Tough talks may lie ahead when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets with US President George W. Bush next Thursday at Camp David. US-Japan relations are presently strained by efforts in the US Congress to pass Resolution 121 in the House of Representatives. The bipartisan bill would demand Japan's renewed apology to so-called "comfort women" -- women that were allegedly forced into prostitution by the Japanese military during World War II.
If passed by Congress, the resolution -- albeit non-binding -- would considerably dampen the traditionally strong relationship between the US and Japan. Bilateral ties enjoyed a unique strength during the administration of Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. With Koizumi in power, Japan not only fully backed the US invasion of Iraq and Bush's war on terrorism, but also contributed non-combat ground forces in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah.
Given such unequivocal support for US foreign policy in the past few years, Tokyo appears to be even more taken aback by recent efforts of six US congressmen to pass legislation that would call on the Japanese government to "formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility or its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery."
The question of how Japan is handling its wartime past has been a recurring point of controversy among Japan's neighbors. China and South Korea raised the issue repeatedly to, among other reasons, stir anti-Japanese sentiment while at the same time pleasing nationalists at home.
While the historical fact that military brothels existed is not being questioned, opinions differ about the details. Estimates about how many women were actually recruited range from 50,000 to 200,000 (about 40 percent of them being of Japanese origin), the degree of coercion applied is being disputed (some women had worked as prostitutes before) and apparently not all brothels were directly managed by Japanese forces.
Notwithstanding such particulars, it has been a widely accepted in the international community that the Japanese government should bear responsibility for the wartime recruitment of "comfort women" and other forced laborers.
The US has addressed the issue in four previous resolutions, each time sponsored by now retired representative Lane Evans (known as one of the most liberal House members); they were introduced to Congress in 2001, 2003, 2005 and last year. The current bill however (introduced by Representative Michael Honda, a Democrat) contains the strongest wording thus far. It also provides the largest number of cosponsors (House members who explicitly support the bill), making it more likely to be passed by a Congress entirely controlled by Democrats for the first time since Bush took office in 2001.
Nobody would put the hardship and suffering of thousands of sexually exploited women into question. But at the same time it should be noted that the government of Japan and its highest officials have on several occasions acknowledged the issue of "comfort women," making new legislation by a US chamber superfluous to say the least.
In 1993 Japan's chief Cabinet secretary Yohei Kono recognized the "immeasurable pain and incurable physical and psychological wounds" the women suffered and extended "sincere apologies" in the name of the Japanese government. Prime minister Tomiichi Murayama in 1994 expressed his "profound and sincere remorse and apologies" and -- in letters to former "comfort women" -- also acknowledged explicitly the "involvement of the Japanese military authorities."
In a recent NHK interview, Abe made it clear that he stood by the Kono 1993 statement and he reiterated his position during a brief phone conversation with Bush last week.
Looking at his first half year as prime minister, it actually appears that Abe -- frequently portrayed as an avowed nationalist -- pursues a much less muscular foreign policy approach than expected. His dialogue-seeking diplomatic approach included visits to South Korea and China soon after taking office, which came as a surprise to many.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) spoke of Abe's trip already as a "turning point in the China-Japan relations" and expressed hope that the visit would serve "as a new starting point for the improvement and development of bilateral ties." Last week Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) paid a visit to Japan for the first time in many years.
Most notably Abe has so far avoided visits to the controversial Yasukuni shrine where, among 2.5 million Japanese war dead, 14 convicted Class A war criminals are enshrined. However, if pushed by US legislation, the Japanese leader -- rather than issuing yet another apology -- might feel the need to resort to using the nationalist card in order to demonstrate steadfastness to the Japanese right, especially in the face of crucial parliamentary elections coming up in July.
Contrary to what US Representative Eni Faleomavaega claimed during a subcommittee hearing in February, the ongoing congressional debates over the "comfort women" resolution and its public coverage do embarrass the face-conscious Japanese, even more so with Abe's visit now only days away. While some view the efforts of US lawmakers as interference with Japan's internal affairs, others wonder what could possibly be the US' long term interest in unnecessarily harming ties with its staunchest Asian ally.
There are plenty of issues to be discussed between the two leaders at Camp David -- among them Iran (Japan's third-largest oil supplier), the ongoing war in Iraq, the North Korean nuclear threat and the rise of China, to name but a few. Both countries need each other, and Abe is eager to enhance Japan's visibility on the regional and global stage.
In Asia, the US continues to rely on its forward military presence in Okinawa; Japan's archipelago does not only enclose the Sea of Japan, but also the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, making it of crucial strategic importance to the US. On the other hand,as long as Japan's military capabilities remain limited and non-nuclear, the US is required as a reliable partner in order to ensure regional stability and deter potential adversaries.
In 2005 both countries issued a joint declaration to work towards peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula, to ease tensions in the Taiwan Strait and to secure world energy supplies. Regardless of the underlying reasons for submitting Resolution 121 at this point in time -- be it good intentions, party politics or hope for personal political gain -- its passing would not only be harmful to the friendship between the US and Japan, but could also undermine cooperation between the two nations on important common goals in Asia and beyond.
Jan Schlotthus is a German writer based in Taipei.
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