Monday, June 4, 2012

In 'comfort women' memorial dispute, reminder of duty to remember

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2012/05/in_comfort_women_memorial_disp.html

In 'comfort women' memorial dispute, reminder of duty to remember
Published: Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 7:04 AM
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board

Japanese officials are trying to erase history — or at least, make it quietly fade from memory.
A small monument in Palisades Park memorializes the sexual enslavement of Korean women and girls by Japanese soldiers during World War II — so called “comfort women.” Two delegations from the Japanese consulate in New York have visited the small Bergen County borough (pop. 19,622) to ask that the monument be removed. Town officials, to their credit, have refused. Half of the people who live in Palisades Park are Korean.
There’s no dispute about what occurred. Japan has apologized and established a private fund to pay reparations to descendants. They just don’t want reminders of what they did. Koreans around the country are now determined to create more monuments to the comfort women.
Good. The effort to erase history in a small New Jersey town should leave everyone angry and incredulous.
Think of the precedent it would set if anyone acceded to Japan’s demands.
Japan might ask us to stop commemorating Dec. 7.
Germany could demand the United States shut down the national Holocaust museum.
The United States could ask Japan to halt its annual remembrance of the American A-bomb destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We could stop preserving, as historic sites, internment camps where the United States wrongfully kept Japanese during World War II.
Some people would like nothing better than for Americans to stop discussing or writing the history of slavery.
All painful episodes in history. Undisputed facts. Our duty to the past is simply this: To remember.


EPA/YONHAP
Japanese lawmaker Tsukada Ichiro is surrounded by South Korean correspondents after meeting with the mayor and council of Palisades Park on May 5. Ichiro and three other Japanese lawmakers visited the borough government to call for the removal of a 'comfort women' monument set up at a Palisades Park library, while asserting the content of the monument is false.

http://www.japanalyst.com/japan-requests-us-remove-comfort-woman-memorial

Japan Requests U.S. Remove Comfort Woman Memorial
Submitted by Andrew Joseph on Fri, 2012-05-25 13:01
Feed: Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife : Japan Requests U.S. Remove Comfort Woman Memorial


I recently read a story about how two teams of Japanese officials (no mention was made as to what or who they officially represented) travelled to New York City to ask government officials (again, no idea what department) to remove a plaque remembering Korean comfort women used by the Japanese military during WWII.

Situated outside a public library in Palisades Park (Hey! Isn't Palisades Park in New Jersey?!), the team of Japanese complainers stopped by twice this May to see about getting the 2010 memorial removed, for which Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife assumes is because it embarrasses Japan.

Japan should be embarrassed by this.

Yes, it should be embarrassed about its role in the heinous crime against women, but it should be equally as embarrassed that it should request that the memorial be removed.

Look... I know that statistically-speaking there may not be many of the victims or rapists still alive. But it was a horrible, horrible crime. A crime against humanity.

Canada, New Zealand and Australia utilize the term 'Lest We Forget' when we acknowledge the veteran soldiers who participated in wars to protect the rights of innocents. That's what we do.

Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.

The brass plaque on a stone block reads: "In memory of the more than 200,000 women and girls who were abducted by the armed forces of the government of imperial Japan. Known as 'comfort women', they endured human rights violations that no peoples should leave unrecognized. Let us never forget the horrors of crimes against humanity."

It was dedicated on October 23, 2010 there in Town of Palisades Park in the County of Bergen, New Jersey.

Yes... the stupid article I first read, did indeed get the State incorrect. It is New Jersey!

Obviously, the Japanese attempt to stifle this expression of memorial was deemed distasteful to all non-Japanese involved.

Palisades Park, which has about 20,000 residents, has over half its residents being of Korean descent.

Back in December of 2011, the contentious comfort woman discussion was brought back into the arena after a bronze statue honoring the victims was erected in Seoul, South Korea.

The real contentious part was the decision to erect it across the street from the Japanese embassy there.

Owtch.

The statue of a seated teenaged Korean comfort girl has upset Japan, and says the statue contravenes Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on the dignity of foreign missions.

Of course, South Korea does not call the statue a comfort woman memorial... it's officially called a Peace Memorial. It's a beautiful, sad piece of art.


The comfort memorial, I mean Peace Memorial in Seoul, South Korea.

Now... at least since the issue of comfort women arose back in 1991, Japan has tried to make amends, as they have formally apologized, expressed remorse and responsibility and even offered to set up a Cdn/US $1-billion (~¥79,643,790,000) fund for the victims.

