Unilateral Interpretation of History

While economy shrinks to a dependence on a monetary policy, politics is getting narrow-minded to unilateral interpretation of history. Legislators closed their eyes on dark side of history of Japan, seeing only an aspect of their personal freedom of thought. They also denied the impact of their actions on Japan’s diplomacy. What they are seeing is internal boost of conservative movement, regardless international politics.

The mastermind of the trouble over ministers’ visit to Yasukuni Shrine was the Vice-Prime Minister, Taro Aso. According to newspapers reports, he told the President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, at the meeting last February when she inaugurated in the presidency, that interpretation of history would not be the same even in a country or a nation, citing the difference of notions on the Civil War between the North and South of the United States. Park was furious with the comment in front of Aso, a report tells. The reason why South Korea cancelled the visit of Foreign Minister later this month was protest against Aso who visited Yasukuni Shirine.

Aso’s comment to Park was very careless, because he ignored the history of the Confederate states after the civil war, in which southern people suffered from extreme hardships. To recognize the difference between the North and South is to acknowledge the Lost Cause, to approve winner’s historiography, and to be skeptical about the unification of the United States.

Needless to say, Aso’s application of the Civil War to the bilateral relationship between Japan and South Korea was inappropriate. Did Aso try to resemble South Korea to the Rebels, or Japan to be the loser? If he had wanted to say that Japan has its own lost cause, it meant that no reconciliation would be made between Japan and South Korea at least in one and a half century. If he had been saying that history had made by winners, Japan the looser had nothing to do about that effort.

Aso also denied the impact of ministers’ visit to Yasukuni on Japan’s diplomacy, ignoring the hard evidence of cancellation of South Korean Foreign Minister’s visit to Japan. It is a child who does not see what he/she does not want to see. This escapism is a pandemic in the legislative branch. Most legislators who visited Yasukuni in its spring festival told that it was their right to pray for war victims. Selfish politicians who are only enthusiastic in demonstrating their loyalty to conservative voters, ignoring their erosion of national interest by harming international relations would never be called statesmen.