Keel
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Write : 2015-05-06 14:00:38 Update : 2015-05-06 14:25:16
Anchor: Following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's failure to apologize for his country's wartime sexual slavery during an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress last week, a group of historians has issued a statement urging the Japanese leader to do so. A professor who led the 187 historians said the issue must be resolved while the few surviving victims are still alive.
Report: More than 180 renowned historians issued a joint statement on Wednesday, urging Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to squarely recognize Japan’s sex slavery and other wartime wrongdoings.
The 187 historians, including Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Herbert Bix and William Paterson University Professor Theodore Cook, delivered the statement to Abe via diplomatic channels.
In the statement, the historians said “postwar Japan's history of democracy” is something to celebrate, yet “problems of historical interpretation pose an impediment to celebrating these achievements.”
They specifically noted that “one of the most divisive historical issues is the so-called 'comfort women' system.” The historians stressed that denying or trivializing what happened to the victims of wartime sexual enslavement is unacceptable.
Alexis Dudden, a professor at the University of Connecticut, who led the group issuing the statement, said she and her colleagues closely watched Abe’s speech before a joint session of the U.S. Congress last week to see if he would say that his government accepts responsibility for the terrible history.
Unfortunately, Dudden said, such remarks were not made.
Dudden told Korean media that Abe appears to be evading Japanese government responsibility for its wartime sexual slavery and “his words further attempt to blame the victim for the crime.”
She stressed the issue should be resolved while the few surviving victims are still alive.
In the collective statement, the historians noted that in last week’s speech to Congress, Abe “spoke of the universal value of human rights, of the importance of human security, and of facing the suffering that Japan caused other countries.” The historians said they “applaud these sentiments and urge the Prime Minister to act boldly on all of them.”
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.
Write : 2015-05-06 14:00:38 Update : 2015-05-06 14:25:16
Anchor: Following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's failure to apologize for his country's wartime sexual slavery during an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress last week, a group of historians has issued a statement urging the Japanese leader to do so. A professor who led the 187 historians said the issue must be resolved while the few surviving victims are still alive.
Report: More than 180 renowned historians issued a joint statement on Wednesday, urging Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to squarely recognize Japan’s sex slavery and other wartime wrongdoings.
The 187 historians, including Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Herbert Bix and William Paterson University Professor Theodore Cook, delivered the statement to Abe via diplomatic channels.
In the statement, the historians said “postwar Japan's history of democracy” is something to celebrate, yet “problems of historical interpretation pose an impediment to celebrating these achievements.”
They specifically noted that “one of the most divisive historical issues is the so-called 'comfort women' system.” The historians stressed that denying or trivializing what happened to the victims of wartime sexual enslavement is unacceptable.
Alexis Dudden, a professor at the University of Connecticut, who led the group issuing the statement, said she and her colleagues closely watched Abe’s speech before a joint session of the U.S. Congress last week to see if he would say that his government accepts responsibility for the terrible history.
Unfortunately, Dudden said, such remarks were not made.
Dudden told Korean media that Abe appears to be evading Japanese government responsibility for its wartime sexual slavery and “his words further attempt to blame the victim for the crime.”
She stressed the issue should be resolved while the few surviving victims are still alive.
In the collective statement, the historians noted that in last week’s speech to Congress, Abe “spoke of the universal value of human rights, of the importance of human security, and of facing the suffering that Japan caused other countries.” The historians said they “applaud these sentiments and urge the Prime Minister to act boldly on all of them.”
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.
