Hashimoto: no sex slaves please, we're Japanese

[kurogane]

I wonder if conservatively inclined females take any comfort from this journalistic about face? Were they to do so, we could probably coin a catchy collective term to describe them in the popular media, though I can't seem to come up with anything sufficiently witty, and as this story proves there is little value to going off half-cocked.

[wagyl]

Time to trot out the favourite "A shocking tale, if true" disclaimer.

The tale of the experiences of a Comfort Woman, in cartoon format.

My personal feeling is that if all those events took place, it was certainly an eventful period.

[IparryU]

Time to trot out the favourite "A shocking tale, if true" disclaimer.

The tale of the experiences of a Comfort Woman, in cartoon format.

My personal feeling is that if all those events took place, it was certainly an eventful period.

fuckin hell... that is some shit for ya.

not sure how you can deny it... fucking say sorry and put the past behind.

[matsuki]

I don't doubt that poor woman was tortured and all that....and hard to see why people who went through that wouldn't be suicide bombing the J-gov....but beds of nails? Snake pits? Seems a like a tragedy that has been a bit embellished....unless evidence was found to support said embellishments.

[Yokohammer]

Another bizarre twist in the comfort women saga ...

More than 8,700 people sue Asahi Shimbun over 'comfort women' stories

More than 8,700 university professors, lawyers, teachers, journalists and others are suing the Asahi Shimbun, seeking both a formal apology and reparations for the newspaper’s stories on “comfort women.”

The group of plaintiffs, led by Sophia University professor emeritus Shoichi Watanabe, is demanding 10,000 yen in apparently symbolic compensation each, describing themselves as “Japanese citizens whose honor and credibility were damaged by the false reports made by the Asahi Shimbun”, according to court documents.

They argue that Asahi reports on the so-called “comfort women” system “have imposed indescribable humiliation not only on former soldiers but also on honorable Japanese citizens… who are labelled as descendents of gang rapists.”

[matsuki]

We Japanese....oh what's the use, they look bad enough already. Honor and credibility...pwahahahahahaha!

[Yokohammer]

We Japanese....oh what's the use, they look bad enough already. Honor and credibility...pwahahahahahaha!

That's it, isn't it. Honour and credibility are more important than truth.

Seen it again and again, and it still doesn't make any sense. I guess "honour and credibility" are looser concepts nowadays than they were when I was a wee tadpole. As I remember, honour and credibility had to be based on truth. They were one and the same. One could not exist without the other. Phuqued if I know anymore ...

[matsuki]

Well, if it's anything like corporate Japan "honor and credibility," it simply means one must do/say ANYTHING in order to protect the company image.

The other day there was this huge thing on the news, showing Jewish concentration camp survivors revisiting the camps and all this talk about how horrible the Nazis were. Jewish jijis crying and sharing some of their stories. Absolutely zero on any of the several atrocities Japan committed. Going to be very interesting if Abe gets his way and in a few years the first Japanese military are caught doing some bizarre assery in the line of duty. I wonder what the reactions will be then...

[Samurai_Jerk]

Well, if it's anything like corporate Japan "honor and credibility," it simply means one must do/say ANYTHING in order to protect the company image.

The other day there was this huge thing on the news, showing Jewish concentration camp survivors revisiting the camps and all this talk about how horrible the Nazis were. Jewish jijis crying and sharing some of their stories. Absolutely zero on any of the several atrocities Japan committed. Going to be very interesting if Abe gets his way and in a few years the first Japanese military are caught doing some bizarre assery in the line of duty. I wonder what the reactions will be then...

My guess is the reaction will be much like our government's reaction to Guantanamo, extra judicial execution of US citizens, and CIA torture.

[matsuki]

My guess is the reaction will be much like our government's reaction to Guantanamo, extra judicial execution of US citizens, and CIA torture.

Probably...the whole "it didn't happen if we ignore it mentality is strong." Of course that's nothing like all the arrests and condemnation of US soldiers doing similar assery....

