 50's...

Abe posed, thumbs up, in the aircraft [number 731] during a weekend visit to Miyagi Prefecture.

This photo op was very obviously crafted to send a message, and a callous one at that — definitely not coincidental.

I do wish these politicians would cut these games and stop provoking their neighbors for the sake of safety, positive relations and economic health in the region. More diplomacy, please.

As they have every right to.

These guys are no statesmen with a global perspective of any kind. It's hard to believe that the mayor of Osaka, one of the premier Japanese cities, is this myopic and insensitive.

Here is a link to a photo of Abe posing in fighter jet number 731: http://asia-news.doorblog.jp/archives/26942333.html

Chinese are going beyond their limits. They want to enter India then Japan it seems like they want to take over the world. But I believe in Karma so I feel god punishes them with all the natural disasters.

Hashimoto is a fool. If he needs to stoop to those kind of statements to get attention he has no right to be in office.

China talking about "humanity and historical justice" - pot, kettle, black!!

@Sensato Thanks for the link. As someone whose job relies in part on trade with China and Korea, I'm sick and tired of idiots from all countries poisoning the atmosphere. Japan can do its bit by toilet-training its politicians. I've had enough of waking up to see a foul mess on the carpet.

What if the guy just didn't make the connection between the jet's number and the unit? I mean, I've previously learned about Unit 731, but it's not the first thing that comes to mind for me seeing the number...

Who knows, he might not have noticed the number at all, nor anyone else; or if anyone did and made the connection, they might simply not have thought to or were afraid to remark on it and recommend he sit in a differently numbered jet.

Who knows, he might not have noticed the number at all, nor anyone else; or if anyone did and made the connection, they might simply not have thought to or were afraid to remark on it and recommend he sit in a differently numbered jet.

Which is the problem with many Japanese politicians. They dont think before they talk or act!

If something is wrong, then its wrong, it doesn't matter if someone else did it too.

The guy says he wants to make Japan better or even great but he is dragging it down almost every time he opens his mouth.

There are plenty of real issues to be resolved including a recently more territorially aggressive China but between Ishihara and Hashimoto we are constantly set back but completely out of step comments and actions.

Japanese voters.. please take note of what these people do, its not a case of shouganai, vote them out and let them know that, whatever your political position, we require politicians who are diplomatic, knowledgable and serve the people, not themselves.

Hashimoto's comments have been reported all over the world, including in The New York Times and on the BBC. He's an idiot who is damaging Japan's international reputation - which will lose Japan support over the Senkaku Islands issue.

This is the problem:

China’s Foreign Ministry said it saw the comments as further evidence of a rightward drift in Japanese politics under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Although China's Foreign Ministry should know better, in that Hashimoto is in a rather minor opposition party, the perception of this across the world is very damaging.

The public really needs to give this cretin a good kicking at the ballot box, and the people of Osaka should be questioning why their Governor is not concentrating on his prefectural duties.

So what happened in Unit 731? I know the archived top secret materials were released to the public 5 years ago.

Unit 731, in the name of 'scientific research' performed diabolical experiments on mostly Chinese prople that saw them being poisoned,frozen,beaten,operated on without anesthesia and a myriad of other atrocious ways that ended in death.

Unit 731, in the name of 'scientific research' performed diabolical experiments on mostly Chinese prople that saw them being poisoned,frozen,beaten,operated on without anesthesia and a myriad of other atrocious ways that ended in death.

Is that what was revealed in the thousands of pages of classified report?

North Korea should threaten to launch a missile attack on Osaka.

I agree with China and Korea, why is this guy still in office? Get rid of him!

Hashimoto's mental balance sheet needs an overhaul.

Politically correct = hypocrisy = pandering to populist segment. Universal truth, doomed stressed soldiers rape & need R&R (rest & recreation or rape or rape with payment to pimps)

Hashimoto's talk amounts to Holocaust denial and he should be dismissed from his position. Abe's photo with 731 is such a big insult to all humanity. What an idiot, a hypocrite and a piece of Sh** he is ... He would have been made to resign if this happened in Europe.

will south korea and china ever get over themselves? no matter what japan does they're the enemy, if they do everything sk and china want and admit they're the most evil people in history sk and china would just find something to complain about, i could care less what he said cause it isn't any worse than the hate mongering that goes on in sk and china against japan

photo of Abe posing in a fighter jet with the number 731

Unbelievable....

To Put this in perspective so you right-wing, we our just innocent victims of WW2 Japanese people can understand, This would be the equivalent of Obama posing with his arms around the 3 marines that raped the poor school girl in Okinawa. Hope you can get the full implications of what that photo means to tens of thousands that not only died, but were tortured at the hands of Your Imperial Army! Please Please Please Learn From History!!!