But Korea - or rather some Koreans - say that those actions just aren't good enough.

Apparently because the monies for the fund would be coming from the private sector, the surviving victims say 'no thanks' and want the Japanese government to foot the bill.

The main problem presented by Japan is that according to the 1965 treaties, Japan says it should be exempt from having to pay individual
compensation for the stupid stuff it did while in its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 - 1945. As such, it also includes the issues of the Comfort Women even though it did not come to light until many years later.

You know what? While I know these women and their families suffered terribly, take the damn private money and spend it - while there is still time left to possibly enjoy it! Who really cares where the money is coming from! Take it and spend it on yourself, family, friends, charity - whatever. Why hold it up? It's been 67+ years! I'm not saying to forget - and maybe you don;t even need to forgive - but please, don't let someone else's evil stop you from enjoying life! How does holding out hoping for money from the Government of Japan actually change the fact that these poor women were uses as sex slaves? Screw principle! Do something nice with the money! For others, if not yourself!
Sure... maybe it's not about the money. It's about punishing the Government of Japan. No problem... I see that, too. But that government is long since past. It's not even about the sins of the father any more... it's the sins of the grandfather.

Besides... do you really think Japan has an extra $1-billion lying around? I think not! The damn country is nearly broke!

Take the money! Turn an evil into something good.

So... my diatribe is over.






Korean Comfort Women


(mochi)
really??? half of them were japanese. the left wore western one piece dress woman is seemed a japanese...why you can so conclude clearly??? show the evidence and authority.


Back on May 1, 2012, according to a more reputable report I read, the first Japanese delegation to Palisades Park was led by the consul general Hiroki Shigeyuki (surname first) who acted nicely and presented his case as to why he was there.

On May 6, 2012, a second group arrived led by four members of the Japanese Parliament, who, let's just say, weren't all that nice. Group #2 were members of Japan's official opposition part, the Liberal Democratic Party.

While trying to convince the Palisades Park officials that the monument should be removed, these four idiots set a new bar for idiocy. They tried to convince the Americans that the comfort women were not forced to become sex slaves.

Oh my Buddah. Are you kidding me?

Palisades Park mayor James Rotundo says: “They said the comfort women were a lie, that they were set up by an outside agency, that they were women who were paid to come and take care of the troops.”

Continuing his report of the meeting, the mayor notes, “I said, ‘We’re not going to take it down, but thanks for coming.’”

Okay... after hearing about this, maybe Japan should make the Liberal Democratic Party contribute the $1-billion in reparations. Idiots.

Maybe they would feel differently if the rest of the world had no pity for the atomic bomb victims? Or tell them to suck it up, it wasn't that hot.

Japan, you have no right to ask anyone to remove anything in another country. The same with Seoul's cheeky memorial statue across the street from the embassy in South Korea. I guess they are still pissed off at you.

Suck it up and move on. Hey... couldn't the private sector donate $1-billion to the gov't and then they could give it to the victims... but do it under the table?

I know, I know... no matter how dirty the secret, it will come out.

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph

http://labanforthelolas.blogspot.jp/2012/05/calling-all-artists-filmmakers-song.html

(mochi)

their article have fulled with some biased and racial words...i think people believe the existence of  "comfort women as sex slave by japan" idolatrously, they have some same habits... i guess its interested in studying them from psychiatry...


Korean Bodo League Massacre
Korean Atrocities by American Army immediate following WWII 1946-1949


merican Army (Harry Truman) did not end WWII, but continued in Korean Peninsula from 1946 to 1949.
American Army and Korean Army massacre was 6 million Japanese speaking Koreans.
American Army and UN Army and Korean Army killed more Korean civilians from 1950.




Mass Killings in Korea: Bodo League massacre (The maximum taboo in South Korea) 20万人以上が虐殺された"韓国最大のタブー"保導聯盟事件
BBC NEWS
Civilians 100000 people is massacred by South Korea.




http://www.mslaw.edu
The South Korean police massacred thousands while the American military watched, covered up the atrocity and proceeded to blame the Communists. In this excerpt from The Massachusetts School of Law's program, Books of Our Time, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel interviews Bruce Cumings on his book; The Korean War: A History. Mr. Cumings is the Chairman of the Department of History at The University of Chicago.