[Samurai_Jerk]

My guess is the reaction will be much like our government's reaction to Guantanamo, extra judicial execution of US citizens, and CIA torture.

Probably...the whole "it didn't happen if we ignore it mentality is strong." Of course that's nothing like all the arrests and condemnation of US soldiers doing similar assery....

Exactly. Throw a few little guys under the bus and let everyone else skate.

[Russell]

Another bizarre twist in the comfort women saga ...

More than 8,700 people sue Asahi Shimbun over 'comfort women' stories

More than 8,700 university professors, lawyers, teachers, journalists and others are suing the Asahi Shimbun, seeking both a formal apology and reparations for the newspaper’s stories on “comfort women.”

The group of plaintiffs, led by Sophia University professor emeritus Shoichi Watanabe, is demanding 10,000 yen in apparently symbolic compensation each, describing themselves as “Japanese citizens whose honor and credibility were damaged by the false reports made by the Asahi Shimbun”, according to court documents.

They argue that Asahi reports on the so-called “comfort women” system “have imposed indescribable humiliation not only on former soldiers but also on honorable Japanese citizens… who are labelled as descendents of gang rapists.”

And the funny things is that those 8700 idiots are the ones who most damage the honor and credibility of Japan...

[Samurai_Jerk]

And the funny things is that those 8700 idiots are the ones who most damage the honor and credibility of Japan...

We should get together a group of Japanese to sue them for that.

[matsuki]

And the funny things is that those 8700 idiots are the ones who most damage the honor and credibility of Japan...

We should get together a group of Japanese to sue them for that.

[Russell]

And the funny things is that those 8700 idiots are the ones who most damage the honor and credibility of Japan...

We should get together a group of Japanese to sue them for that.

LOL. Yep, good one!

Let me think. There should be 8,700 x 8,700 = 75,690,000 Japanese that can form this group. Ahh, I'm fantasizing...

[Russell]

Japan's global PR message could misfire with focus on wartime past

A push by Japan to correct perceived bias in accounts of the country’s wartime past is creating a row that risks muddling the positive message in a mammoth public relations campaign to win friends abroad.

The PR campaign, which has a budget of over half a billion dollars, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to adopt a less apologetic stance on Japan’s actions before and during World War Two and ease the fetters imposed on defense policy by Japan’s post-war, pacifist constitution.

History is hardly the sole focus of the PR program. Many of the funds will be used for soft-power initiatives to cultivate “pro-Japan” foreigners, such as supporting Japan studies at universities and setting up “Japan House” centers to promote the “Japan Brand”.

But the government is also targeting wartime accounts by overseas textbook publishers and others that it sees as incorrect and damaging to Japan’s image.

One such effort has already sparked a backlash.

Nineteen historians from U.S. universities have written a letter of protest against a recent request by the Japanese government to publisher McGraw Hill Education to revise its account of “comfort women”, the term used in Japan for those forced to work in Japanese military brothels.

The request was rejected.

“We stand with the many historians in Japan and elsewhere who have worked to bring to light the facts about this and other atrocities of World War II. We practice and produce history to learn from the past,” says the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters and which will be carried in the March edition of the American Historical Association’s newsletter.

“We therefore oppose the efforts of states or special interests to pressure publishers or historians to alter the results of their research for political purposes,” it added.

Abe himself has signalled support for the more aggressive PR push. “Being modest does not receive recognition in the international community, and we must argue points when necessary,” he recently told a parliamentary panel.

The effort comes at a touchy time as Asia marks the 70th anniversary of World War Two’s end with bitter memories not yet laid to rest, especially in China and North and South Korea.

After a decade of shrinking spending on public diplomacy, Japan’s foreign ministry won a total 70 billion yen for strategic communications in an extra budget for 2014/15 and the initial budget for the next year from April - up from just 20 billion yen in the initial 2014/15 budget.

