Word: comforted
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...toxic controversies surrounding Japan's conduct in World War II, publicly expressing his doubt that the Japanese military had coerced foreign women into prostitution. Though many Japanese historians and politicians dispute the details, scholars believe that up to 200,000 women were compelled to serve in military brothels as "comfort women," a euphemism for virtual sex slaves, many of whom were horribly abused. In 1993, after years of evading responsibility, the Japanese government issued a statement officially acknowledging the army's role - direct or indirect - in the forced prostitution. The reaction across Asia to Abe's remarks was instant...
...denied the military's role in actually forcing women to serve as prostitutes. He was responding in part to a nonbinding resolution introduced by a Japanese-American Democratic congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives that calls on Japan to make a fuller apology for the abuse of the "comfort women." That, Abe has said, would never happen - and on Thursday he announced that his government would assist a group of right-wing Japanese legislators in their efforts to reinvestigate the allegations of forced prostitution in order to refute "ungrounded criticism" of Japan's wartime behavior. Nariaki Nakayama, the former...
...also surrendered some of the moral high ground last week when he publicly expressed doubt that the Japanese military during World War II had coerced citizens of occupied countries into becoming "comfort women," a euphemism for sex slaves. Though Abe's aides scrambled to downplay his statement, he announced today that his government would assist a group of right-wing Japanese lawmakers in their efforts to reinvestigate the comfort women issue - which could be the first move in overturning a 1993 government apology on the subject. That Japan's Prime Minister is seen as calling on North Korea to come...
...Although Abe's stance on "comfort women" looks set to spark a new wave of outrage in the region, in reality the Prime Minister is simply drifting back toward the right-wing opinions he expressed as a legislator. More interesting is why he's choosing to do so now. One theory is that becau se his approval ratings have been falling for months ahead of vital elections to be held in the spring, he may feel the need to shore up his conservative support base. But in pandering to the right, he could throw away something far more important - Japan...
...might want to remember words written by his predecessor, Koizumi: "We must not evade the weight of the past, nor should we evade the responsibilities for the future." That was in a letter of apology to the "comfort women...