Self-imprisonment

Self-imprisonment

The strong criticism of Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka
Machimura of China just one day after a reconciliatory summit
between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu
Jintao in Jakarta on Saturday, poured cold water on the efforts
by the two leaders to warm up relations between the two Asian
giants.

In a retaliatory move, Machimura accused Chinese schools of
indoctrinating their students with an unbalanced view of the
past. With no intention of debating the substance of the
minister's statement, we would like to raise a simple question:
Is it wise to say such a thing at this time?

Machimura's statement was clearly counterproductive because
instead of trying to cool down the situation he could -- quite
unnecessarily -- trigger another harsh reaction from the Chinese
government. Only a day after his prime minister tried very hard
to control the damage caused by the history textbook controversy,
Machimura sent a defiant message to those who oppose the books.
It would be wiser if other Japanese leaders refrained from making
such comments.

Reporters who covered the meeting between the President and
the Prime Minister on Saturday, described how Koizumi greeted an
inscrutable Hu with a two-handed shake when they began their
bilateral summit. Their conversation was clearly frank as was
reflected by Hu's later released five-point demand to Koizumi,
including a warning that Japan should be honest with its history.
It was likely to have been a tough meeting for the two.

One day earlier, in his speech at the Asian-African summit,
Koizumi apologized to the victims of his country's colonial rule
and aggression. Although it was not the first time Japanese
leaders expressed their remorse, his courage to repeat the
apology in front of the gathered Asian and African leaders is
laudable.

In the speech and media briefing, Koizumi emphasized how
dramatically Japan had changed during the past 60 years and how
through its economic power, including its Official Development
Assistance (ODA) fund, Japan has contributed to improve the
world's prosperity.

Koizumi pledged to increase Japan's ODA from 0.2 percent of
the country's total Gross Domestic Products (GDP) to the ideal
0.7 percent. Although the Japanese economy is still declining,
its position as world's second-most powerful economy remains
unchallenged.

Almost 60 years have passed since the defeat of Japan and
Germany in World War II. Germany has set the record straight with
most of the victims of its war aggression. Why, one may ask, does
Japan allow itself be haunted by the past? Why is its version
about the war in its history textbooks still unacceptable to
many?

Other nations cannot help if Japan does not have enough
courage to make good its past misdeeds. Other nations may see
Japan as lacking maturity if it continues to cover up or gloss
over the worst details of its colonial period to younger
generations.

The world, including China and South Korea, needs a strong
Japan. Japan has proven to the world that it could successfully
transform into a peaceful and responsible nation and, with its
prosperity, it has also helped many other nations.

Why is it so difficult for Japan to free itself from its past?
Only the Japanese people can answer this question. But one thing
is for certain, the ghost of history will continue to haunt them
unless they can find it in themselves to dispel it.