Japanese PM under pressure to address wartime atrocities at Congress
- 9 years ago
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will most likely visit the U.S. in April, but perhaps the biggest question about the trip is whether he'll be granted permission to address the U.S. Congress.
Ahead of that decision, there's mounting pressure on Abe to include an apology for Japan's wartime atrocities in his address.
Connie Kim has the story.
Pressure is continuing to mount on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to address the country's wartime atrocities in a prospective address to Congress, despite reports that lawmakers in Washington generally favor the idea.
But House Speaker John Boehner, who has the sole authority on whether or not to invite Abe,... has yet to make a decision on the matter.
If Abe is allowed to give the address, some U.S. lawmakers are likely to demand that he devote a portion of his speech to apologizing for Japan's wartime atrocities.
At the forefront of this movement is Representative Mike Honda, whose 2007 House resolution called on Japan to apologize for its wartime system of sex slavery.
Honda said the opportunity to address Congress would be a "high privilege" for Abe and called on him to use the podium to acknowledge that Japan systematically kidnapped women and girls during war and apologize for its actions.
"He may refer to the Kono statement. But let's be real clear the Kono Statement was done by the deputy Secretary of the Cabinet. He is not the leader of the country."
The Kono Statement, issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono in 1993, contained an apology for Japan's sexual enslavement of women before and during the 1930s to mid-1940s.
But with concerns Abe will use the speech to promote Japan as a peace-loving nation post-Second World War, many Korean-American organizations are campaigning against giving Abe such a high-profile stage.
In 2006, former committee chairman Henry Hyde put a halt on then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's drive to address the Congress amid strong protests by civic groups.
C
Ahead of that decision, there's mounting pressure on Abe to include an apology for Japan's wartime atrocities in his address.
Connie Kim has the story.
Pressure is continuing to mount on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to address the country's wartime atrocities in a prospective address to Congress, despite reports that lawmakers in Washington generally favor the idea.
But House Speaker John Boehner, who has the sole authority on whether or not to invite Abe,... has yet to make a decision on the matter.
If Abe is allowed to give the address, some U.S. lawmakers are likely to demand that he devote a portion of his speech to apologizing for Japan's wartime atrocities.
At the forefront of this movement is Representative Mike Honda, whose 2007 House resolution called on Japan to apologize for its wartime system of sex slavery.
Honda said the opportunity to address Congress would be a "high privilege" for Abe and called on him to use the podium to acknowledge that Japan systematically kidnapped women and girls during war and apologize for its actions.
"He may refer to the Kono statement. But let's be real clear the Kono Statement was done by the deputy Secretary of the Cabinet. He is not the leader of the country."
The Kono Statement, issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono in 1993, contained an apology for Japan's sexual enslavement of women before and during the 1930s to mid-1940s.
But with concerns Abe will use the speech to promote Japan as a peace-loving nation post-Second World War, many Korean-American organizations are campaigning against giving Abe such a high-profile stage.
In 2006, former committee chairman Henry Hyde put a halt on then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's drive to address the Congress amid strong protests by civic groups.
C