The Muse of Princess Rose

Say NO to United Nations' abolishment of Traditional Chinese in 2008

2007-08-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

Current Chinese government is pushing United Nation to abolish the traditional Chinese, which is widely used by people in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and overseas Chinese communities. The purpose is to make a UNIFIED Chinese. I'm not sure if it's a good direction to go. Simply I just don't think that UN should endorse this attempt - a form of Chinese culture hegemony towards other Chinese cultural regions in the world.

You can find further details (incl the petition button) in the following link:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/say-no-to-united-nations-abolishment-of-traditional-chinese-in-2008.html

I have signed the petition myself and left my personal comment is as follows:
Keeping the traditional Chinese is one of the best ways to preserve the 2 thousand years old Chinese culture. As a Chinese culture admirer, I cannot imagine to abolish the traditional Chinese characters. Also I wonder how people would be able to read the old Chinese documents without learning traditional Chinese. Which is an actual embarrassment in China, as her young generation cannot understand the cultural heritage...

My Handcraft - Necklace

2007-08-04T02:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a good Japanese friend, I finally finished making the necklace whose materials were there since 3 years.

(finished necklace)

My friend deals with beads and jewelry stuffs deftly. With her help, I didn't get lost in the beads & thread labyrinth and could finally finish the necklace making even after my friend left.

(the mass during making the necklace)

It took me (us) around 6 hours to finish it, and yet I felt really good about it. My first handcraft necklace in Tokyo, probably the last one too :-)

070728 Farewell Party

2007-08-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

My farewell party brought a perfect period to my stay in Tokyo last Saturday thanks to all the friends' participation.

The party photo album is as follows:

or http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/dorashu/070728_TokyoFarewellParty

It's been a bit longer than 4 years since I live in Tokyo. Frankly speaking I'm a bit sad to leave this international and interesting metropolitain city, and yet I'm also very excited about the adventure of my next destination, which is not yet 100% decided.

Many thanks to everybody I've come across in these 4 yours. They are either from Tokyo or other parts of the world. Without them, my life in Tokyo would not have been as unforgettable as it is. THANK YOU!

The direct translation of "good-bye" in Japanese is SAYONARA. But instead, I'd prefer to say: see you all soon, sometime, somewhere!

Trip to Osaka Area 070720 - 26 (1)

2007-07-20T16:23:00.000-07:00

(Rose Garden in the Nakanoshima Island inside of Osaka City)

This is the 3rd time I came to Osaka this year. Still cannot believe that I'd fall in love with this "addicted-to-express-oneself" city only at the end of my 4-year stay in Japan.

Actually I've seen nearly most of tourist attractions in Osaka city during my last two visits (still need to put them in my blog ;-)) except for the supposedly famous aquarium and Universal Studio. As it's easy to find substitutes for both, they simply cannot get any appeal in my visiting schedule. I came back here this time for a special reason - TENJIN MATSURI (天神祭, i.e. festival of heavenly deity).

(Tenjin Matsuri - chariot carried out from Tenmangu Shrine)

Apart from 2-day matsuri, I took the chance to visit the earliest Buddhist holy mountain in Japan - Koyasan (高野山) and explore the 21.5 km pilgrimage track (Choishimichi, 町石道) used by numerous devout Buddhist monks and religious Japanese since around 900AD. It's a very refreshing 2 days of sun & forest bathing, and I felt recharged with energy.

(The Kohondaito - Essential Pagoda - in Koyasan)

Well, all in all, Osaka area (incl. its neighbouring Kyoto, Kobe, Nara and Wakayama prefecture etc.) is a region where one can always find something interesting to do and frequently gets oneself surprised by novelty. If you are curious about what kind of city it is, stay tuned for the coming stories...

May We All Be Coffee

2007-07-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

A life-inspiring story to share with you~

Princess Rose

MAY WE ALL BE COFFEE

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how
things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make
it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It
seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she
placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she
placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a
word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the
carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and
placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her
daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did
and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to
take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the
hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter
smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does
it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in
strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the
boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile.
Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior , but after
sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The
ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seem s strong, but with
pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat?

Did I have a fluid spirit, but after an illness, a death, a breakup, a financial hardship OR some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water,
the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things
are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you
elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you
a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The
brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go
forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

May we all be COFFEE.

God Bless

Resolution 121 - US House committee passes resolution demanding Japan's apology on comfort women (26/06/2007)

2007-06-29T21:55:00.001-07:00

It's in deed a long way, and yet I'm glad to see JUSTICE has been partly served in the US House committee. Australian government is also pushing for Japan's apology on comfort women issue. I sincerely hope that Asian countries which have suffered the Japanese militarist invasion during the WWII will also stand up to give pressure on the Japan's current right-wing government, which has been revising Japan's history textbooks again this year and is amending the Japanese Constitution to reinstall the military force in Japan. There is still a LONG ROUTE ahead...

The following news compilation is quoted from Chinese in Vancouver.

Princess Rose@Tokyo

It's a long road...

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 03:03 AM CDT

U.S. House committee passes resolution demanding Japan's apology on comfort women June 26, 2007

Resolution full text here

June 26, 2007

ENGLISH REPORTS

US - New York Times - Asked for apology, Japan plays for time in sex slavery standoff
US - Associated Press - US lawmakers want apology for sex slaves
US - Reuters - Japan says U.S. sex slave resolution won't harm ties
US - 121 Coalition - National 121 Coalition welcomes vote on 'comfort women' resolution
Korea - Yonhap News - U.S. House committee passes resolution demanding Japan's apology on comfort women
Korea - Chosun - U.S. House Committee Passes 'Comfort Women' Resolution
China - Xinhua - U.S. house panel passes resolution on "comfort women"
Australia - News.com.au - Australian government urged to make Japan apologize
Japan - Kyodo News - Tokyo has apologized repeatedly: Japanese media
Japan - Kyodo News - Some Japanese-Americans fear for 'comfort women' resolution fallout
Japan - Kyodo News Rights groups hail U.S. vote on 'comfort women' resolution
France - AFP - Japan shuns US pressure for 'comfort women' apology
India - Zee News - Sex slave issue: Japan refuses to bow

CHINESE REPORTS

China - 華夏經緯 - 日本44名律師首次聯名要求安倍解決慰安婦問題
China - 中國經濟網 - 媒體:日望通過繼承河野談話使慰安婦問題降溫
Taiwan - 中國廣播公司 - 美促日為慰安婦道歉日說不影響美日關係
Taiwan - 東森新聞 - 美眾院外委會通過決議籲日向慰安婦道歉
Taiwan - 蕃薯藤新聞 - 日本迴避美國會要求對慰安婦事件道歉
Hong Kong - 中國評論新聞網 - 美眾議院譴責日強征慰安婦　要求日正式道歉
Hong Kong - 亞洲時報 - 日44名律師聯署要求安倍徹底解決慰安婦問題
Hong Kong - 商業電台 - 日本拒絕就慰安婦問題道歉
UK - BBC中文網 - 美眾院要求日本就"慰安婦"道歉
US - 多維新聞網 - 美眾議院外委會通過有關"慰安婦"問題決議案
US - 希望之聲廣播電台 - 美眾院決議要日本向二戰間被強迫充當性奴隸的婦女道歉

Asked for apology, Japan plays for time in sex slavery standoff

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:40 AM CDT

New York Times - Even before a United States Congressional panel overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday urging Japan to apologize for its wartime sex slavery, the Japanese government said it would have no comment.

But the vote of 39 to 2 by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs has set the stage for an adoption by the full House of Representatives next month, at which point Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will face pressure to respond in some way or another.

Already Abe, who initially said Japan would not apologize even if the resolution passed, has quieted his defiance in a bid to minimize its impact. In a news conference before the vote, Abe said he had no comment on the resolution, saying only that ties between Japan and the United States were "unshakable."

The nonbinding resolution, which was spearheaded by Michael M. Honda, Democrat of California, calls on Japan to take responsibility in "a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces' coercion of young women into sexual slavery."

Tom Lantos, a California Democrat who heads the committee, said that Japan's refusal to apologize formally was "disturbing to all who value" relations between the United States and Japan.

"Post-war Germany made the right choice," Lantos said. "Japan, on the other hand, has actively promoted historical amnesia. The facts are plain: there can be no denying that the Japanese Imperial military coerced thousands upon thousands of women, primarily Chinese and Koreans, into sexual slavery during the war."

In a statement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she looked forward to passing the resolution in the House and "sending a strong message that we will not forget the horrors endured by the comfort women," the euphemism used in Japan for the sex slaves.

The resolution began gathering support in early March after Abe, who had led a movement to revise Japan's wartime history through his political career, denied the military's direct role in coercing women into sex slavery and said he would not apologize even if the resolution were passed.

After his remarks caused a furor in Asia and the United States, Abe softened his remarks, trying to placate foreign critics and his right-wing base at home.

In his first visit to Washington as prime minister in April, Abe vaguely expressed sympathy for the former sex slaves while carefully avoiding taking any historical responsibility. President Bush, in an attempt to help Abe overcome this issue, said he accepted his apology.

Japan says U.S. sex slave resolution won't harm ties

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:31 AM CDT

Reuters - Japan said on Wednesday that its ties with Washington would not be shaken by a U.S. Congressional move to seek an apology for forcing women to serve as sex slaves during World War Two.

The non-binding resolution introduced by Japanese-American lawmaker Mike Honda was approved 39 to 2 by the House of Representatives' International Relations Committee on Tuesday and is expected to pass to the full house.

"Japan-U.S. ties are unshakable. That will not change in the future," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference.

