Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Japan has long been at odds with its neighbors over historical issues. China, South Korea and other adjacent neighboring countries often criticize Japanese politicians for denying its history of aggression in the 20th century. A number of recent events have brought Tokyo's attitude toward its wartime history into the world spotlight.

In November, the Japanese government asked a New York-based publishing house to change descriptions about "comfort women" in its world history textbook. Entitled Traditions &Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, the textbook was published by the New York-based McGraw-Hill Companies.

According to Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, the portion - "The Japanese army forcibly recruited, conscripted, and dragooned as many as two hundred thousand women aged fourteen to twenty to serve in military brothels, called 'comfort houses'" - is not in line with the position of the Japanese government. His ministry even plans to investigate how many states and schools in the US are using this textbook.

The issue of "comfort women" has caused quite a stir within Japan. In early August, the Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan's biggest left-leaning newspapers, made a public statement that its past reports on "comfort women" were based on false testimony by Seiji Yoshida. Therefore, the paper retracted the articles and apologized publicly. Inevitably, it has encountered fierce attacks by other Japanese media outlets and right-wing groups. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also denounced this newspaper on many occasions.

In October, Japan required the amendment of a 1996 UN special rapporteur's report on "comfort women." This report described "comfort women" forced into prostitution in wartime Japanese military brothels as "sex slaves" and called on the Japanese government to apologize and pay compensation to victims. The Abe administration claimed part of the content was "false" and asked author Radhika Coomaraswamy to revoke it. But the request was denied.

It is Abe's attitude toward the "comfort women" issue that has decided Tokyo's frequent maneuvers in recent months. Abe believes the reports based on testimony by Yoshida solicited undue criticism from the rest of the world and therefore Japan must rehabilitate its reputation. To this end, he even tabled a plan to review the 1993 Kono Statement though he said previously he would not deny the landmark apology for sexual slavery before and during WWII.

Nevertheless, the logic of Abe and his cabinet can in no way hold water. The lack of credibility of Yoshida's testimony does not mean the world's attitude toward the "comfort women" issue is mistaken. Actually, investigations and studies by historians, including Japanese scholars like Yoshiaki Yoshimi, have demonstrated in an explicit way that the Japanese military coerced and raped "comfort women" in East and Southeast Asia. So far, no other country has shown any understanding of Abe's position. And the UN issued a statement in August, expressing deep regret over the attitude of the Japanese government toward the "comfort women" issue.

In addition, the US, Japan's close ally, has also conveyed an articulate position on this issue. The US Congress passed a resolution to condemn Japan's coercion of "comfort women" in 2007. In June 2014, the Japanese government released the result of a review of the Kono Statement and raised doubts about its drafting process, though not publicly denying it. Later, 18 members of the US House of Representatives wrote a letter to the Japanese ambassador to the US, severely criticizing the review.

Consequently, Abe's position on Japan's history of aggression and the "comfort women" issue is not based on the facts, but rather is pandering to his supporters. For any politician, it is unwise and irresponsible to go in a direction opposite the rest of the world for the sake of domestic politics.

The author is a lecturer at the School of History, Wuhan University. [email protected]

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