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.