Shiozaki said Japan would not comment on proceedings in another country's legislature, a stock response apparently aimed at keeping a lid on emotions over the sensitive issue.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe caused an uproar in March when he said there was no proof that the government or the military had forced thousands of women, mostly Asian, into sexual servitude.

He has since apologized to the "comfort women," as the sex slaves are euphemistically known in Japan, and reiterated that he stood by a 1993 government statement acknowledging official involvement in the management of the brothels.

"The prime minister explained his views when he visited the United States in April," Shiozaki said, referring to Abe's apology at a summit with U.S. President George W. Bush.

"BLAME THE VICTIM"

The House committee's chairman, Tom Lantos, called Japan one of the United States' "closest partners in the world."

But he criticized persistent attempts by some conservative Japanese politicians to deny official involvement.

"The continued efforts by some in Japan to distort history and play a game of blame-the-victim are also highly disturbing," Lantos said during the committee's debate.

A group of Japanese lawmakers and commentators placed an advertisement in the Washington Post this month, stating that the women had worked as licensed prostitutes -- a stance Lantos termed "a ludicrous assertion totally counter to the facts."

A group of Japanese activists supporting former sex slaves welcomed the U.S. resolution.

"The women ... have been constantly attacked and abused by the repeated denial from ministers, high ranking officials and professors," the group said in a statement.

Historians say thousands of women -- by one estimate as many as 200,000 -- were taken to frontline brothels to provide sex for Japanese soldiers.

The Congressional panel's passage of the resolution comes at a time when some analysts see a possible rift between Tokyo and Washington over their North Korea policy following last week's surprise visit to Pyongyang by a top U.S. envoy.

Signs of progress towards getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms program have put pressure on Japan to change its stern stance toward Pyongyang.

But Abe has said Tokyo would not provide aid to the North without progress in a dispute over Japanese citizens kidnapped decades ago by Pyongyang's agents.

Rights groups hail U.S. vote on 'comfort women' resolution

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:26 AM CDT

Kyodo News - Human rights groups welcomed Tuesday the passage by a U.S. House of Representatives committee of a resolution seeking an apology from Japan for the sexual exploitation of Asian women by the Japanese military during World War II.

The 39-2 vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee paves the way for a vote on the measure in the full House, which sponsor Mike Honda said could come in the second or third week of July.

The global human rights watchdog Amnesty International applauded the vote and urged the House as a whole to pass the measure.

In a statement, the group called the pressing of women into sexual servitude by the Japanese imperial army "crimes against humanity."

"Amnesty International urges nations across the world to follow the U.S. Congress's lead and put pressure on the Japanese government to ensure that survivors receive full reparation including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation," T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for Asia and the Pacific, said in the statement.

The 121 Coalition, an umbrella group for organizations who support reparations for victims, welcomed the vote and called on House leaders to schedule a full vote on the resolution as soon as possible.

Passage of the resolution "will send an important message to the government of Japan that the remaining comfort women survivors deserve justice and the restoration of their fundamental dignity," the coalition said in a statement.

Rights groups have pressed the Japanese government to act quickly on the issue, pointing to the advanced age and dwindling numbers of women who were forced to work in the military-run brothels during the 1930s and World War II.

A separate coalition comprised of women's rights and humanitarian groups cited the need for urgency in a statement lauding Tuesday's vote.

"The Japanese government must apologize and make reparations when there are 'comfort women' victims still here with us today," the statement said.

That coalition also called on Japan to teach future generations about the comfort women issue in order to prevent a "war crime like this" from happening again.

Sponsors of the measure are hopeful the bill will pass a vote in the full House, which unlike during previous attempts to pass similar legislation, is now under the control of Democrats.

The measure has the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who called Tuesday's vote "a strong statement in support of human rights."

"I look forward to the House of Representatives passing this resolution and sending a strong message that we will not forget the horrors endured by the comfort women," Pelosi said in a statement.

The measure has garnered strong support among both Democrats and Republicans, despite the repeated insistence by Tokyo that the issue has been sufficiently addressed and a warning by Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato that passing the resolution would harm U.S.-Japan ties.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has previously offered an apology for the suffering endured by the women. He has also repeated that he stands by a 1993 official statement acknowledging and apologizing over the matter.

Abe came under fire earlier this year when he appeared to doubt the Japanese military's use of coercion in recruiting women to work in the brothels, although he later expressed regret about misunderstandings over his remarks and reiterated his sympathy for the victims.

The Bush administration has taken a noncommittal stance on the resolution, calling it a matter for Congress to decide. During a visit by Abe to the United States in April, Bush called the comfort women issue "a regrettable chapter in the history of the world" but said he accepted Abe's apology.

Some Japanese-Americans fear for 'comfort women' resolution fallout

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:19 AM CDT

Kyodo News - As a U.S. House committee passed a resolution Tuesday seeking Japan's apology over the sexual exploitation of Asian women during World War II, some members of the Japanese-Americans community expressed concern for the unpredictable impact such a resolution may have on U.S.-Japan relations.

"We do believe that it is important that (neither) this issue nor any other issue have a negative impact on U.S.-Japan relations," said Irene Hirano, executive director and president of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

Hirano made the remark at a New York meeting Monday between leaders of Japanese-American community and Japanese government missions, including Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat, and Japan's Ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato. The meeting, fourth of its kind, was launched in 2003.

"We are oftentimes the first to be impacted when there is a negative relationship between our two countries," Hirano said, adding that the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II was the "direct impact" of the worsening relations between the two.

Citing a more recent example, Hirano said the murder of Chinese American Vincent Chin in the early 1980s stemmed from trade frictions between Japan and the United States. Chin, who was mistaken for a Japanese at a Detroit bar, was beaten to death by two white autoworkers frustrated by the declining industry.

"We are very concerned about issues that might negatively impact our relationship because we feel there is a personal and direct impact that we face," Hirano said.

The House Resolution 121 was submitted in January by Rep. Michael Honda, a California Democrat, and some Republicans. It urges the Japanese prime minister to offer an official and unequivocal apology to the victims, known euphemistically in Japan as "comfort women."

Historians say up to 200,000 young women, mostly from Korea but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, were forced to work in brothels used by the Japanese military.

The issue grabbed the renewed spotlight earlier this year when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced doubts about the Japanese military's involvement in coercive recruitment of such women.

Abe later said he will stand by the 1993 statement issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono that stated that the women were often recruited against their will.

Not all Japanese-American organizations have sided with Tokyo's argument against the passage of the resolution. For example, the Japanese American Citizens League Chicago Chapter adopted a resolution in April formalizing its support for the House resolution.

"I don't think this will significantly impact the Japan-U.S. relations...if anything, it's going to help strengthen them," said Won Kyung Lee, executive director of the Korean American League for Civic Action who has reached out to many Japanese-American organizations in the process of garnering support for the resolution.

Lee said offering unequivocal apology to the aging victims will help improve Japan's relations with its neighbors and will also help increase its standing in the world.

"It's not a personal attack against the Japanese government or the people or Japanese-Americans. I don't think this passage will negatively affect the Japanese-Americans community because we don't look at it as 'us against you.' It's a larger issue...it's more of a global, human rights issue," Lee said.

Now that the committee has voted in favor of the resolution, attention will shift to whether it will be put to a vote on the full floor of the House, with Honda saying the resolution could be voted on possibly in mid-July.

Japan shuns US pressure for 'comfort women' apology

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:15 AM CDT

AFP - Japan on Wednesday brushed aside growing pressure from US lawmakers for a fresh apology for Tokyo's wartime sexual enslavement of an estimated 200,000 women.

"Our government stance has been clarified on many occasions, including (during) our prime minister's visit to the United States in April," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference.

"I don't think we want to add more than that."

By an overwhelming 39 votes to two, the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee on Tuesday passed a resolution calling for an "unambiguous" apology from Japan for the mass coercion of "comfort women" into army brothels.

The vote was met with warm applause in a committee room packed with people, including surviving Korean comfort women. The resolution now goes to a vote in the full House, which could come as early as mid-July.

Abe sparked controversy in March by saying there was no evidence the imperial army directly coerced thousands of women into brothels across Asia during World War II.

He has since stressed he stands by Japan's landmark 1993 apology to the women and expressed his sympathy for the women during his US visit in April.

"I already stated my view when I recently visited the United States," Abe told reporters Tuesday ahead of the US vote.

Asked about the impact the lawmakers' moves could have on bilateral ties, Abe said: "I am convinced that the Japan-US relations are unshakable as an indispensable alliance."

But critics say he has not taken back his initial remarks. Some 44 Japanese lawmakers, including those close to Abe, took out a full-page advertisement in The Washington Post earlier this month denying Japan's military forced the women into sexual slavery.

Tokyo has apologized repeatedly: Japanese media

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:16 AM CDT

Kyodo News - The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee overwhelmingly passed a resolution Tuesday demanding an apology from Japan over the sexual exploitation of young women in the Asia-Pacific region by the Japanese military during World War II.

The nonbinding resolution was approved by 39-2. Rep. Michael Honda, a California Democrat of Japanese descent, and some Republicans submitted in January the resolution about the women, known euphemistically in Japan as "comfort women."

"What they said today in their vote was that, yes, there were victims, there were women who were used as sex slaves, yes, there was a systematic military program that captured, coerced women and girls to be used as sex slaves," Honda told reporters after the passage of the resolution.

"It is time that the Japanese government approach and acknowledge, take full responsibility and apologize in an unambiguous, formal way," he said.

The passage comes despite Tokyo's claim that Japanese prime ministers have repeatedly offered apologies over the issue. Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato has warned that the passage of what he says is a factually unfounded resolution would harm otherwise sound Japan-U.S. relations.

Now that the committee has voted in favor of the resolution, attention has shifted to whether it will be put to a vote on the full floor of the House, with Honda being upbeat on the resolution's passage through the full chamber soon.