China, S Korea criticize Hashimoto over comfort women comments

And so they bloody well should! The guy is a penis head and he, and his godfather Ishihara, should be run out of politics (and the country) forever!

Unfortunately, his comments are a reflection of the general population. Just look at the individuals getting into power and all the rhetoric they spew. No consequences. That sums it up.

LOL at the people who think the 731 was painted on the jet trainer on purpose for Abe's photo shoot.

Of course the link that Sensato posted with Abe in the fighter jet with the 731 number on it, you know they will advocate that it never existed, and all the experiments with the bubonic plague, anthrax, vivisections, frost bite, gas chambers etc carried out by Shiro Ishii, and in which the remaining data that wasn't destroyed when Japan got out of Harbin, China and handed over the US in exchange for immunity for the members of Unit 731, you know that it never took place, right? It's all fabrications by the international community because they hate Japan...Right. Just like the Rape of Nanking never happened and is a fabrication by the Chinese, right?

What is wrong with a nation that can be this ignorant of it's history and still elect politicians like this over and over?

Stupid comments by Hashimoto, all he did was lower himself to China's level. Amusing to see China's reaction to what amounts to the content that is weekly spewed from the pits of the China Global Times on a weekly basis as well as the majority of the right wingers in the Chinese government.

Think before to talk Hashimoto's

Hashimoto is a pimp.

hashimoto probably shouldn't have said what he did. but at least we can publically criticize him. fat chance in china.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/world/asia/mayor-in-japan-says-comfort-women-played-a-necessary-role.html

I think Hashimoto should send his mother, wife, and daughter to offer "comfort" to the American solders in Okinawa "to reduce the incidence of sexual crimes" by American soldiers there. "You want to give these emotionally charged soldiers a rest somewhere, it’s clear that you need a comfort women system" - well said, Hashimoto-kun.

GET RID OF HIM!

Unless there is some genius master plan behind all these gaffes and provocations, they make Japan not look much better than China in the eye of the world. Trying to counter your adversaries by letting yourself down to their level is generally a bad idea. Japan doesn't want to appear weak but bringing out such political slips makes it look just as adolescent as it's neighbors.

japan for sure will go to war with neighbors if hashimoto would be prime minister in the future.

Hashimoto is Asian hero. make proud japan proud.

awaniko MAY. 15, 2013 - 07:39AM JST Chinese are going beyond their limits. They want to enter India then Japan it seems like they want to take over the world. But I believe in Karma so I feel god punishes them with all the natural disasters.

So did god punish Japan with an earthquake and tsunami in 2011? Stupid idiot

dear japan, please stop making me agree with china.

I think he is now a reason not to vote for ishin no Kai. Time they removed him from the masthead....

“We are appalled and indignant about the Japanese politician’s comments boldly challenging humanity and historical justice,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei

Just remember that if you open your mouth and speak publicly in Chinese the CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY can arrest you, detain you indefinitely, without trail for years. You may even disappear in their custody. This is there version of "Humanity".

That said, why do so many Japanese politicians open their mouths and continually make the most bizarre, idiotic and insensitive statements and then are somehow shocked at the reaction. Clearly they are living in a bubble removed from reality.

I do not agree with what Hashimoto said from many aspects . Women and children have been always the true victims of the war. And still they are. We should not forget about this.

But I would like to see the history as it is.

One thing is, more than 60% of the so-called comfort women were Japanese. People tend to believe that all of them were Koreans, but it is not true.

Girls from poverty-stricken families in Japan also had to become prostitutes to help their family. Japan has not been a rich country always. Among them, lots of girls were from Tohoku area where the earthquake and tsunami hit two years ago. Because financial burdens involved Japan in difficulties with the costs for infrastructures, educations, health and hygiene etc. in Korean peninsula, Japanese government could not take enough care for Tohoku area struck by famine at that time, so that the living there was very severe.

Korea and Taiwan were not treated like the colonies of the Western nations such as UK or Netherlands. Actually, their life-span was lengthened and literacy rate was improved drastically using lots of Japanese money. Just think why Taiwanese are pro-Japan. Because they are teaching the real history, bad things and good things as they are.

As said above, I'm not going to agree with Hashimoto's comment, but still it is true that there were poor girls who had to take the destiny to become prostitutes at that time, which was not illegal then. Some might have been forced by the brokers. There are records that the police arrested kidnapping groups, many of them were Koreans.

One more thing. Even GHQ could not find any evidence that Japanese army forced the girls to become comfort women by the investigation right after the end of war, and concluded there was no coercion.

Shame on Hashimoto. He should resign ASAP! These Japanese politicians keep shaming all Japanese around the world.