Stay in touch with the latest and widest range of Japan News with JapanToday's News Alert newsletter.
Up to the moment news in your inbox everyday. Subscribe now!
Already a JapanToday registered user?
Login to update your settings to subscribe to News Alert.
*Required
USA encouraged GM and Ford to move to China. when APPLE does same action, without US…
Posted in: Senate panel says Apple uses firms outside U.S. to avoid taxes
Hashimoto has a point here. Now that he has everyone's attention he will get more and…
Posted in: Hashimoto says S Korean troops guilty of wartime sex abuse
Well, a majority of USA people know their federal tax goes to American military spending in…
Posted in: Senate panel says Apple uses firms outside U.S. to avoid taxes
Sasaki has denied the charge, police said. He was drunk so he doesn't remember...of couse
Posted in: Man in Ibaraki arrested for making death threats by phone
"Open Minded" You have described in a few words the real problem of the Japanese firms…
Posted in: Little sign Abe can shake up Japan's inbound foreign direct investment
-2
nigelboy
No offense but SK President didn't mention "Japan" as part of the collective effort on her latest speech in U.S. in regards to dealing with her northern neighbor so the Japanese government acted solo.
Posted in: S Korea, U.S., China differ over visit by Abe's envoy to N Korea
-11
nigelboy
This P.C. stuff is getting a wee bit ridiculous. How many have actually been court marshalled for the violation of Executive Order 13387?
Posted in: Hashimoto says he lacked sensitivity to U.S. perception of prostitution
-5
nigelboy
Under the joint administration of MOFA and the PM's office.
No. Looks like there are forces within certain nations that they wanted to continue this to get more money. What the article doesn't mention that the organization in Korea threatened ex-comfort women to not take the funds. Of the 7 that took the funds, they were promptly banned from the said organization. In addition, the NGO group that specifically brought these funds to the Korean organization lobbied the Korean government for their permant ban to enter to Korea.
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-6
nigelboy
I believe that the interrogation report by the Allieds I linked to pretty much states they were recruited byprivate operators. Whether or not they were "volunteers" or how many they are, we will never know but it's clearly apparent that the system itself did not have IJA recruit them unlike the Korean government recruitment of their comfort women for U.N., U.S., and their own soldiers during the Korean War.
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-7
nigelboy
This is again, the central issue of the matter. When you refer to "Japan", what do you mean? I ask this because "forced" or "coerced" argument has evolved where "Japan" is now referred to "Korean citizens who were Japanese at that time" to "Economic hardships under Japan". If you specifically mean the Imperial Japanese Army, the answer is no based on lack of evidence to support this.
As to Hashimoto, he refers to "意を反して” on many occasions for it simply means "against her will".
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-8
nigelboy
You're not going to get that simply because the evidence or the lack of it indicates that most of these women became comfort women because of economic hardships or forced by private individuals. This, in essence, is the heart of the debate.
The problem with the orgnization like the ones in Korea today are that they should of stopped being so irrational during 2002 when monies and apologies were made where at that time, the general population within Japan were very sympathetic towards them. Now, there are pretty much fed up with their ongoing memorial building overseas campign, statutes in front of the Japanese Embassy, and the ever changing testimonies of the Korean comfort women.
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-8
nigelboy
It doesn't have to.
....The High Contracting Parties confirm that the problems concerning property, rights, and interests of the two High Contracting Parties and their peoples (including juridical persons) and** the claims between the High Contracting Parties and between their peoples, including those stipulated in Article IV(a) of the Peace Treaty with Japan signed at the city of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, have been settled completely and finally**.....
The better question yet, which you still avoid, is why the Korean government counterparts for 17 years leading up to this agreement did not mention anything regarding even the "existintence" of comfort women in their tens and thousands of pages of meeting minutes?
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-6
nigelboy
Hindingout,
As to your subsquent paragraph, your point is clearly displayed by the U.S. report on "comfort women" in Burma in regards to how even the West viewed such operations. It's no wonder that the "comfort women" policies were extended by the Korean government themselves during the Korean war for the benefit of U.S. and U.N. soldiers stationed there.
http://www.exordio.com/1939-1945/codex/Documentos/report-49-USA-orig.html
As Hashimoto stated in his interview this morning, the question of debating whether or not such policy is right or wrong in today's terms is irrelevant for it's obviously wrong in today's standards. This is why he qualified his initial Q&A with "at that time" ((当時) But of course, the media ignored this altogether.
