Japan must pay countries occupied during WW II<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Japan, which occupied Indonesia from 1942 to
\n1945, still has a moral obligation towards the peoples it
\nconquered during World War II, a Japanese scholar said here
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Aiko Kurasawa-Inomata, a professor from the Graduate School of
\nInternational Development at Nagoya University, Japan, told The
\nJakarta Post that Tokyo had neglected to discharge its moral
\nobligation to the people who suffered under Japanese rule.<\/p>\n
"Japan has paid war reparations but we still have to pay our
\nmoral obligation," Kurasawa said during seminar on Japanese
\noccupation in Southeast Asia. The seminar was held at the Center
\nfor Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n
At the height of World War II in 1942, Japanese imperial
\nforces defeated the Allied forces in Southeast Asia and forced
\nthe Dutch to flee from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
This ushered in a new era, fueling the expansion of
\nnationalism and promoting the use of the Indonesian language.<\/p>\n
It also provided an opportunity for Indonesian youths to
\nbecome competent soldiers through their participation in
\nJapanese-styled student regiments.<\/p>\n
The three-year occupation was also one of the bleakest periods
\nin Indonesian history, with the people being exploited and
\noppressed. Atrocities were also widely committed by the occupying
\nJapanese.<\/p>\n
For its actions, the Japanese government paid US$223 million
\nin war reparations over a 12-year period, between 1958 and 1970.<\/p>\n
The money was used for several projects, such as the
\nconstruction of a dam on the Brantas river, East Java, and the
\nSarinah and Wisma Nusantara buildings on Jl. M.H. Thamrin.<\/p>\n
Kurasawa believes that this is not enough and there is a
\nbigger moral debt that remains unpaid.<\/p>\n
The issue of reparations for "comfort women" has gained much
\nattention in many Asian countries recently, particularly in the
\nPhilippines and Korea.<\/p>\n
Kurasawa warns that, although people do not openly express
\nanger towards Japan, they may continue to harbor a sense of
\nanimosity unless these obligations are duly met.<\/p>\n
She could not specify how the Japanese government should go
\nabout discharging its duties, since the Tokyo government has only
\nrecently begun to wrestle with the problem.<\/p>\n
"It is only now that Prime Minister Murayama is raising the
\nquestion," Kurasawa said, referring to a recent offer made by the
\nJapanese premier to donate funds for the establishment of an
\neducation center, in response to the complaints of former
\nFilipino comfort women.<\/p>\n
Kurasawa adds that for Japan it is also important to truly
\nrecognize and learn a lesson from the suffering caused by the
\nwar.<\/p>\n
"We are still lacking in that," she remarked, adding that only
\nthrough such a lesson can the Japanese people address their moral
\nresponsibility for the war.<\/p>\n
"One of the first steps is through education. This is very
\nimportant," she said.(mds)<\/p>",
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