Many politicians and officials worry Japan has been outmaneuvered by the aggressive public diplomacy of regional rivals China and South Korea.

“Many countries are investing hugely in this field and we feel we were not investing enough,” said a Japanese foreign ministry official.

Conservatives have welcomed the bigger budget but want priority placed on correcting perceived errors about history.

“When we see lots of misunderstanding or prejudice against Japan’s history, we’d like to at least set the record straight,” said Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist and head of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, a conservative think tank.

“We have already lost (the information war). Now we have to recover,” she told Reuters in an interview.

Aware of the danger of a backlash, diplomats seem to have mitigated pressure to make the “Japan House” centers - to be set up first in London, Los Angeles and Sao Paulo in late 2016 - beachheads to market an official view of history. Instead, the facilities could provide what one bureaucrat called a “platform for balanced discussion” on controversial topics, for example, by sponsoring seminars.

Conservative politicians however want bolder steps.

“We are half-satisfied. By mobilizing all means, we must strengthen Japan’s information strategy ... so that in a real sense, we can have (others) properly understand what is good about Japan,” said ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yoshiaki Harada, who heads a party committee on improving Japan’s communication strategy.

Experts said government efforts to seek changes in historical accounts would be counter-productive, since it would keep the issue of Japan’s wartime past in public focus.

“Dragging people into a long discussion about history ... seems like they are going to brand Japan with that atrocity in terms of its image,” said Dartmouth College professor Jennifer Lind. “It’s a losing battle.”

More

It makes me wonder how these elderly "statesmen" can even think that there is a way to "correct" foreigners' views on Japan's atrocities.

[Russell]

Japan's global PR message could misfire with focus on wartime past

A push by Japan to correct perceived bias in accounts of the country’s wartime past is creating a row that risks muddling the positive message in a mammoth public relations campaign to win friends abroad.

The PR campaign, which has a budget of over half a billion dollars, comes as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to adopt a less apologetic stance on Japan’s actions before and during World War Two and ease the fetters imposed on defense policy by Japan’s post-war, pacifist constitution.

History is hardly the sole focus of the PR program. Many of the funds will be used for soft-power initiatives to cultivate “pro-Japan” foreigners, such as supporting Japan studies at universities and setting up “Japan House” centers to promote the “Japan Brand”.

But the government is also targeting wartime accounts by overseas textbook publishers and others that it sees as incorrect and damaging to Japan’s image.

One such effort has already sparked a backlash.

Nineteen historians from U.S. universities have written a letter of protest against a recent request by the Japanese government to publisher McGraw Hill Education to revise its account of “comfort women”, the term used in Japan for those forced to work in Japanese military brothels.

The request was rejected.

“We stand with the many historians in Japan and elsewhere who have worked to bring to light the facts about this and other atrocities of World War II. We practice and produce history to learn from the past,” says the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters and which will be carried in the March edition of the American Historical Association’s newsletter.

“We therefore oppose the efforts of states or special interests to pressure publishers or historians to alter the results of their research for political purposes,” it added.

Abe himself has signalled support for the more aggressive PR push. “Being modest does not receive recognition in the international community, and we must argue points when necessary,” he recently told a parliamentary panel.

The effort comes at a touchy time as Asia marks the 70th anniversary of World War Two’s end with bitter memories not yet laid to rest, especially in China and North and South Korea.

After a decade of shrinking spending on public diplomacy, Japan’s foreign ministry won a total 70 billion yen for strategic communications in an extra budget for 2014/15 and the initial budget for the next year from April - up from just 20 billion yen in the initial 2014/15 budget.

Many politicians and officials worry Japan has been outmaneuvered by the aggressive public diplomacy of regional rivals China and South Korea.

“Many countries are investing hugely in this field and we feel we were not investing enough,” said a Japanese foreign ministry official.

Conservatives have welcomed the bigger budget but want priority placed on correcting perceived errors about history.