"This resolution will go to the floor as a whole, and it'll probably be done the second or third week of July, hopefully," he told reporters, adding that given the 39-2 vote, the resolution "will have a good chance of being passed."

The resolution drew about 140 co-sponsors from both Democratic and Republican parties, which urges the Japanese prime minister to "formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner" for the sexual mistreatment of the former comfort women.

"It is a resolution that seeks admission of a horrible truth in order that this horror may never be perpetrated again," said Tom Lantos, chairman of the committee.
Its passage followed deliberations on proposed changes in wording to somewhat soften the demand for an apology and also added a line to note the importance of Japan-U.S. relations. The changes were proposed by Lantos and ranking member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

Similar resolutions have been submitted to Congress four times. The last resolution won committee-level approval last September, but a full vote by the lower chamber was blocked by the then majority Republican Party.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has previously offered an apology for the suffering endured by the women. He has also repeated that he stands by a 1993 official statement acknowledging and apologizing over the matter.

Abe came under fire earlier this year when appeared to doubt the Japanese military's coercion in connection with the women for the brothels for its soldiers.

During his visit to the United States in April, Abe expressed regret about misunderstandings over his remarks and reiterated that he feels sorry for the women who suffered.

The U.S. State Department took a noncommittal stance on the comfort women resolution, with spokesman Tom Casey saying merely that it is "up to our Congress. They're a separate branch of government, and they'll look at things as they see fit."

"In terms of U.S. policy on this, look, the president spoke to this issue when the prime minister was here and as far as the administration's concerned I think he's made our policy views clear on that," he told reporters.

During Abe's visit, President George W. Bush said the comfort women issue "is a regrettable chapter in the history of the world and I accept the prime minister's apology."

Comfort women resolution full text

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:07 AM CDT

Kyodo News - The following is the text of the resolution on "comfort women" passed through the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday.

Whereas the government of Japan, during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II, officially commissioned the acquisition of young women for the sole purpose of sexual servitude to its Imperial Armed Forces, who became known to the world as ianfu of "comfort women;"

Whereas the "comfort women" system of forced military prostitution by the government of Japan, considered unprecedented in its cruelty and magnitude, included gang rape, forced abortions, humiliation, and sexual violence resulting in mutilation, death, or eventual suicide in one of the largest cases of human trafficking in the 20th century;

Whereas some new textbooks used in Japanese schools seek to downplay the "comfort women" tragedy and other Japanese war crimes during World War II;

Whereas Japanese public and private officials have recently expressed a desire to dilute or rescind the 1993 statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the "comfort women," which expressed the government's sincere apologies and remorse for their ordeal;

Whereas the government of Japan did sign the 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children and supported the 2000 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security which recognized the unique impact of armed conflict on women;
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Whereas the House of Representatives commends Japan's efforts to promote human security, human rights, democratic values, and rule of law, as well as for being a supporter of Security Council Resolution 1325;

Whereas the United States-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of United States security interests in Asia and the Pacific and is fundamental to regional stability and prosperity;

Whereas, despite the changes in the post-Cold War strategic landscape the United States-Japan alliance continues to be based on shared vital interests and values in the Asia-Pacific region, including the preservation and promotion of political and economic freedoms, support for human rights and democratic institutions, and the securing of prosperity for the people of both countries and the international community;

Whereas the House of Representatives commends those Japanese officials and private citizens whose hard work and compassion resulted in the establishment in 1995 of Japan's private Asian Women's Fund;

Whereas the Asian Women's Fund has raised $5,700,000 to extend "atonement" from the Japanese people to the comfort women; and

Whereas the mandate of the Asian Women's Fund, a government-initiated and largely government-funded private foundation whose purpose was the carrying out of programs and projects with the aim of atonement for the mistreatment and suffering of the "comfort women," comes to an end on March 31, 2007, and the fund is to be disbanded as that date: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the government of Japan

(1) should formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces' coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as "comfort women," during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II;

(2) would help to resolve recurring questions about the sincerity and status of prior statements if the prime minister of Japan were to make such an apology as a public statement in his official capacity;

(3) should clearly and publicly refute any claims that the sexual enslavement and trafficking of the "comfort women" for the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces never occurred; and

(4) should educate current and future generations about this horrible crime while following the recommendations of the international community with respect to the "comfort women."

U.S. House Committee Passes 'Comfort Women' Resolution

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:04 AM CDT

Chosun - The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday passed a resolution denouncing Japan's sexual enslavement of Asian women during World War II.

Submitted by Rep. Michael Honda, a California Democrat of Japanese descent, the resolution urges Japan to acknowledge and apologize for enslaving the so-called "comfort women".

Immediately after the committee meeting opened, some 10 representatives scrambled to voice support for the resolution.

According to the resolution, the Japanese government was involved in the conscription of Asian women as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers until World War II ended. The resolution also says the Japanese military forced sex slaves to have abortions and humiliated them to the point of suicide.

Although it is not binding, if it passes an upcoming plenary session of the House the resolution would likely put intense pressure on the Japanese government to overcome its reluctance in admitting to and apologizing for the enslavement of the comfort women.

U.S. house panel passes resolution on "comfort women"

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:02 AM CDT

Xinhua - A U.S. House panel overwhelmingly passed a bill on Tuesday, urging Japan to acknowledge formally and accept responsibility for the sexual exploitation of "comfort women" by the Japanese military during World War II.

The measure, passed on a 39-2 vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is now allowed to proceed to a full House vote.

The passage was greeted by cheers from supporters of bill who crowded the room of House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Amnesty International applauded the vote, and urged the full House to pass the measure.

"Amnesty International urges nations across the world to follow the U.S. Congress's lead and put pressure on the Japanese government to ensure that survivors receive full reparation including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation," according to a statement from the organization.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), said the H.R. 121 resolution "seeks admission of the horrible truth, in order that this horror may never be perpetrated again."

He criticized the Japanese government for continuously promoting "historical amnesia," although "the facts are plain."

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), says the " government of Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces' coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as 'comfort women.'"

It also urges the Japanese Prime Minister to make a public apology, calling on the Japanese government to refute any claims that the episode never happened and wanting future generations to be told of "this horrible crime."

After Tuesday's vote, attention will shift to whether the bill will be put to a vote on the full floor of the House.

Honda said the resolution could be voted on in the full House in mid-July.

An estimated 200,000 women were forced to serve as sex slaves, known as "comfort women," for Japanese forces during World War II, and most of them came from countries invaded by Japan at that time.

However, many Japanese politicians have been constantly denying the crime.

Earlier this month, a group of Japanese politicians and academics put an ad in The Washington Post, saying there is no proof women were forced into sexual enslavement.

The move backfired and sparked furors in many Asian countries and Asian communities in the United States.

U.S. congressional sources said after the incident, many U.S. lawmakers who were ambivalent about the resolution now support it.

Honda said the resolution now has over 140 cosponsors in the House.

"Now there is more support for the measure than ever," said a congressional source, who asked not to be quoted by name.

US lawmakers want apology for sex slaves

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 02:00 AM CDT

AP — A congressional panel on Tuesday endorsed overwhelmingly a resolution urging Japan to apologize formally for coercing thousands of women to work as sex slaves for its World War II military.

The 39-2 approval by the Foreign Affairs Committee allows the measure to be considered by the full House. A large crowd of supporters applauded and cheered after the lawmakers' vote.

Japan "has actively promoted historical amnesia; the facts are plain," the committee's chairman, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said. This resolution "seeks admission of the horrible truth, in order that this horror may never be perpetrated again."

More than 140 lawmakers from both political parties have agreed to co-sponsor the nonbinding resolution, which urges Japan to "formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner" for the suffering of so-called "comfort women" during the 1930s and 1940s.

While popular among U.S. lawmakers, the resolution has caused unease in Japan. Officials there say their country's prime ministers have apologized repeatedly — including during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Washington in April — for the Imperial Japanese Army's forcing of women to work in military brothels during World War II.

Abe said Tuesday he was not in a position to comment on a decision by Congress. But he told reporters that he was "convinced that Japan-U.S. ties remain unshakable."

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki suggested there would be no further apology from the government on the wartime brothels, despite the passage of the resolution by the House committee.

"The alliance between the U.S. and Japan is irreplaceable. There is no change at all to the fact that the Japan-U.S. relation will continue to be unshakable," Shiozaki said.

The State Department did not take a position on the bill. Spokesman Tom Casey said that the resolution is "up to our Congress. It's a separate branch of government; they'll have to look at things as they see fit."

Some U.S. lawmakers questioned the resolution.

"I wonder how many times we expect a government to apologize for the sins of an imperial government of the past," Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo said. "Asking the Japanese government to take historical responsibility for atrocities of the defunct imperial-era government is somewhat counterproductive and unfair to the people of Japan."

Critics contend that, despite the apologies, Japan has never assumed responsibility fully for the treatment of the women.

In Australia, Jan Ruff O'Herne, an 84-year-old former Dutch colonist born in Java who now lives in Adelaide, said she hoped Japan would finally apologize to her and thousands of other women forced to work as so-called comfort women.

"This is a step in the right direction," O'Herne said after the House committee vote. "I'm full of hope. It would be fantastic for the comfort women, late in our lives and after all these years, to get this finalized with an apology."

People across Asia and the United States, including conservative supporters of Japan in Congress, were infuriated at Abe's suggestion in March that no proof existed that the military had coerced women into brothels. U.S. officials later said Abe's subsequent public statements supporting a 1993 government apology were convincing.

Japan acknowledged in the 1990s that its military set up and ran brothels for its troops. It has rejected most compensation claims, saying they were settled by postwar treaties.

