Niether the government nor people of Japan have ever acknowledged the horror that was inflicted upon other people in Asia and the United States during World War II. They continue insisting they were the victims rather than they were the aggressors. From the seizure of Manchuria from China in 1931 to the invasion of China in 1937 to the brutality inflicted upon the peoples of Indonesia, Burma and Thailand Japanese forces brutalized, raped and killed millions of people. And, of course, there was the attack upon the United States which was attempting to halt Japanese aggression. Among the horrors of Japan’s past was forcing thousands of women in Korea and China to serve as prostitutes for the soldiers of Japan. The Japanese even today insist these women were merely, “comfort women” who willingly allowed themselves to be gang raped by Japanese soldiers.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been working to undo an “apology” issued in 1992 by his government for the brutality against women. Koichi Hagiuda, an aide to the prime minister, informed the media, “it would not be strange to issue a new political statement if new findings emerge. The women were raped. Period. They were brutalized, period. Isn’t it about time that Japan acknowledged its past mistakes. Heck, the US Congress apologized for interning Japanese Americans and for the horror of slavery!