“When we see lots of misunderstanding or prejudice against Japan’s history, we’d like to at least set the record straight,” said Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist and head of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, a conservative think tank.

“We have already lost (the information war). Now we have to recover,” she told Reuters in an interview.

Aware of the danger of a backlash, diplomats seem to have mitigated pressure to make the “Japan House” centers - to be set up first in London, Los Angeles and Sao Paulo in late 2016 - beachheads to market an official view of history. Instead, the facilities could provide what one bureaucrat called a “platform for balanced discussion” on controversial topics, for example, by sponsoring seminars.

Conservative politicians however want bolder steps.

“We are half-satisfied. By mobilizing all means, we must strengthen Japan’s information strategy ... so that in a real sense, we can have (others) properly understand what is good about Japan,” said ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yoshiaki Harada, who heads a party committee on improving Japan’s communication strategy.

Experts said government efforts to seek changes in historical accounts would be counter-productive, since it would keep the issue of Japan’s wartime past in public focus.

“Dragging people into a long discussion about history ... seems like they are going to brand Japan with that atrocity in terms of its image,” said Dartmouth College professor Jennifer Lind. “It’s a losing battle.”

More

It makes me wonder how these elderly "statesmen" can even think that there is a way to "correct" foreigners' views on Japan's atrocities. Looks like they are living in their own world.

[matsuki]

“When we see lots of misunderstanding or prejudice against Japan’s history, we’d like to at least set the record straight,” said Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist and head of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, a conservative think tank.

“We have already lost (the information war). Now we have to recover,” she told Reuters in an interview.

Lost the information war? Those pesky things like verifiable facts, free information, and evidence getting in the way of Japanese attempts to rewrite history?

[Salty]

“When we see lots of misunderstanding or prejudice against Japan’s history, we’d like to at least set the record straight,” said Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist and head of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, a conservative think tank.

“We have already lost (the information war). Now we have to recover,” she told Reuters in an interview.

Lost the information war? Those pesky things like verifiable facts, free information, and evidence getting in the way of Japanese attempts to rewrite history?

Maybe they have invented a time machine, and are going back to un-do the atrocities....

[matsuki]

“When we see lots of misunderstanding or prejudice against Japan’s history, we’d like to at least set the record straight,” said Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist and head of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, a conservative think tank.

“We have already lost (the information war). Now we have to recover,” she told Reuters in an interview.

Lost the information war? Those pesky things like verifiable facts, free information, and evidence getting in the way of Japanese attempts to rewrite history?

Maybe they have invented a time machine, and are going back to un-do the atrocities....

I think I saw that movie...can't remember the name but it was Korean and was portraying Japan-controlled Korea

Hashimoto is really a fan of these "comfort" services...

http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2014/11/01 ... rtainment/

[Russell]

“When we see lots of misunderstanding or prejudice against Japan’s history, we’d like to at least set the record straight,” said Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist and head of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, a conservative think tank.

“We have already lost (the information war). Now we have to recover,” she told Reuters in an interview.

Lost the information war? Those pesky things like verifiable facts, free information, and evidence getting in the way of Japanese attempts to rewrite history?

Maybe they have invented a time machine, and are going back to un-do the atrocities....

I think I saw that movie...can't remember the name but it was Korean and was portraying Japan-controlled Korea

I do remember that movie in which this US Navy ship was transported back in time through a thunderstorm just to the time right before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Forgot how it ended...

[Salty]

“When we see lots of misunderstanding or prejudice against Japan’s history, we’d like to at least set the record straight,” said Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist and head of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, a conservative think tank.

“We have already lost (the information war). Now we have to recover,” she told Reuters in an interview.

Lost the information war? Those pesky things like verifiable facts, free information, and evidence getting in the way of Japanese attempts to rewrite history?

Maybe they have invented a time machine, and are going back to un-do the atrocities....

I think I saw that movie...can't remember the name but it was Korean and was portraying Japan-controlled Korea

I do remember that movie in which this US Navy ship was transported back in time through a thunderstorm just to the time right before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Forgot how it ended...