The Asian Women's Fund, created in 1995 by the Japanese government but run independently and financed by private donations, has provided a way for Japan to compensate former sex slaves without offering official government compensation. Many comfort women have rejected the fund.

Supporters of the resolution want an apology similar to the one the U.S. government gave to Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during World War II. That apology was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

Historians say up to 200,000 women were forced to have sex with millions of Japanese soldiers during the war.

In February, three elderly former comfort women testified to a congressional panel of their rape, torture and humiliation by Japanese soldiers during the war.

Australian government urged to make Japan apologize

Posted: 27 Jun 2007 01:56 AM CDT

News.com.au - The Australian Government should demand Japan formally apologise for forcing women into sex slavery during World War II, an Australian "comfort woman" says.

Jan Ruff O'Herne, 84, said today she hoped Japan would restore her dignity by formally apologising to her and as many as 200,000 other women forced to work as so-called comfort women for Japan's WWII military.

A US congressional panel overnight overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution urging Japan to apologise for coercing the women to work as sex slaves during the war.

More than 140 US politicians from both parties co-sponsored the non-binding resolution urging Japan to "formally acknowledge, apologise and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner" for the suffering of comfort women.

Ms O'Herne, who travelled to Washington in February to give testimony to the panel of her repeated rape by Japanese soldiers, hoped the Australian Government would make a similar demand.

"It does put pressure onto Japan and I'm hoping that the Australian Government will also come to support this comfort women issue," she said today, noting Canadian and Dutch governments were making similar demands.

"If it comes from more governments, it will put more pressure on Japan. They can't just deny, it's like denying the Holocaust - this happened and they should take responsibility for their actions, which they have never done."

The Adelaide woman said the US resolution gave her hope of a Japanese apology.

"It (a formal apology) would be terrific for the so-called comfort women because we all are getting old and later in life it would be wonderful to get this apology," Ms O'Herne said.

"It would mean a lot ... it would give us back our dignity. And the important thing is it would send a message to the whole world that rape in war is a war crime and should be punished as such."

Lobby group Friends of Comfort Women in Australia today welcomed the US resolution.

"Now the Government of Japan has unprecedented international pressure to right the wrongs of its history," group spokeswoman Anna Song said.

"I hope this activates Australian MPs to show their support, especially ... to Ms O'Herne."

Yes! Comfort women motion passed!

Posted: 26 Jun 2007 09:10 PM CDT

U.S. House committee passes resolution demanding Japan's apology on comfort women

Yonhap - A U.S. House committee on Tuesday passed with overwhelming support a resolution condemning Japan's sexual enslavement of women during the past century.

Resolution 121 passed the Foreign Affairs Committee 39 to 2 after an hour and half of debate by legislators.

But the final text was toned down in part from the initial version that demanded an unequivocal apology by the Japanese prime minister.

Instead, the resolution says it "would help" resolve recurring questions about Tokyo's sincerity "if the prime minister of Japan were to make" a clear-cut apology.

It, however, retains demands that the government of Japan "formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner" for coercion of young women into sexual slavery.

Rep. Michael Honda, the author of the resolution, told reporters immediately after the passage that he is optimistic the resolution will go to the House floor around second week of July and be passed there as well.

Loud applause exploded in the audience as soon as the resolution passed. Former comfort women and Korean-American activists who spent years advocating their cause were seated throughout the audience, watching the debate.

By Tuesday, 149 congressmen co-sponsored the resolution, well over the 120 asked for by committee leaders before marking it up for a vote.

This is the second time that the House committee endorsed the resolution on comfort women, a euphemistic term for tens of thousands of young girls, mostly Korean, who were forced into prostitution to serve Japanese soldiers before and during World War II. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule at the time.

The House body, previously called the International Relations Committee, passed a similar resolution in September last year. Resolution 121 was endorsed again by the new Congress, controlled by Democrats.

Earlier resolutions, proposed in 2001 and 2005, expired even before reaching a committee vote.

Committee chairman Tom Lantos said Tokyo's refusal to officially apologize to the comfort women was "disturbing."

"Post-war Germany made the right choice. Japan, on the other hand, has actively promoted historical amnesia," he said.

Amnesty International applauded Tuesday's results.

"Amnesty International urges nations across the world to follow the U.S. Congress's lead and put pressure on the Japanese government to ensure that survivors receive full reparation, including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation," it said in a statement.

A coalition of Korean-American groups put out a joint statement saying the victims will now "be able to restore their dignity."

"We are convinced that in the near future, the House of Representatives will also pass the resolution."

Honda, a Californian Democrat, submitted the resolution in January. His role drew public attention because he is of Japanese ancestry. His family was a victim of internment during World War II, an experience he said propelled him to seek Japan's apology for comfort women just as the U.S. did for the internment.

The final text was amended in an agreement between Lantos and ranking member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to add two paragraphs emphasizing the U.S.-Japan alliance.

The alliance is the "cornerstone" of U.S. security in Asia and the Pacific, the amendment said.

The two countries continue to cooperate on "shared vital interests and values... including the preservation and promotion of political and economic freedoms, support for human rights and democratic institutions," it said.

Lantos said the Congress does not seek to hold Japan in "perpetual punishment."
"We want a full reckoning of history to help everyone heal, and then move on," he said.

Rep. Donald Manzullo, a Illinois Republican, voted no on the resolution, questioning whether the committee "has the wisdom" to judge another country.

"We are being asked to vote on the quality of acknowledgement and the quality of the apology as argued between two great allies," he said.

Lantos quickly rebutted, saying, "We are not dealing with inter-country disputes. We are dealing the fundamental issue of human rights."

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher voted in favour, but asked that the committee also consider a separate resolution lauding the importance of U.S.-Japan relations.

--------------------------
REACTIONS

The 121 Coalition

The 121 Coalition, a national coalition representing nearly 200 civic organizations committed to defending the human rights of "Comfort Women" survivors, enthusiastically welcomes today's passage of House Resolution 121 in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The resolution, designated as H.Res. 121, was introduced by Representative Michael Honda (D-California) last January. It expresses "the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government of Japan should formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery, known to the world as 'comfort women,' during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II."

H.Res. 121 has received bipartisan support from 149 co-sponsors and today's vote is an indication that this historic resolution is headed for passage by the full House of Representatives. "We commend the leadership of Chairman Tom Lantos for championing H.Res.121 before the full Committee on Foreign Affairs," said Annabel Park, National Coordinator for the 121 Coalition. "We now respectfully ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to schedule consideration of H.Res.121 on the House Floor as soon as possible."

Members of the coalition feel that passage of H.Res.121 will send an important message to the Government of Japan that the remaining "Comfort Women" survivors deserve justice and the restoration of their fundamental dignity, and that truth, reconciliation, and stability in the region require Japan's acknowledgment of historical responsibility for its World War II-era policies. From 1932 through the end of World War II, during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands, the Government of Japan organized the systematic trafficking, enslavement, and brutal rape of 200,000 girls and women. H.Res.121 calls on the Government of Japan to officially acknowledge and accept responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for organizing and maintaining this system of sexual slavery.

The 121 Coalition, comprised of human rights and pan-Asian civic organizations from across the United States, remains deeply committed and fundamentally united in our support for this important human and women's rights issue.

For more information about H.Res. 121.

Amnesty International

T. Kumar, Amnesty International USA Advocacy Director for Asia & the Pacific, issued the following statement in response to today's committee passage:

"Amnesty International applauds the Foreign Affairs Committee for passing House Resolution 121, and urges the full House to pass the measure.

"Tens of thousands of women were abducted and deceived into becoming 'comfort women,' forced to live in military-controlled 'comfort stations' and repeatedly raped and condemned to sexual slavery. Comfort stations were organized throughout occupied Asia before and during World War II. Amnesty International strongly believes that the crimes perpetrated against these women were crimes against humanity.

"Amnesty International urges nations across the world to follow the U.S. Congress's lead and put pressure on the Japanese government to ensure that survivors receive full reparation including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation."

More on Amnesty International's work on Japan

070607 - 12 Trip to HK III - Gourmet's Paradise 2

2007-06-21T04:19:00.000-07:00

If you don't have a local gourmet to guide your palate, you'll probably never be able to find Lin Heung Tea House (蓮香樓) at Central Hong Kong.

Before my best friend SY, married with a HK guy and living in HK for 10 year, took me there, she warned me seriously that Lin Heung Tea House is not a FANCY restaurant, and I probably would feel very uncomfortable with their rather shabby outlook, chaotic atmosphere and lack of service. She, however, definitely wanted to show me this typical Cantonese restaurant, for it might be the last one which still serves dim-sum (or yam-cha in Cantonese) in the old way. It's, of course, not a difficult task to satisfy someone just getting back from Nepal, especially concerning food.

To my surprise, it turned out to be one of the best experiences I had in HK during my 4-day visit. I enjoyed its food and atmosphere so much that I even went there twice. A Hong-konger sitting next to me during my second "tasting" told me that he is a regular there, and it's the BEST DIM SUM restaurant one can find in HK. I believe him, for my friend SY's husband's grand grandfather went there for dim sum, and it's a well-know dim sum place with over 80 years history.

Savour delicious dim sum in an authentic set with a sort of melancholic atmosphere when you are in Hong-Kong next time. As a gourmet, you wouldn't want to miss it.

The restaurant is at the Wellington Str, next to the SOHO restaurant area.

070607 - 12 Trip to HK II - Gourmet's Paradise 1

2007-06-16T00:58:00.000-07:00

Having been traveling & living in more than 30 countries in the world, I dare to say that Hong Kong is one of the gourmet's paradises on earth!

