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A Japanese Embassy official in Washington says some countries may benefit from keeping Japan on the defensive over its wartime atrocities. Mitsuru Kitano, the minister of public affairs at the Japanese Embassy in Washington, made the comment in an op-ed titled ¡°Reconciliation is a two-way street¡± in the International Herald Tribune published on Sept. 22. It is a reaction to statements made by John Ikenberry of Princeton University who urged Japan to make an apology for its past in the Washington Post last month.
¡°Lost in translation is the possible geopolitical benefit some countries might enjoy by keeping Japan on the defensive, even if it means exploiting events more than 60 years in the past,¡± Kitano writes. The statement clearly refers to Korea and China, though it names no names.
Kitano said, ¡°Using Germany as a role model for building trust with neighboring countries ignores unique challenges specific to East Asia, such as the rise of China and issues concerning Taiwan and North Korea.¡± President Roh Moo-hyun has been citing Germany as a good example of putting past abuses to rest.
¡°Overcoming problems with neighboring countries depends largely on who those neighbors are. China's media environment under Communist rule, for example, has prevented a true portrait of Japan from emerging, generating hostile feelings toward Japan that pose a major obstacle to mutual understanding,¡± the official said. ¡°But for history to be reconciled, one side must apologize, and the other must accept the apology.¡±
Last year, the official who then held Kitano¡¯s post contributed to a U.S. daily claiming that Korea¡¯s Dokdo islets are Japanese. At the time, the Korean Embassy wrote to refute the claim. Seoul has not reacted to the most recent piece.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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