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-5
nigelboy
Hidingout,
Your comment in #1 is clearly spelled out by Hashimoto in his press conference as well as subsequent interview in this mornings morning talk show "Tokudane" on Fuji TV. But of course, the media will basically omit the pertinent parts to spin it and this is no exception especially Hashimoto who has in the past went head to head with the media especially Asahi.
But he knew beforehand that this was going to happen and based on the recent TV program, he welcomes this attention for it will no doubt give him the more of the platform like today's show where there will be no "editing" or "spinning". In this sense, I'm glad that the meeting on the 24th with the ex-comfort women is going to be "public" rather than "private".
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-3
nigelboy
Of course, the anti-Japan crowd never question the logical reasons behind "why" it was not covered by the Korean counterparts.
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-6
nigelboy
Thanks zichi for the summary.
The normalization agreement you indicated above took over 17 years of negotiation between the Japanese and the Korean counterparts with tens and thousands of recorded minutes of the negotiations. Now, for the life of me, I still cannot understand why the Korean counterparts NEVER mentioned the issue of comfort women in those tens and thousands of documented negotiations. Perhaps you could englighten us for the reasons.
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-6
nigelboy
Smith,
I don't know what you are reading but I see nothing in zichi post that proves anything. He/she is merely repeating the "accusations" much like the said organization without any proof.
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-5
nigelboy
True. This is also the same organization that Seoul University professor investigated and found only two out of 40 surviving comfort women were indeed "forced" but by private individuals.
It use to be that the Japanese public, in general, had sympathies for these Korean women which launched with the establishment of Asian Women Fund (under Ministry of Foreign Affairs( in mid 90's) which raised $6 million from donated funds and another $5 million from the government budget (welfare and medical expenses) but of course, the said organization pressured these ex-comfort women to not take this fund citing some unknown reason that this was "not official" despite half of the money being actually from the government budget itself.
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E3%81%AE%E3%81%9F%E3%82%81%E3%81%AE%E3%82%A2%E3%82%B8%E3%82%A2%E5%B9%B3%E5%92%8C%E5%9B%BD%E6%B0%91%E5%9F%BA%E9%87%91
An apology letter from Prime Minister Koizumi in 2001
http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/area/taisen/letter.html
Both Abe and Hashimoto are correct in that there are no evidence to support the argument that the government at that time had a policy of forcing these women against their will to become what they are. Even in the rare incident like that of the Dutch women which they cite indicate that the Colonel who discovered this operation, immediately ordered the termination. Despite the complete lack of evidence, the Japanese government still compensated and gave apologies (Former PM Murayama and Koizumi).
Posted in: Hashimoto offers to meet 'comfort women' to apologize
-2
nigelboy
Another assumption. Why don't you just dispense the German/Europe comparisons.
What we're seeing here is a birth of another issue they created much like the Naval ensign of Japan which they had no problem up until 2009, but surfaced during the recent Olympics.
Posted in: S Korean media slam Abe's 731 jet photo
0
nigelboy
It's just Korea and China. Again, don't assume Germany gets along with their neighbors or they are free from baggage from WWII.
Posted in: S Korean media slam Abe's 731 jet photo
-4
nigelboy
Never said it was.
Now you're just being ridiculous.
Posted in: Gov't - but not Ishihara - backs away from Hashimoto's comfort women comments
0
nigelboy
He's not crying. It's simply a warning targeted to whomever that encroached.
Posted in: Abe warns of possible military response to intruder subs
-3
nigelboy
Read my post marked MAY. 14, 2013 - 10:48PM JST
Posted in: Hashimoto says comfort women system necessary for wartime troops
-9
nigelboy
Is that what was revealed in the thousands of pages of classified report?
Posted in: China, S Korea criticize Hashimoto over comfort women comments
-10
nigelboy
So what happened in Unit 731? I know the archived top secret materials were released to the public 5 years ago.
Posted in: China, S Korea criticize Hashimoto over comfort women comments