Besides the local Kantonese cuisine, you can find all varieties of the Chinese cuisine, such as spicy Sichuan dishes, sweet glutinous Shanghai kitchen, Beijing style imperial taste etc. In addition, HK is also the hub for western and other Asian cuisines. French, British, American, Thai, Indian, Egyptian etc. You name it. As long as you've got enough space in the belly, no worry about finding the right food for it.

After 2-week stay in Nepal, where Nepali/Newari/Indian food is the mainstream kitchen and rather monotone, I found my stomach has been well compensated for the lack of varieties. With 5 days in HK, I tried my best to savour as many sorts of Kantonese and Haka delicatessen as possible. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts after each meal etc. I've never eaten so much food within such a short period in my life!!!! Here I owe a thank to Nepal - without 2 weeks of nearly "fasting" (my stomach was frequently empty there - either no food to feed or food getting in & coming out fast), I wouldn't be able to swallow all these dishes!

070607-12 香港之旅(一) / Trip to HK (I)

2007-06-14T06:05:00.000-07:00

Spider man@Lan-Kwai-Fong
蘭桂坊的蜘蛛人

I've been to HK 4 times so far, and the 1st time was back to 1997. Each visit accidentally corresponds to significant turning points in my life, therefore, HK stays a special place for me. I'd especially like to mention one of my best GFs since high school - SY. Without her, I think I'd have never visited HK. Thank you, SY!

Besides SY, I had a chance to meet several friends there this time:
- Mark & Susan with 2 lovely sons - my elementary schoolmate and high schoolmate
- Mandy - a lovely pretty girl I got to know through work and with whom I could become good friend
and other nice people I met by destiny...

On my way from Nepal back to Tokyo, the visit of HK this time has become the most wonderful experience for me.
- It's a civilization which I'm familiar with and feel comfortable with.
- It's great to see one of my best GFs after 5 years
- It's nice to meet with a couple whom I met for the last time 7 years ago
- It's cool to finally meet someone I've known for 2 years without being able to meet in person, and we had such a good time together that I nearly missed my flight!
- I appreciate with 100% gratitude everything I can get there: clean water, yummi food, comfort and everything you name in a modern society after 2 weeks of adventure in Nepal
- I was with a lovely COMPANY and with an amazingly GOOD MOOD for every new/old thing/place I do/be...

Well, this stop-over was simply the best of best experience. Thank you all, my dear friends in HK!

More photos to be seen@:

What a Shame for Taiwan

2007-06-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

As a decendent of WWII victim country and a TWN-CN origin, i condemn the Japanese political leaders' visit and tribute to the Yasukuni Shrine each year. To my sad surprise and disappointment, the TWN ex president Lee did the most humilating thing to all the TWN people yesterday for his own political ambition. He does not only damage his own prestige but hugely shame people of TWN. I hope that the incumbant DPP government will react to this event.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20070608TDY02009.htm

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui on Thursday visited Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where his older brother--who died in the Philippines while serving in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II--is enshrined.

Lee told reporters after the visit: "I was with my brother after 62 years. It made me cry."
However, the visit is likely to trigger further criticism from China, as Beijing considers Lee as the representative of Taiwan's independence movement.

Lee, 84, was accompanied by his wife, Tseng Wen-hui, and married writers Shumon Miura and Ayako Sono at the shrine, which enshrines Class-A war criminals along with other war dead.
At a press conference he gave at a Tokyo hotel before going to the shrine, Lee said there was no political motive for his visit. "[My elder brother and I] got along very well, but we parted 62 years ago in Kaohsiung [in southern Taiwan], and that was it. At our home, there's no hair or bone from my brother--even no plate to remember him," Lee said. "Now, Yasukuni is the only place where he rests."

Lee said after arriving in Japan on May 30: "I can't bear not to visit Yasukuni Shrine and pay tribute, as a brother and out of human nature."
(Jun. 8, 2007)

Japan Travel Note I : Tannonwa, Wakayama Pref

2007-05-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

My best Australian friends - Margie & Chris were staying @Tannowa, Wakayama for some time in April and May, and I had the pleasure to visit them twice during the cherry & azalea blossom season.

They are now upsailing along the Nihon Kai (Japan Sea) and on their way to Russia with their sailing boat - Stormbay...

Hope that everything is going well with them!

BTW, Tannonwa has a beautiful white sandy beach and is supposed to be the most beautiful beach in Wakayama! Too bad that it ws still a bit chilling to jump into the sea while I was there...

Kisses from Japan!

Prelude of Japan Travel Note

2007-05-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

ALOHA!
LONG TIME NO SEE, my dear friends!

Sorry for a long silence.

I've been roaring and wandering all over Japan - twice to Kaisai Area (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Tannonwa @ Wakayama Pref. etc.), and a trip to the southernest tip of Japan: Yaeyama Islands of Okinawa Pref, incl. Ishigaki Island, Iriomote Island and Taketomi Island etc.

Have done list:
- Hanami (Cherry blossom appreciation)
- Tourism (museums, parks, castles, temples, shrines etc)
- Night life (Salsa clubbing, Karaoke, hanging out in fishy bars@Namba, Osaka...)
- Swimming, snorkeling, hiking, trekking, canoeing...

Of course, photographing too!

Lots of stories to tell and many pictures to share, so please be patient with my snail-crawling speed!

In addition, I'll be absent again from 24th May until 12th June. The destination this time is far far away: the country of Himalaya - Nepal!

Princess Rose@Tokyo, Japan

Japan's Emperor Hirohito and Yasukuni Shrine

2007-04-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

People who pay attention to Japan, China, Korea or Asia are probably all aware of the sensitivity of the issue about Yasukuni Shrine and the disputed pilgrimages made by any high-level Japanese polictians, incl. its prime ministers so far.

The recently revealed diary of Emperor Hirohito's chamberlain has attracted much attention to this issue after the agitation of "comfort women" both in Japan and abroad.

I found it interesting to see this diary made public at this moment by the media, after Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made several "considerablly inappropriate" statements regarding comfort women and when he is "briefly" visiting US (only 1 night 2 days schedule) at the moment. Although he has so far not visited Yasukuni Shrine since being in power, whether he is gonna stay out of Yasukuni and its related international quarelle to further demonstrate his sincerety of pursuing peace and reconciliation with other Asian countries, mainly China and Korea, or pay his respect to the Shrine at the most important moment during the year - Obon period in Japan (mid-August), as Japanese right wing supporters expect him to do, remains to be observed and followed...

************************************************************************************

Hirohito quit Yasukuni Shrine visits over concerns about war criminals: diary

AP - Emperor Hirohito stopped visiting a Tokyo war shrine at the center of Japan's diplomatic dispute with neighboring nations because of displeasure over its 1978 enshrinement of top war criminals, according to new documents published Thursday.

The insights, provided in the diary of a former imperial chamberlain, reinforce earlier findings from private memorandums that shed light on why the wartime emperor stopped visiting Yasukuni Shrine after his eighth trip in 1975.

In a July 31, 2001, entry of his diary, published by the Asahi newspaper, the chamberlain, Ryogo Urabe, wrote that "the direct cause" was that the emperor was "displeased about the inclusion of Class A war criminals."

Hirohito, under whose name Japan marched across most of Asia in the first half of the 20th century, died in 1989. His son, Akihito, is Japan's current emperor and has never made a pilgrimage to Yasukuni.

The shrine honors Japan's 2.5 million war dead. Visits by Japanese leaders and lawmakers to Yasukuni have long been a source of friction between Japan and its neighbors because the shrine is seen by many as a symbol of Japan's pre-1945 militarism.

In an entry dated April 28, 1988, Urabe said he had been summoned to meet the emperor and that the topic of discussion was the inclusion of war criminals at Yasukuni and China's opposition to the move, the Asahi said.

That passage exactly matches an entry in a diary kept by the Imperial Household Agency chief, Tomohiko Tomita, who had met the emperor before Urabe that day. That passage was made public last year in a report by the Nikkei newspaper.

In Tomita's memo, he quoted the emperor as saying he had stopped his visits after the chief priest at Yasukuni, Nagayoshi Matsudaira, decided to include top war criminals among those commemorated at the shrine, the Nikkei said.

Hirohito said he wondered what the priest was thinking, according to Tomita's account, given the pro-peace views held by the priest's father, Yoshitami Matsudaira, who had been head of the Imperial Household Agency after the war.

"Matsudaira had a strong wish for peace, but the child didn't know the parent's heart," Tomita quoted the emperor as saying, the Nikkei reported. "That's why I have not visited the shrine since. This is my heart."

The diary of Urabe, who died in 2002, will be published in a series of books, the Asahi said. Tomita died in 2003.

Travel, Travel, Roaring Heart ~

2007-04-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

很多朋友也許以為這陣子我消失了, 其實, 一直在旅行, 在世界旅行, 也在腦海裡, 心裡旅行.
I've not been disappearing, I have been travelling. Travelling in the world, in my mind, in my spirit.

想把所有的東西寫下來, 可是力不從心, 時間有限. 同時, 旅行而來的心靈啟發, 思想刺激, 需要一些時間來消化, 內化為自己的一部分. 這也是我喜歡旅行的原因吧. 旅行, 讓我有活著, 存在的感覺.
The impulse to write everything down is strong and pounding, and yet energy and time is limited.
Meanwhile, the inspiration and stimulation from the search of my voyage in the world and the universe need time to be digested by me and be intergrated into a part of me.
This is why I love travelling. I feel alive and existing in the world...

幾度尋尋覓覓, 暮然回首, 燈火闌珊處的家, 在哪裡? 不想再流浪了......
Search all over the world, look back where I've been, is the sweet home here? No desire to roar anymore...

My Celebrity Look-alikes 2

2007-04-23T04:17:00.000-07:00

Another collage...

