Japanese Efforts to Block Passage of Bill in U.S.

Ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the U.S., which is slated for late April, the Japanese government and the Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are busy trying to deter the passage of a resolution before the U.S. Congress calling on Tokyo to apologize for the country`s use of sex slaves in wartime.

Abe’s confidants have been continuously asking the U.S. government and concerned congressmen to prevent the adoption of the bill. In addition, Abe is also trying to move up his initial schedule to visit the U.S., sources say.

Abe dispatched his advisor on public relations to the U.S. between February 19 and 22 to promote the so-called “loopholes” of the resolution to U.S. scholars, journalists and government officials. Yuriko Koike, Abe’s special adviser on national security affairs, was also sent to Washington to persuade U.S. politicians between February 12 and 16, according to sources.

“The Japanese ambassador came to me ahead of the hearings to express his concerns,”

Eni Faleomavaega, chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, said in February during an interview with Dong-A Ilbo.

Although eight similar bills were introduced in the House of Representatives, not one has been adopted. However, the new bill is more likely to pass than the previous bills as human rights advocating politicians have taken the crucial seats after the midterm election, such as the chairman of the sub-committee and the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. In response, the Japanese government is making all-out efforts to block the passage of the bill.

Meanwhile, the Lawmakers Association for Japan’s Future and History Education of the LDP gathered on Thursday with an aim to change the so-called “Kono Statement,” in which Yohei Kono, a Japanese Cabinet secretary in 1993, acknowledged the involvement of the then-Japanese military authorities in the establishment and management of sex-slave stations and the transportation of sex slaves. The group was planning to submit the amended statement to the Japanese Cabinet, but has decided to postpone it until next week.

The LDP lawmakers of the group are expected to visit the U.S. in late March to try and persuade U.S. lawmakers who support the bill including Rep. Michael Honda, a Japanese-American democrat who submitted the resolution.

Meanwhile, Honda made a statement on Thursday that acts of sexual exploitation by the Japanese military during World War II are historical facts that cannot be concealed.

Congressman Honda said in the statement that the historical records, the recent testimony of comfort women at the hearings of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Kono’s personal apology clearly indicate that the Japanese Imperial Army had over 200,000 sex slaves during World War II. He also added that Japan must officially acknowledge, apologize and accept its full historical responsibility for the crime if it wants to improve its status as a democratic country in the international community.

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