I remember seeing one where a Japanese military ship was transported back in time - and then raped and pillaged, but it was against a Japanese island, so.... where does that leave Japan`s comic books… err, history books?

[kurogane]

That's the Sonny Chiba one. Sengoku Jietai. Good movie. The remake was okay, but for sheer Bollywood farce you can't beat the original.

I wonder if anybody could sue these douchebags for the same charge? I suppose the burden of proof would turn on personal opinion, which comes down to freedom of expression, etc., whereas the Asahi apology and retraction amounts to proof. What an Ahole.

Isn't Asahi a more liberal or progressive paper? WTF were those douchies thinking?

[Takechanpoo]

so.... where does that leave Japan`s comic books… err, history books?

you fagtard actually read it? answer by yes or no. you "neat" and "liberal" gaijin dudes always judge J-history things only by superficial impressions. dont talk or pretend like knowing everything about J-history things any more without direct verifications. fuking hypocrites

according to Asia Pacific reserch center in Stanford University,
Japan's history textbook is most fair among japan, usa, china, korea and taiwans one.

Some common assumptions about history textbooks used in Japan turn out to be ill-founded. Far from inculcating patriotism, as many overseas observers assume, Japanese high school textbooks tend to dryly present a chronology of historical facts, with little interpretive narrative added. This is the finding of the Divided Memories and Reconciliation project by the author and his colleague Professor Gi-Wook Shin, involving an in-depth comparison of history textbooks used in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.
...........

http://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a00703/

[IparryU]

so.... where does that leave Japan`s comic books… err, history books?

you fagtard actually read it? answer by yes or no. you "neat" and "liberal" gaijin dudes always judge J-history things only by superficial impressions. dont talk or pretend like knowing everything about J-history things any more without direct verifications. fuking hypocrites

according to Asia Pacific reserch center in Stanford University,
Japan's history textbook is most fair among japan, usa, china, korea and taiwans one.

Some common assumptions about history textbooks used in Japan turn out to be ill-founded. Far from inculcating patriotism, as many overseas observers assume, Japanese high school textbooks tend to dryly present a chronology of historical facts, with little interpretive narrative added. This is the finding of the Divided Memories and Reconciliation project by the author and his colleague Professor Gi-Wook Shin, involving an in-depth comparison of history textbooks used in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.
...........

http://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a00703/

hey fucktard... those who win the war choose what happened. Japan lost the war, so you have to say I am sorry to a bunch of shit that everyone did, but pretend it was only you and your loser team. Just because you get bombed doesn't mean you can dodge this... just take the hit and move on.

Oh... nice blog quote BTW... you forgot to mention some of their etc. reports and sources?

22. In contrast, Germany has paid DM88 billion in compensation and reparations to Jewish Holocaust victims and will spend another DM20 billion by 2005. Japan has virtually paid nothing and continues to maintain an innocence that contrasts with Germany’s profound self-examination. See, “The Other Holocaust: Nanjing Massacre, Unite 731 & Unite 100,”
http://www.interlog.com/ %7Eyuan/Japan.html, 19 February 1996.

edit:
source: http://fsi.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/Yu.pdf

I dont think much has changed since then... same denial different decade?

[Salty]

so.... where does that leave Japan`s comic books… err, history books?

you fagtard actually read it? answer by yes or no. you "neat" and "liberal" gaijin dudes always judge J-history things only by superficial impressions. dont talk or pretend like knowing everything about J-history things any more without direct verifications. fuking hypocrites

according to Asia Pacific reserch center in Stanford University,
Japan's history textbook is most fair among japan, usa, china, korea and taiwans one.