My Celebrity Look-alikes

2007-04-23T03:02:00.000-07:00

Reading one of my best friends' blog, I found this funny "celebrity look-alikes" thing. The even funnier fact is that "my look" is collaged with a set of 10 totally different faces if I try with different photos of mine, or more precisely speaking: a different hair-style.

Nevertheless, one celebrity does appear in my two trials: the figure skating queen Michelle Kwan. Well, I take it as a nice surprise, as I've been her fan for a long time and always consider her one of the prettiest figure skaters...

Have a try by yourself with the following link:
http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/celebrity-collage.php

NOTE: Try to take a large, front-facing and straight faced photo. For the result will vary if you appear small in the photo uploaded.

070422 Cherry's Wedding Party @ Tokyo

2007-04-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

After getting married last Nov. in Tainan, Taiwan, one of my best friends, Cherry, finally held a wedding party (ni-ji-kai*, in Japanese) in Tokyo and met the "satisfaction" of her families and all good friends.

Here, one important thing should be noted: Cherry is Japanese with Taiwanese origin, and is married to Tomoki san, a Japanese lawyer.

The wedding party was held at a chic trendy cafe, Cafe Selon, @ Namiki Dori, Aoyama, Tokyo. Besides the delicious buffet and convivial atmosphere, there were several climax in the whole party, such as:

The bride and the groom's entry into the party - white wedding dress and white suit, bowing (typical Japanese) and bowing again. ;-)

The BOSS of and the most important "elder character" from the groom, to everyone's surprise, has given us a long (at least 20 min?!) and depicted speech about the groom's virtues and competence at work. (Pls bear in mind, he is the boss of a prestigeous law firm in Tokyo.)

Best wishes to and personal words about the couple from their internationally composed guests - Japanese, Taiwanese, German etc.

A karaoke entertainment arranged with a beautiful Chinese love song by a lovely duet.

Last, but not the least, a LOVE LETTER reading by the bride to the groom - I personally consider it as the climax of the climax, and the letter was so touching that I felt my eyes were getting a bit moist...

All in all, it was a wonderful two hours time - Japanese are punctual. When it's written from 12:00 to 14:00, then it ends at 14:00 sharp without any possible delay or surprise - and I really enjoyed it. Compared to the wedding banquet style, crowdy and noisy, in Taiwan, I always find the Japanese style brings more communication among participants during the party. It's said that some people also consider wedding parties as a "channel" to meet potential candidates for their future partners, and I wonder if it's still the case in Japan now...

MORE PHOTOS:

070422_Cherry's Wedding Party / 結婚派對 / 二次會

* NOTE: In Japan, wedding is usually composed of 2 parts.

1st is the wedding ceremony, which you can either opt for a traditional Japanese style in a Buddhist temple or a Shintoist shrine, or a western style in a church or a wedding chapel. A luxurious lunch or dinner will follow the ceremony. Only the closest family members, the most important elders in the personal relationship of the bride and the groom, namely bosses in the working relationship, and best friends will be invited to this part. The number of guests varies from the wealthiness and the social importance of the couple's families. In a normal case, the guests are limited between 20 to 30.

Unlike the custom in west, i.e. list of marriage or gifts giving, guests are expected to make financial contribution (money in special wedding envelope) to the couple as they arrive at the ceremony. For it's very expensive for Japanese to hold a wedding ceremony in Japan. A modest budget is estimated at around 1 mio Japanese Yen (around 9,000USD). Of course, guests are not supposed to feel "deprived" from the couples, so they will usually receive a "thank you" gift prepared by the couple's side, following to a luxurious meal.

2nd part is the wedding party for friends and colleagues, also called "Ni-ji-kai" in Japanese (meaning the 2nd party). This party often takes place in a stylish restaurant, and guests will be required to pay for their food and drinks - it's usually called "kai-hi" (participation fee) , and the menu is decided by the couple before hand. This kind of party is aimed for the new couple to share their joy with good friends, so it is held in a more casual and entertaining form. A witful animator is often present, and some funny words and programs are usually arranged.

As the bride and the groom will invite good friends from each side, the party is also considered as an opportunity for meeting new people for all the participants.

Seven questions: Japan's sex slaves problem

2007-04-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

The following is a very interesting interview of Prof. Gerald Curtis by Foreign Plolicy Journal. It is not only concerned with the issue of "comfort women", but we can get a even broader understanding about Japan and China in a more general sense.

Enjoy!

PS: I have bolded and italiced a part of the interview, for I found it extremely valuable to understand the difference between Chinese and Japanese...

************************************************************************************

Foreign Policy journal - Japan’s struggling prime minister provoked a firestorm of controversy recently when he said there was no proof that the Japanese military kidnapped women to work as sex slaves during World War II. FP asked Gerald Curtis, a top expert on Japanese politics, why Japan has so much trouble moving beyond its past.

Shinzo’s got a problem: The trouble with Abe is that he isn’t very able.

FP: Why is Japan’s use of “comfort women” or “sex slaves” popping up as a topic, more than 60 years after the end of World War II?

Gerald Curtis: It’s popping up because the current leadership thinks they’ve apologized enough for wartime misdeeds, and they don’t want to be pushed around on this issue anymore.

FP: In 2005, China erupted in what looked like orchestrated anger over a controversial Japanese textbook that glossed the “Rape of Nanking.” It’s the same general topic, World War II historical wrongs, but China’s reaction has been muted this time. What’s changed?

GC: First of all, that’s a different issue. But what’s changed is that the Chinese strategy has changed. They’re trying to avoid this history issue getting in the way of the relationship. Plus, it’s difficult to have big problems with Japan and not, in some way or another, get caught up in problems with the United States. They want to focus on their internal development, not be distracted by problems in their external relations. They appreciate that [Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe went to Beijing first thing as soon as he became prime minister. And as long as he doesn’t visit the Yasukuni Shrine, which was their big issue with [Abe’s predecessor Junichiro] Koizumi, they’re going to try to downplay these history issues. So they’re playing it very differently now than they did when Koizumi was in office. In any case, the comfort women issue is not such a big issue for China; it’s a bigger issue for the Koreans.

FP: Picking up on your last comment, it seems like there’s been more reaction to the comfort women issue in the United States than in Asia. Why would the U.S. Congress want to get involved in a controversy that’s between Japan, China, and South Korea, but has nothing to do with the United States?

GC: It’s true that the congressional resolution that Congressman [Mike] Honda [of California] put forward deals with an issue that Americans are not directly a party to, which was the use of women in Asia for forced sex with the Japanese military. But when the Japanese prime minister sounded as though he was defending the actions of the Japanese military during the war, by saying that in some narrow sense, these women were not forced into prostitution—I mean, it’s really outrageous—that not only angered Korean-Americans and Chinese-Americans and others who have a direct interest in this issue, but it angered anybody who’s concerned about human rights and women’s rights. And the prime minister and the leadership in Japan handled it almost as badly as could be imagined. More recently, he’s been trying to undo the damage by saying that, as prime minister of Japan, he feels these women’s pain, he apologizes, and that he reaffirms the statement that was made in the 1990s by the then chief cabinet secretary, Mr. Kono, which was an official government apology for the treatment of these women.

FP: Is that enough?

GC: I don’t know what’s enough at this point because the situation has really gotten so nasty. These very conservative Japanese draw a line between what they say were women being forced by the Japanese government to provide sexual services, and women who were recruited some other way, possibly by middlemen. It’s a distinction without a difference. Some of these women were 14 and 15 years old. They were forced to become sex slaves for the Japanese military. So were middlemen used to recruit them? Yeah, probably. Did the military rape some of these women directly and recruit them themselves? Yes, definitely. The Japanese government says there’s no written evidence to confirm that the Japanese military forcibly recruited these women, but there’s the testimony of these 16 comfort women. It’s the worst possible issue for Japan. They can’t say anything that seems as though it’s defending the awful actions of the Japanese government during its militarist period, and expect that anybody anywhere is going to be sympathetic. Too many of the conservatives in Japan have convinced themselves that it’s just what they call the “left-wing American media” that is playing up this issue for its own purposes, without saying what those purposes are. So there’s a lot of self-delusion going on here about how bad this is for Japan’s image.

FP: According to the latest poll numbers, Abe is down to about a 35 percent approval rating just six months into his time in office. Why is he so unpopular?

GC: Because the public hasn’t been convinced that he knows what he wants to do about Japan’s domestic issues and how to do it. The public is concerned about things like healthcare, pensions, taxes, education of their children. What are his policies? It’s not clear. Plus, there’s the sense that after Koizumi’s radical approach, Abe is going back to politics as normal, the bad old ways. He doesn’t really have much leadership ability, to manage his own cabinet, etc. All of those things are contributing to this continuing decline in his support ratings. It doesn’t seem to have leveled off yet.

FP: How does the comfort women issue play into that?

GC: I’m sure this issue with the comfort women is hurting him a lot, because there isn’t much sympathy among the Japanese public for his position. I think there’s some concern that it’s leading to a deterioration in relations with the United States, the most important relationship Japan has. As for Abe’s statements, I think he said what he believed without thinking very hard about either playing to his conservative base or what the consequences would be abroad. Before he became prime minister, he was one of the leaders of the group that wanted to revise the so-called Kono statement about Japan’s culpability for forcing those women into sex slavery. So he said what he believed. Yeah, it plays to his narrow base of hard-core right-wing support, but I think it cost him more broadly, both domestically and internationally. The Japanese conservative leadership has not come to grips with World War II, so there’s a politics of denial here. This is not majority sentiment in Japan, but it happens to be a very strong sentiment among the group that’s in power in Japan.

FP: Japan has a history of baffling foreign observers. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, for instance, once described the country as having “intangibles of culture that America is ill-prepared to understand fully.” What do you think most outsiders still don’t get about Japan?

