Apology Over Thirty Years Later

Asahi Shimbun dismissed a part of groundbreaking series stories about women who unwillingly served in sexual relationship with soldiers of Imperial Army of Japan in World War II, or comfort woman. The denied articles were published over thirty years ago, when historical study on the Army was not sufficient. Asahi apologized on it, but kept on appealing inhumanity of comfort woman. The conservatives became furious, accusing Asahi as having eroded Japan’s national interest. However, the historical fact that Army brothels and “comfort women” existed would not be deniable anyway.

Asahi realized that it made two mistakes. One was about compelling conscription of women. Asahi introduced story of a former officer for mobilizing those women, Seiji Yoshida, in sixteen articles in 1980s and 90s. He testified that the officers brought Korean women in violent ways, the story which was thought to be underscoring forcible conscription of comfort women. Asahi concluded that there was no evidence of such kind of mobilization.

Another failure of Asahi was confusion between comfort women and companies of dedicative women. Although Asahi reported that dedicative women was the organization for comfort women, the organization of dedicative women was constructed by women workers in home front. Writers of Asahi misunderstood documents about dedicative women.

A conservative newspaper, Yomiuri, harshly criticized Asahi’s mistakes. It argued that during Asahi had been rejecting correction of the reports, comfort women issue became diplomatic issue. “Wrong recognition spread to the world through misunderstanding on Kono Statement, which was regarded as admitting coercive conscription of the women, and with the 1996 report of United Nations Human Rights Committee, that called comfort women ‘sexual slavery,” wrote Yomiuri. It accused Asahi of false reports caused negative impact on Japan.

Leaders in Liberal Democratic Party indicated possibility of congressional investigation. LDP Secretary General, Shigeru Ishiba, raised a possibility of some measures in the Diet on this issue. “The reports affected regional peace and stability, friendship and national sentiments in neighbor countries. It may be necessary for the Diet to seek verification. Without getting into truth, we cannot achieve peace and friendship in the region,” Ishiba told. That invited another argument over freedom of press.

While Asahi’s apology encouraged some groups that protest against criticisms toward Japan, the basic elements for the criticisms have not been about who and how those women were mobilized, but about unwilling sexual relationship done by Japanese soldiers. Even how Aasahi apologizes about its past reports, criticisms against Japan on this issue will not be ceased.