Financial Times
March 9, 2000
From Ko Unoki
Sir, Jean-Pierre Lehmann (“Why Asia needs a Japanese engine”, March 8) writes: “Unlike Germany, Japan still refuses to apologise for the suffering that it inflicted on other Asian nations during the second world war.”
Unless he suffers from amnesia, he should be able to recall that recent past Japanese prime ministers such as Hosokawa, Murayama, and Hashimoto have respectively made apologies for the aggression committed by Imperial Japan towards other Asian nations during the second world war. Keizo Obuchi, the current prime minister, issued a written apology for Imperial Japan’s 36-year colonization of Korea in 1998.
The average educated Japanese is aware of past historical events concerning the aggressive actions of Imperial Japan and is cognizant of the burdens of history the people will have to bear.
Ko Unoki
Senior Fellow,
21st Century Public Policy Institute
Otemachi Building 3F,
1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 100-0004,
Japan
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