Takashi
Shinozuka
Consul
General of Japan in Atlanta
Phipps
Tower Suite 850
3438
Peachtree Road
Atlanta,
GA 30326
VIA
FIRST CLASS MAIL
VIA
ELECTRONIC MAIL: info@aa.mofa.go.jp
Dear
Mr. Shinozuka,
I submit this open letter in
response to the Japanese government’s involvement in opposing a World War II
memorial honoring comfort women at the National Center for Civil and Human
Rights (the Center) in Atlanta. The
Japanese government’s actions ultimately led to the Center’s cancellation of a
previously, agreed upon MOU and groundbreaking date of April 27, 2017 for the
memorial with the Atlanta Comfort Women Memorial Task Force (the Task Force). The Japanese government has offered two main
reasons for opposing the World War II memorial-
first, that the Japanese government has already apologized for the
comfort women issue and second, that the
Japanese government is concerned that people of Japanese descent living in the
United States would be exposed to bullying and discrimination as a result of
the memorial.
In regards to the apology issue, the
Japanese government fails to understand the fundamental purpose for the World
War II memorial. The memorial is
notabout the Japanese. The purpose of
the memorial is to honor the over 200,000 girls and women from throughout the
Pacific theater who were trafficked, sexually enslaved, and in many cases
killed during World War II. In addition, the history of the comfort women opens
a bridge to highlight the present day issues of trafficking, sexual slavery,
and violence against women. The memorial is ultimately an apolitical, human
rights issue. However, the Japanese
government wants to hijack the issue away from the comfort women and make it
about the Japanese. If the Consul
General had simply contacted the Task Force, we could have corrected the
Japanese government’s misunderstanding.
Our group has never asked for an apology. We want to honor and focus on the lives of
the comfort women victims and not the perpetrators of the crime. The human
rights of the victims certainly outweigh the concerns of those guilty of the
crime.
In the United States, American
citizens are guaranteed certain rights under the Constitution. The First Amendment guarantees our citizens
the freedom of speech. Expressing our
respect and honoring World War II victims in our American homeland is a
demonstration of our First Amendment right.
The Japanese government’s actions to interfere with a fundamental right
of American citizens on American soil are offensive to me as an American
Citizen. How the Japanese government
governs its own citizens is part of its sovereignty and the Task Force does not
plan to interfere. However, the Japanese
government’s actions to prevent a World War II memorial in a major American
city are an affront to the United States Constitution and all Americans.
Since the Japanese government has
unilaterally raised the apology issue even though our group has never requested
an apology, let me respond with the following questions. Which of the many versions of expressing
regret does the Counsel General refer? Does the Counsel General wish to publish
a clear apology today to clarify all previous government attempts at apology? The Japanese government responds that they
have apologized enough for the comfort women issue. Does that mean that the government has had a
certain number of apologies in mind from the beginning? How many apologies does the government feel
is sufficient? Despite the lunacy of
this line of reasoning, to indulge the Japanese government, I would suggest
that over 200,000 apologies, one for each comfort women would be a starting
point. However, I would suggest that
each act of rape and violence suffered by each comfort women during World War
II demands an apology; then an extremely conservative estimate would be two
million apologies.
Why does a truly apologetic government
allocate $590,000,000 to fight memorial sites, historians, the United Nations
and textbook makers who are speaking on the history of the comfort women
tragedy? Why does a truly apologetic
government want to rewrite history books to expunge mention of comfort women?
Why does a truly apologetic government fight the term “sexual slavery”? Why did
Prime Minister Abe say to the Japanese parliament shortly after the
announcement of the December 2015 comfort women agreement that he has no desire
to apologize ever again for the comfort women issue? Why does a truly
apologetic government say it is tired of saying sorry when so many
international organizations and governments, including the United Nations
(1996, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2017-pending), International War Crimes Tribunal
(2000), United States House of Representatives (2007), European Union (2007),
2015 Joint Statement by Korean, Japanese, and International Scholars for East
Asia’s Freedom from the Past, all continue to demand justice for the comfort
women?
Your public and private statements of
apology are specious and belie the well-documented historical revisionist bent
of the current Japanese government. The
fact is that the current Japanese government led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,
has gone back and forth on its position on the comfort women. It’s also a fact that the Japanese government
has never gone through the process of formal apology and reparations as it
would be defined by the United Nations: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/RemedyAndReparation.aspx. This is unfortunate given the countries of Germany
and my own country, the United States of America, have both made formal
apologies and reparations for their part in World War II.
In regards to the Japanese
government concerns of potential bullying and discrimination against Japanese
living in the United States as a result of a comfort women memorial in Atlanta,
the concerns are unfounded in fact.
There are almost 100 comfort women memorials built or in the planning
stages throughout the world and there is no evidence of a dramatic rise in
anti-Japanese sentiment. There are
thousands of World War II memorials throughout the world that have not led to a
dramatic increase in anti-Japanese acts of discrimination. If there was any memorial or remembrance that
would lead to anti-Japanese discrimination or bullying, it would possibly be
with any remembrance of Pearl Harbor.
But strangely, you express no concern about that better known part of
the Japanese Imperial Army’s attack on U.S. soil during World War II.
In conclusion, the Japanese
government’s two publicly cited reasons for opposing a World War II memorial
honoring comfort women in Atlanta- that the government has already apologized
and concerns of increased bullying and discrimination against Japanese are
unfounded. To take a human rights issue
about trafficking, sexual slavery, and violence against women and to politicize
the issue turning the focus away from the comfort women to the perpetrators of
the crime, Japan, dishonors the comfort women yet again. If all past memorial sites had followed the
Japanese government rationale and if all future sites follow the Japanese
rationale, no World War II memorials would exist. I am relieved that we live in
a country where countless World War II memorials proudly stand and the Atlanta
Comfort Women Memorial should be the next American memorial to stand proudly
forever.
Sincerely,
Kelly
J. Ahn, MD, FACP
Board
Member
Atlanta
Comfort Women Memorial Task Force
Appendix
1. UN REPORTS: Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women,
its causes and consequences, by Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy. Commission of human
rights resolution 1994/95. Report on the mission to the DPRK, ROK, and Japan on the issue of military sexual slavery in
wartime. Jan 4. 1996
2. Contemporary Forms of Slavery.
Systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery like practices during armed
conflict. Final report. By Ms Gay McDougall Special Rapporteur June 22,
1998. Commission on Human Rights. UN
3. DoudouDien UN REPORT 2006
4. Manfred Nowak UN REPORT2008
5. RashioaManjooUN Report 2010
6. Yoshimi Yoshiaki. Comfort Women :
Sexual Slavery in the Japanese a military during WW II Translated by
Suzanne OBrian 1995
7. US House Resolution 121 Mike Honda
6/30/2007
8. European Union Parliament 11/13/2007
Justice for Comfort Women resolution
9. 2015 Joint Statement by Korean, Japanese
and Intnl scholars for east Asia's Freedom from the Past 8.15.2015. 37 Western
scholars 105 Japan. 382 Korea scholars signed. Piie.com/blogs/north-korea-witness-transformation/2015-joint-statement-Korean-Japanese-and -international
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