Agence France-Presse 8:39 am | Thursday, February 21st, 2013 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: New “future-oriented” statement on World War II. AP/KYODO NEWS WASHINGTON—Two US lawmakers on Wednesday warned Prime Minister Shinzo Abe not to revise Japan’s apology over sexual enslavement in World War II, saying the move would set back relations between the allies. The lawmakers raised the issue two days before a White House visit by the conservative Japanese premier, whose previous period in office was dogged by historical issues but who is now seen as increasingly pragmatic. Representative Mike Honda, who spearheaded a 2007 House resolution that took Japan to task for holding wartime sex slaves, and Representative Steve Israel voiced “serious concern” about the Abe government’s stance. In a letter, the two Democratic lawmakers wrote that if Japan revises a 1993 apology it “would have grave implications for the US-Japanese relationship and could ignite unnecessary tension and provocation with neighboring countries.” Historians say about 200,000 “comfort women” from Korea, China, the Philippines and elsewhere were drafted into Japanese army brothels. The legacy remains a particular sore point in Japan’s relations with South Korea. In the 1993 statement, Japan offered “sincere apologies” for the “immeasurable pain and suffering” inflicted on comfort women. Two years later, Japan issued a broader apology expressing “deep remorse” for war suffering. Abe, whose grandfather was a World War II cabinet minister, raised controversy during his 2006 to 2007 premiership for his statements on comfort women and after leaving office he called for Read More …