GC: It’s hard to find Japanese who can explain what Japan is thinking in a way that foreigners can understand. It’s very different when you interact with Chinese elites. They’re very articulate. They have a global vision. They have a worldview. They know what they think and they tell you. But the Japanese cultural tradition is quite different, so you have to be able to read between the lines. You have to be able to hear it in the Japanese language, and there aren’t very many people who can do that. So they’re not very good at articulating their views, and that leads to all kinds of guesswork about what they’re up to. The fact is, even with all the changes going on, and this right-wing leadership in power now, the Japanese defense budget is not increasing. They’re reaching out for a bigger role abroad, but in a pretty tentative and limited manner. They’ll probably continue to muddle through—take some tough positions like they have on the abductee issue with North Korea—but the idea that they’re on the march to become a great military power with power projection capabilities and challenge the Chinese and so on? I don’t buy it.

Gerald L. Curtis is professor of political science at Columbia University. He is the author of numerous books on politics in Japan and U.S.-East Asian relations.

Sometimes, we just need to get ourselves loved by ourselves...

2007-04-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

It was the toughest day yesterday so far this year.
Long, full with tears and filled with emotions :
love, sorrow, sadness, regrets, anxiety, helplessness,
lust, desire, infatuation, passion, affection,
joy, fantasy, lack of confidence, etc...

After all the emotions being channelled out,
all the thoughts sorted out,
a fresh new feeling is there again.

It's a feeling of being reborn, energy regenerating,
a new perspective of life, a re-confirmation of possibilities in myself,
and a brand new set-off for a course in self-orientation/self-search...

To reward myself, I went for a nail design art "treat" today.
It fixed the seriousely-neglected side of me.

Looking at my fingers after an intensive car,e and with the pretty design coat,
I felt spring has come to my life with all the cherry blossoms in every corners of Tokyo.
In the warm sunshine, life is as bright as the sun and as smelly as the flowers.

(The most popular nail art designs in Tokyo - with bio sculpture gel.
Besides color gradation, multi-color Rhinestones in different shapes and hand-paintings
can all be done by nail artists. )

(Different from acrylic liquid and powder sculpture,
bio sculpture gel is a thin coat treatment to be put on nails and
can strengthen and promote the growth of nature nails.
You can also have extention added up to make your finger nails look longer and prettier.
I had a bio sculpture treatment without extention
cus my nail artist suggested the extention would work better a month later
when I get used to the nail treatment.
The bio sculpture can usually last for 1 month,
and then a "repair" or "repaint" would be needed. )

Asahi Shinbum's Column: POINT OF VIEW

2007-04-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

POINT OF VIEW/ Koken Tsuchiya:Open up stored records on 'comfort women'

04/16/2007

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

The government and the Liberal Democratic Party have overreacted to the draft resolution introduced in January to the U.S. House of Representatives that demands Japan formally acknowledge and apologize for forcing women to provide sex for Japanese soldiers during the wars. Similar resolutions have already been adopted by the parliaments of South Korea and Taiwan, so the move is nothing new.

Japan has been strongly urged on repeated occasions to resolve the "comfort women" issue by such international organizations as the United Nations Human Rights Council, the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Labor Organization.

Those facts shows that not only countries that suffered under the Japanese military think Japan has yet to settle the "comfort women" problem, but international organizations that generally maintain neutrality also think so.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Aso insist "there was no coercion in the narrow sense" and there are "factual errors" in this view of history.

But their arguments do not seem well-grounded. The governments of the Netherlands and South Korea, which both suffered damage from Japan, and these international organizations have conducted their own investigations, including interviews with former comfort women. They have recognized the pain that was inflicted on these women.

On a number of occasions, I have also met and listened to the stories of victims from countries that suffered damage. From what I learned, particularly in countries occupied by Japan such as China and the Philippines, in many cases, women were kidnapped, attacked or confined directly by the military without any involvement by private operators.

Japanese courts have also found evidence of and acknowledged the fact of coercion. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations dispatched members to the related countries to look into damage reports, and it publicized the results. Based on its findings, the federation has four times urged the prime minister to make a formal apology and extend compensation to individuals.

I agree with the theory that the current confusion is caused by the ambiguity of the government's survey released in 1993 and in the wording of the statement issued by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono.

Meanwhile, there is little evidence that the government has seriously pursued its investigation since 1993. It has been passive at best, not even bothering to interview the surviving comfort women, except for a few in South Korea. Some naysayers have even taken advantage of the government's inadequate response to this issue to try to discredit the Kono statement.

The government must take the blame for failing to take proper measures. It must look further into the situation and hear from the victims to reveal the true situation of "comfort women" and wartime coercion.

Successive prime ministers have offered "apologies." But neither prime ministers nor foreign ministers have ever personally met with these aging victims.

Listening to these leaders' recent statements in the Diet, I got the impression they have not bothered to read the reports released by the Dutch government after 1993, nor the moving account of "comfort women" on the Indonesian island of Buru that was written more than 30 years ago by prominent Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer (1925-2006).

Speculation that is not based on a thorough investigation lacks persuasive power.

It is illogical to argue that just because no official documents can be found that record the coercion, it therefore never happened. While many documents were burned when Japan lost the war, a large number of documents still reside silently in storage rooms at ministries, awaiting a full investigation to reveal the truth.

A proposal to set up a special bureau within the National Diet Library to examine such documents, and bills aimed at settling the "comfort women" problem have been repeatedly submitted to the Diet. Before trying to block the U.S. Congress from adopting its resolution, the Diet should deliberate on these bills.

Some may fear the resolution could cause a rift in Japan-U.S. relations. But denying history is much more detrimental to mutual trust between the two countries.

Mike Honda, the U.S. House of Representatives member who submitted the resolution, insists that only after Japan acknowledges its responsibility can it make peace with its victims and pave the way to stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asian Peace and People's Fund for Women (Asian Women's Fund), which dissolved at the end of March, was regarded by victims and victimized countries as a way for the government to evade responsibility. It is time we reconsider what is in Japan's true national interest.

　　　　* 　* 　*

The author is a former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.(IHT/Asahi: April 16,2007)

NOTE: The bold-italic parts are marked by the blog author, which are considered to be the essential message in this essay.

Another feedback on comfort women issue

2007-04-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

The following is another feedback from BIBI, who has been living in Japan for several years and considers himself partly Japanese...

*************************************************************************************
I am very glad to see that one of your interests are related to this and other related issues. I was always reading avidly in Japan any news related to comfort women and I may try to inform some of my friends on this issue. My greatest interest though is to see that you engage in dialogue and bring reactions from some Japanese people. If I may, I encourage you to become more knowledgeable on the extent of the Japanese apology - or what I believe is rather a lack or absence of apology - to China and other neighboring countries.

Also, how about looking at the Chinese perspective following some abuses China perpetuated to neighboring Asian peoples itself. Is it satisfying and how far is China itself from making public apologies?

Also, is the value of an apology the same in both cultures? Is it realistic to compare the German attitude (or the French) to this case and could we expect a similar attitude from Japan for the only reason that both countries are well ahead in the 21st century (although their cultures are still so far apart)?

I don't think so, although I too would love to see Japan act with what my Western perspectives call civility. So if Japan made real apologies and expressed more consideration and empathy to the Governments of neighboring Asian countries, my sense of what is right would be flattered.

But my own perspective doesn't have much worth in the sense that I am not truly Japanese (only my heart is Japanese to some extent, the rest of me is French). There are other fields where I have the feeling that Japan is acting way behind our age and its rank in the world, one is the freedom of the press and another is the practice of long periods of pre-indictment trial in the Japanese judicial system (up to 23 days) during which I think risks of abuse are high. This is my French perspective, but is it relevant? To what extent is this Japanese practice consistent with the importance of giving a chance to detainees to make a confession? Probably to a large extent.

The point I am trying to make is that it is easy to miss an important aspect of the cultures we would like to see change "for the better". I don't think that the issue of comfort women is yet ripe for the japanese people.

Feedbacks on the revised text book in Japan and some comments

2007-04-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

With intention to pursue clarification and justice in history, and no intention to offend anyone, I started the discussion about "comfort women" in WWII and revised text book in Japan since the beginning of April. Besides the English articles and reading materials I posted in this blog, I've also initiated possible discussions with some of my Japanese friends within a diary community network, known as MIXI and accessible only to members. The feedbacks are surpringly interesting and widely ranged since then.

Many people I don't know at all read my blog and even left comments; some Japanese friends got interested in searching info about comfort women, a subject they seem not to have learned at school and had absolutely no idea about, after reading my Japanese diary.

In short, I think I have more or less achieved a part of my goal in this series of discussion. A few days ago I got a comment from an American acquaintence who has been living in Japan for quite some years. With his consent, I post his comments as follows. Meanwhile, I take this chance to post other comments below it for my blog readers to track back.

Enjoy the reading, and I hope to share with you all something more cheerful and joyful soon, such as cherry blossom viewing and sightseeing in Japan...

Princess Rose @ Tokyo

==============================================================
From PSC,Tokyo Japan (4th April, 2007)

We too live in Japan and appreciate the cleanliness convenience and the
safety . But after a total of over 10 years here , i too wonder about
the Japanese people's ability to forget ....without say anything in the way
of apology ....

For a people who; towards foreign business people; insist that an error
in shipping dates or a minor quality issue be dealt with by bowing,
apologies compensation loss of face and the like, it is ironic that the
Japanese have never seen fit to apologize for their mistakes. Even today.

