Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Japan should honor its 1993 statement acknowledging that the Japanese military forcefully recruited "comfort women" to provide sex for its soldiers before and during World War II.
That episode was one of the darkest in modern history, and a revision of the statement, issued by the then chief Cabinet secretary, is undesirable, Carr said in a joint news conference with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Sydney on Jan. 13.
The government’s official statement, presented by Yohei Kono, acknowledged, “The then Japanese military was, directly or indirectly, involved in the establishment and management of the comfort stations and the transfer of comfort women.”
Responding to questions by Australian media, Kishida said, “Prime Minister Shinzo Abe feels distressed about the issue of comfort women, and he has the same thoughts as those of the successive prime ministers (following the statement).”
Kishida indicated the possibility of Abe upholding two statements by Prime Ministers Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi during their tenure that expressed apology and remorse over the Japanese invasion and colonial rule.
"(Abe) will honor the Murayama statement issued 50 years after the end of the war and the Koizumi statement 60 years after," he said.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga indicated caution about reviewing the Kono statement in a Jan. 4 interview.
But he also said the first Abe government (2006-2007) decided at a Cabinet meeting that documents found by the government carried no description directly indicating the forcible recruitment services and transfer of comfort women to so-called "comfort stations."
Suga also indicated that while upholding the Murayama statement, Abe would provide his own statement.
The Australian foreign minister’s remarks are believed to be intended to express concerns about all of these moves.
The foreign ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation with the United States over security issues in the Asia-Pacific region.
But Carr took a mild tone in the news conference, saying they are not trying to contain China.
That episode was one of the darkest in modern history, and a revision of the statement, issued by the then chief Cabinet secretary, is undesirable, Carr said in a joint news conference with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Sydney on Jan. 13.
The government’s official statement, presented by Yohei Kono, acknowledged, “The then Japanese military was, directly or indirectly, involved in the establishment and management of the comfort stations and the transfer of comfort women.”
Responding to questions by Australian media, Kishida said, “Prime Minister Shinzo Abe feels distressed about the issue of comfort women, and he has the same thoughts as those of the successive prime ministers (following the statement).”
Kishida indicated the possibility of Abe upholding two statements by Prime Ministers Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi during their tenure that expressed apology and remorse over the Japanese invasion and colonial rule.
"(Abe) will honor the Murayama statement issued 50 years after the end of the war and the Koizumi statement 60 years after," he said.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga indicated caution about reviewing the Kono statement in a Jan. 4 interview.
But he also said the first Abe government (2006-2007) decided at a Cabinet meeting that documents found by the government carried no description directly indicating the forcible recruitment services and transfer of comfort women to so-called "comfort stations."
Suga also indicated that while upholding the Murayama statement, Abe would provide his own statement.
The Australian foreign minister’s remarks are believed to be intended to express concerns about all of these moves.
The foreign ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation with the United States over security issues in the Asia-Pacific region.
But Carr took a mild tone in the news conference, saying they are not trying to contain China.
No comments:
Post a Comment