Overwhelmingly Disapproved

Strange enthusiasm over “historical” speech of Japanese Prime Minister at United States Congress has not ceased the following day. Japanese newspapers reported various responses to the interpretation of history by Shinzo Abe. Both governments of Japan and U.S. cerebrated the event they produced. Others including South Korea, China, the opposite parties in Japan and even U.S. media were not satisfied with his biased views on history.

Asahi Shimbun reported a comment of U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, in which she approved Abe’s attitude of mostly succeeding past statements on war-end anniversary. Former Japanese Ambassador to U.S., Ichiro Fujisaki, accepted Abe’s speech as appealing to sentiments of the Americans. Indeed, Abe’s reference to Carol King might impressed the Americans that Japan would be globally standing by U.S. troops in the winter, spring, summer and fall.

South Korea was one of the most frustrated with Abe’s speech. “While it might have been an opportunity for a turning point of reconciliation and cooperation with neighbor nations, lacking such recognition and sincere apology was very regrettable,” told a spokesman for South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That was a criticism on not referring to comfort woman issue in the speech, in spite of Abe’s promise to succeed Kono Statement in the joint press conference with U.S. President Barack Obama the day before.

China was a little more complicated. While media degraded the speech as avoiding “aggression” or “apology,” government official showed a response more neutral. “We are consistently urging the leaders of Japan to express an attitude of facing and reflecting past history of aggression including Murayama Statement,” told a Chinese spokesman. China is looking closely at how Abe will deal with the expression of his seventieth anniversary statement this summer.

The opposite parties in Japan were furious about Abe’s announcement that he will pass the legislations for new Japan-U.S. security guidelines in the Diet by this summer. “There has been no example of promising the time of passage of such important bills yet submitted at a foreign congress,” told President of Democratic Party of Japan, Katsuya Okada. There will be a kind of mess in the Diet this summer.

Tokyo Shimbun introduced the responses of U.S. media. It reported that Washington Post showed a viewpoint that it realized Abe’s intention to impress his careful attitude on history and devastation of war. But Tokyo quoted a critical views on equivocal apology of Abe by New York Times and on avoidance of apology by Wall Street Journal. After all, Abe’s speech was only welcomed by producers of the event.