Some common assumptions about history textbooks used in Japan turn out to be ill-founded. Far from inculcating patriotism, as many overseas observers assume, Japanese high school textbooks tend to dryly present a chronology of historical facts, with little interpretive narrative added. This is the finding of the Divided Memories and Reconciliation project by the author and his colleague Professor Gi-Wook Shin, involving an in-depth comparison of history textbooks used in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.
...........

http://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a00703/

No.

But it isn`t what they say, or even how they say it - but rather what is left unsaid. BTW, this is also true for US history books.

But to ask a question here - do you truly believe that Japanese school history books properly cover the Japan war atrocities - Nanking, 731, beheadings, long pig, slavery, treatment of Okinawan and other civilians, etc.? Thus giving Japanese kids a clear understanding of their history and why Asian countries have claims...

[Takechanpoo]

No.

But it isn`t what they say, or even how they say it - but rather what is left unsaid. BTW, this is also true for US history books.

But to ask a question here - do you truly believe that Japanese school history books properly cover the Japan war atrocities - Nanking, 731, beheadings, long pig, slavery, treatment of Okinawan and other civilians, etc.?

your right at the point that J-society still havnt reached common understanding of what we did in ww2 yet and also still put off the conclusion.
btw what happened in Nanjin is nothing more than relatively "small-scaled" atrocity which is one of those small-scaled atrocities carried out by J-empire army all over the china land. but C-government inflated it so much and put up it as a symbol of J-cruelty.

Thus giving Japanese kids a clear understanding of their history and why Asian countries have claims...

excuse me? asian countries?

HELL NO

its ONLY China and Korea. recently its called 特定アジア(specific Asia) or 特ア.

i understand China persistently keeps claiming j-atrocities. they should actually. yea
but....but about kimchese.... they do NOT have the legitimacy to claim anything to japan. japan lawfully colonized them. and they too did the same atrocities as korean japanese at that time like nazi's austrian did. origianlly japan didnt need to apologize to and compensate kimchese nevertheless we did even if it was imcompletely or not. WE DID in spite of no political legitimacy to do it. any other ex-major powers except empire japan have not yet apologized and compensated their ex-colonies because they colonized it lawfully. even germany still havnt. kimchese do love to quote germany every single times though .so at least we japanese should be praised considerably about kimchee colonizaiton things.

[Samurai_Jerk]

its ONLY China and Korea. recently its called 特定アジア(specific Asia) or 特ア.

Filipinos hate you too.

[matsuki]

its ONLY China and Korea. recently its called 特定アジア(specific Asia) or 特ア.

Filipinos hate you too.

Don't forget Australia or New Guinea either...

it isn`t what they say, or even how they say it - but rather what is left unsaid.

But to ask a question here - do you truly believe that Japanese school history books properly cover the Japan war atrocities - Nanking, 731, beheadings, long pig, slavery, treatment of Okinawan and other civilians, etc.? Thus giving Japanese kids a clear understanding of their history and why Asian countries have claims...

Pretty much this...even the article points it out:

Japanese history textbooks do not provide students with a detailed accounting of Japanese colonial rule, particularly in Korea.

and

One clear lacuna is the almost complete absence of accounts of Japanese colonial rule in Korea.

Not that I really want to hear Korean bitching about being owned by Japan...but by ignoring it in the textbooks, it feeds the crazy Korean victimization accounts and Chinese nationalistic accounts. The other issue is when you have politicians who support the "vigorous attempts to refute the view, held by a majority of Japanese, that the nation waged a war of aggression in Asia and the Pacific."

[Wage Slave]

its ONLY China and Korea. recently its called 特定アジア(specific Asia) or 特ア.

Filipinos hate you too.

Don't forget Australia or New Guinea either...

And a lot of Singaporeans, Malaysians and Burmese don't look on that time with any fondness either. Indonesians are generally more positive, I'll grant that. Japanese colonial rule was pretty rapacious, under resourced and violent compared to most - and that's saying something. The Indonesians regarded it as a useful step towards independence so it was fairly welcome on a temporary basis. And hey, it might well have speeded up independence by 10 to 15 years or so.