In fact ;when you ,as one occasionally does, catch some one out in a
clerical error ,or omission in there bureaucracy( as we did recently
dealing with immigration ) it both perplexed those involved, and in one
case i was told "yes we are same govt department, but in different
location..." ---not being able to admit ,even on a minor error that they'd
made a mistake.

Certainly Nanjing and Okinawa atrocities rank nearly as high as Hitler,
yet the Japanese have never acknowledged their action..which are well
documented. China's invasion of a peaceful sovereign country of Tibet,
killing thousands of monks is also quite brutal and tragic--and they to
fail to answer for this. US's invasion of Iraq; while misguided and tragic
; has received a lot of attention---but for all its faults its be openly
acknowledged as US action and is a temporary measure.

So for as much as those of us who like to live in Japan like ; we must
never forget what is printed on our 'permanent' resident card (Alien ) For
no matter if we live here for a year ,thre ten, a lifetime ,or are third
generation Korean born here---we will always be aliens here ---and the
Japanese group centric will always close ranks, be "Japanese" and refuse to
admit that they could make any mistakes.

=============================================================
Other comments and my remarks:

shigaru 提到...

BACKGROUND OF 'COMFORT WOMEN' ISSUE / Kono's statement on 'comfort women' created misunderstanding

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070402dy01.htm

April 2, 2007 5:02 PM

Princess Rose 提到...

I'm glad to see a comment on this article, no matter it stands pro or against the original one. It shows that people do care and do ponder over the issues involved.

After reading the provided article in Yomiuri, I'd like to point out the following for everyone to reflect:

1. The current Japanese government argues the "comfort women" were not recruited under "forceful recruitment". My questions are:
- Was it MORALLY CORRECT for Japanese military to find a justification for recruiting women into army brothels at first place regardless out of force or not?

- If army brothels were considered as necessary for Japanese soldiers' "well-being", why not recruit Japanese womem, who would definitely understand Japanese guys better than Korean or Chinese speaking foreign laguages etc.

- Let's imagine how it was like during the WWII. Japanese armies invaded Asian countries and occupies their territories. Under such a circumstances, would women in occupied countries have freedom to refuse something they were unwilling to do?

2. In the comfort women case (war crime), many proofs or historical documents must have been destroyed at the end of the war so that people involved would not be blamed or trialed for their crimes. Therefore, it is indeed difficult to reconstruct the history itself with hard evidence. In this case, why cann't we take the testimony from those women who have lived the experience of "comfort women" as living historical document? You might want to argue that those women could "lie", but can all those who have come forward from different countries lie about this embarassing experience? It's like taking the witness stand in a rape trial. The whole process does a huge damage on women to the extent that men can seldom understand.

3. Kono Statement was issued in 1993. According to the article in Yomiuri, the statement was made under international pressure, but not based on historical research and studies.
I personally find it hard to believe. For it suggests that Japanese government then LIED
about its own history so as to please the international society. A politician might lie for his political career, but what can take a GOVERNMENT to lie COLLECTIVELY must be at a huge stake. It's about the credibility of a country.
If that was the case, I suggest that we might just want to be more reserved & cautious about any statement made by Japanese government. For it might just a convenient LIE to serve government's political agenda.

April 2, 2007 6:17 PM

Tracy 提到...

Now,the Japanese will understand why asian people hate them, especially Chinese.Asian people suffered a lot by their invasion, but they are afraid of to acknowledge their fault,and deny the truth ......

April 2, 2007 10:30 PM

Full text of Wen Jiabao's speech to Japan's Diet

2007-04-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

The Chinese Premier Wen has been in Japan for a 3-day visit. It seems that his trademark smiling face has made some positive effects to ordinary Japanese and, in a way, promoted Sino-Japanese friendship during his "ice-melting" journey. The following link goes to his speech to Japan's Diet (Japanese legislation institution, i.e. parliament), and I found it interesting to share with my blog readers.

Several points to draw attention:

1. Premier Wen, as most of Chinese leaders or politicians visiting Japan in the past, first traced the majour full-dimentional influences and contributions of the Chinese culture to the Japanese development and the intensive exchanges between the both sides in the progress of time in the past.

2. Despite of the fact that the two countries have been close FRIENDS for a long period of time, it is not to neglect that the militarist agression launched by Japan to China in the WWII has done a huge damage to people of both nations and has hurt tremendousely the prosperity of both countries.

3. While taking lessons from the contemporary history, a forward-looking perspective and even closer cooperation in regional and international development issues shall serve the best interest of the two sides, let along existing differences.

4. Skipping all sensitive issues, i.e. wartime atrocities, textbooks revision, Yasukuni Jinjya tribute etc, Premier Wen stressed on China's position in the Taiwan issue. Which is quite remarkable, as Taiwan is currently only recognised by 24 states in the world*.

Full text of Wen Jiabao's speech to Japan's Diet

*NOTE:
Some friends unfamiliar with Chinese history and politics have always been asking me the same questions:
What is the relationship between Taiwan and China? Isn't Taiwan an independant country already? Why does China make a fuss on Taiwan's independance if it exerts anyway all the rights of an independant state can have?

My brief answer is as follows: it's all about GEO-POLITICS.

It's undeniable that Taiwan has been a part of China for a long period of time in the history. It's also crystal clear that the mainstream culture until 1 decade or so in Taiwan was more or less a "great Chinese culture", i.e. Han ethnic culture. The only official language in Taiwan was Madarin Chinese, as the same as in China, despite that the written form is "traditional" in Taiwan, different from the simplified characters used in China. The life philisophy and social norm owe their origin to Confucianism. The 2 most popular religions are the Chinese Budhism and the Taoism, a Chinese folklore religion characterised by traditional Chinese dieties etc.

With a politically propagated "creation" of Taiwanese identity, launched by the current governing party in Taiwan (Democratic Progress Party), many substansive changes have been undergoing in the last 10 years. For instance, the official languages in Taiwan now are listed as 3 - Madarin, Taiwanese (a Chinese dialect which is originally spoken in the Fujian Province in the south east China, and the emmigrants from this province has brought the dialect to Taiwan in the 18th century.), and Hakka (another Chinese dialect spoken in the east of Quangdon province in China). The history studied at school focuses itself on the Taiwan's local development, starting more or less from the 18th century, rather than a pan Chinese cultural perspective.

In fact, Taiwan HAS BEEN an INDEPENDANT country since Jiang Kai-Shek led Koumingtan Party (the Nationalist) withdrew from mainland China after being defeated by the Communist. Taiwan's government was recognised as the official CHINA and had a seat in UN until 1971. With 24 states recognition, Taiwan is nevertheless a fully indepedant political entity no matter how few international organisations recognise it and what China defines it.

Furthermore, the Chinese concern about Taiwan should be studied in a "greater picture". Taiwan, with little resources and dependant fully on trade, has actually very limited economic value for a vast China. In addition, a huge proportion of Taiwanese investment and HR have been drawn to the vigorous economic development in China in recent years, and the island is at a risk of bleeding out. Now we have to ask the question: why can't China just let Taiwan do what it wants?

The reason is actually simple. What China fears is not the independance of Taiwan, but the domino's effect it would inflick in China's troubled regions, such as Tibet, New Territory and maybe Inner Mongolia as well. China cannot risk to lose its control in these politically, strategically and economically important areas. Moreover, the Chinese histroy has demonstrated that any leader giving away a part of China's territoy will be condemned by its people generation after generation throughout the history. That is too much of a burden for any Chinese leader, I suppose.

Revised Textbooks in Japan

2007-04-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

Before the ripples of "comfort women" get pacified, an once-a-year revision of history textbooks in Japan aroused another outcry for "reveal the truth" in countries like China, South Korea, other Asian countries, Europe and North America.

On the 1st April New York Times publshed an article by Mr. Norimitsu Onishi titled as "Japan's Textbooks Reflect Revised History" (link as follows). In this article, Mr. Onishi pointed out that by revising the history textbooks Japanese government does not only try to deny its military atrocity in other Asian countries, but also seek to find scapegoats (i.e. American army) for the cruel and immoral conducts of Japanese soldiers on their own soil - Okinawa.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/world/asia/01japan.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

To pave the way for re-establishment of military force, the Abe led government is prepared to go as far as it can to deny since long established historical facts, regardless the Kono statement in 1993 and written records on/related WWII history by Japanese politicians (such as autobiography of ex-prime minister Nakasone) and prominent historians.

From a personal point of view, I'm currently living in Japan and I have good Japanese friends, appreciate Japanese culture/life philosophy and respect Japanese people. However, I cannot agree with the current Japanese policy and feel very disappointed with Japanese political leaders.

I believe that a country unable to face its past cannot find its way into the future. A nation without courrage to repent for the crimes commited by its ancestors will not earn respect from other peoples. It is true that the past should not be a burden for the living ones, and yet the strength of a people only comes from the understanding of its own history, but not the denial...

More readings:
http://chineseinvancouver.blogspot.com/2007/03/another-denial-japan-changes-textbook.html

070401_Hanami@Asukayama Park, Tokyo

2007-04-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

Waiting with impatience, sakuras finally blossomed in Tokyo in full power. With weather's cooperation we had a sunny/cloudy Sunday with a bit wind from time to time but no rain, which iwas perfect for a "hanami" (cherry blossom appreciation) "takai" (gathering).

Hanami gathering is a multi-functional event in Japan:
it's the ritual to welcome the arrival of spring and to reiterate the philosophy of savouring the beauty in life; an occasion to get out of the office for the round o'clock Japanese salary class; an opportunity to build a sense of "solidarity" between bosses and their employees or between colleagues; a chance to make a perfect eating-drinking-laughing-fulling around party among friends... In short, it's PARTY TIME, and you'd not want to miss it!

MORE PHOTOs:

070401_飛鳥山公園花見大會/Hanami@Asukayama Park, Tokyo