The Massachusetts School of Law also presents information on important current affairs to the general public in television and radio broadcasts, an intellectual journal, conferences, author appearances, blogs and books. For more information visit mslaw.edu.
カラーで見る朝鮮戦争
Korean war in color filems




FCCJ "Reviewing Kono statement" by Nishio, Suzuki & Wada
Professional Luncehon "Reviewing Kono statement" by Kanji Nisho, Kunio Suzuki, & Haruki Wada
日本外国特派員協会 Foreign Correspondent's Club of Japan

Professional Luncheon
「河野談話」の見直しに関する下記の三氏の発言の中から主に西尾幹二氏の発言を中心に­抜粋しました。
西尾幹二 Kanji Nishio, Emeritus Professor, the University of Electro-Communications
鈴木邦男 Kunio Suzuki, Senior advisor, Issuikai
和田春樹 Haruki Wada, Emeritus Professor, University of Tokyo

平成25年(2013)4月4日 日本外国特派員協会


参考:
ブログ:株式日記と経済展望:2013年4月14日
「従軍慰安婦問題は、近年米議会が相次いで対日非難決議をするので、日本外交の壁をな­している。西尾幹二」
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/2005tora/e/92aa...

西尾幹二のインターネット目録:
米議会・慰安婦問題決議への憂慮
2013/4/15 月曜日
「日本外国特派員協会での意見陳述」の反響
http://www.nishiokanji.jp/blog/?p=1280



4 comments:

  1. I would like to say firstly that I thank you for writing this blog, it helps me a lot when researching this topic.

    My father and I head the Korean community in a our residing state and we are also trying to erect a memorial.

    Our park had recently put up a Korean War[or called the forgotten war] Memorial site and we thought it would be a good idea to have the women also remembered.

    Your site has been both insightful and very helpful in figuring out where in my discussion/debate will turn to when I ask our county's mayor.

    Thank you very much! You have helped a bunch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi,thank you for your comment,i think you are very smart and faithful person.but on this "the issue of comfort women", i think more sincerely person would be fallen into self-satisfaction...

      i was side of Korean comfort women,but studying more it, i am embarrassed now.

      first,200000 ex-comfort women are still alive today. they live like as streeters in desperate poverty, be dumped from her nephew or niece whom she helped their school expenses.

      US and S.Korea force had kidnapped girls from villages and raped in korean war.
      new S.korean army had enjoyed massacred 1.2 millions citizen in Bodo League massacre 1950.

      you don't know the fact that a lot of japanese girls had been assaulted,raped, and sold to Chinese from korean after WW2

      i think you should hear the story from American ex-soldier who lost his leg in korean war than build a memorial... thank you.

      Delete
    2. I didn't know any of those facts, no.
      But frankly everyone does each other wrong. It's up to the new generation, such as myself, to build these monuments so that we can remember.

      I'm not pointing fingers, no one is innocent.

      But I do believe that monuments and textbooks are there so that we can look and remember, it's a sort of reminder we shouldn't do this kind of thing.

      You see, I am korean and a woman. My grandmother lived through those horrible times, because of it she doesn't know how to read and write.
      I find that because she was stripped of this knowledge, much has been lost.
      She does not speak of anything either, so I cannot see that world from her point of view, or even ask what happened.

      Memorials are just reminders to me, nothing more; which is why I believe that we should have them.

      I don't think you should be embarrassed for writing this blog. It's, as I said before, very insightful and if people want to see the horrors of what others have done they can just browse your blog ^^

      Delete
    3. hi,dear,thank you for your reply.

      well...on the important point of it, korean claim to japan what imperial japan army or military policemen kidnapped korean women as comfort women, but the crimes what received japanese women were from just korean "normal citizens".
      some raped japanese women had been gotten pregnant,fallen to sea by herself.
      i understand you and korean American want to build some memorial written japanese atrocities, its korean custom.
      but when japanese women watch the memorial, we remember the savagery in usually korean people have.

      i respect your grandmother,but excuse my asking,tell me the birth year and birthplace of your grandmother and father.
      in japan annex era,korean enrollment rate was over 60% since japanese governor recommended to go to school.
      but Rhee Syngman president said "poor children and girls should not go to school,rather than its their harm!", as Ryanban;Chosun royal noble.
      then a lot of school in religions went bung..it was not any concerned with korean war.

      i was taught that japan crimes in school from red teachers and had believed.
      but studying by myself,i am embarrassed now.
      could you tell me how or what American teachers teach you about WW2 in class?

      Delete