Shinzo Abe and Japan’s History
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The visit by Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to the United States next week is important on several levels. He will be the first Japanese leader to address a joint meeting of Congress. He and President Obama are expected to announce progress on a key issue, increased defense cooperation, and possibly on a second, trade. They will also discuss a third challenge, China’s growing influence in Asia.

The context is also important: This year is the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, and to some extent the visit is intended as a celebration of the country’s remarkable postwar resurrection and its robust alliance with an old enemy, which has become a foundation of regional stability.

But the success of the visit also depends on whether and how honestly Mr. Abe confronts Japan’s wartime history, including its decision to wage war, its brutal occupation of China and Korea, its atrocities and its enslavement of thousands of women forced to work as sex slaves or “comfort women” in wartime brothels.

By now, that history should have been settled. That it is not settled is largely the fault of Mr. Abe and his right-wing political allies who keep questioning history and even trying to rewrite it, stoking regional tensions. Mr. Abe may have more to say on all this on Aug. 15, the actual date of the surrender. But his remarks to Congress will send an important signal.

Mr. Abe’s nationalist views and pressure from competing political forces have affected his judgment on these delicate issues. He has publicly expressed remorse for the war and said he will honor Japan’s past apologies for its aggression, including the sex slavery. Yet he has added vague qualifiers to his comments, creating suspicions that he doesn’t take the apologies seriously and will try to water them down.

His government has compounded the problem by trying to whitewash that history. This month, South Korea and China criticized efforts by Japan’s Education Ministry to force publishers of middle-school textbooks to recast descriptions of historical events — including the ownership of disputed islands and war crimes — to conform to the government’s official, less forthright analysis. And last year, the Abe government tried unsuccessfully to get the United Nations to revise a 1996 human rights report on the women Japan forced into sex slavery.

Many Japanese right-wingers believe their country was wrongly maligned by America and its allies after the war. Mr. Abe has given the impression that he believes Japan has already done enough to make amends for its militarism and atrocities. He says he prefers to get on with more firmly establishing his country as a 21st-century leader that can help the United States counter China in Asia and take on other global responsibilities.

But Japan cannot credibly fill that broader role if it seeks to repudiate criticism of its past. Emperor Akihito of Japan and his family have set a much better example; in an apparent rebuke of Mr. Abe, Crown Prince Naruhito has been outspoken about the need to “correctly pass down history” to future generations.

Much good can come from the Washington meeting if Mr. Abe and Mr. Obama give final approval to the first new guidelines in 17 years for expanded American-Japanese defense cooperation and make substantial progress on a new trans-Pacific trade agreement. A lot will depend on whether Mr. Abe is willing to push aside his right-wing supporters and set a tone that can strengthen stability in Asia, rather than weakening it.

紐時籲安倍 正視二戰歷史

紐約時報廿日發表社論，呼籲預定下周訪問美國的日相安倍晉三正視二戰史實，表示安倍訪美成功與否，與安倍及日本政府能否正視這段歷史息息相關。

安倍預定四月廿六日至五月三日訪美，此行有三大目的，安倍將成為在美國國會參眾聯席會議發表演說的第一位日本首相，美日將宣布美日防衛合作與貿易談判進展，以及討論大陸在亞洲與日俱增的影響力。

今年是二戰日本戰敗七十周年，就某種程度而言，安倍此行意在頌揚日本於戰後重生，美日成為強大盟友，進而成為亞太地區穩定基石的成果。但紐時社論指出，安倍此行是否成功，取決於安倍是否誠實面對日本戰爭歷史，包括日本發動二戰與侵華戰爭，占領朝鮮半島，強徵慰安婦等。

社論指出，安倍的民族主義觀點加上日本政治角力，已影響安倍對這些棘手問題的判斷。安倍雖曾公開對這段歷史表達悔意，且尊重日本過去針對侵略與慰安婦問題發表的道歉，但他也在談話中添加了一些模糊的托辭，令人懷疑安倍道歉的誠意，且試圖將其淡化。

日本政府企圖漂白戰爭史實的行動，更加惡化問題。本月初，大陸與南韓均對日本文部科學省新審核的中學教科書內容，發出嚴厲抨擊。去年，安倍政府曾要求聯合國修改1996年一份與慰安婦有關的人權報告內容，結果失敗。

許多日本右派認為二戰後，日本遭到美國及其盟友中傷。安倍予人的印象則是他認為日本已為軍國主義與暴行做出足夠彌補，而他只想讓日本成為廿一世紀領袖國家，協助美國在亞洲與大陸相抗衡，以及肩負起更多的世界責任。

社論說，安倍與美國總統歐巴馬於華府會面，若雙方能就「美日防衛合作指針」修訂以及「跨太平洋夥伴協定」（TPP）達成最後協議，安倍此行將成果豐碩，但這有賴於安倍願意與右派劃清界線，採取有助於強化而非削弱亞洲穩定的態度。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/opinion/shinzo-abe-and-japans-history.html

2015-04-21．聯合報．A15．國際．編譯王麗娟