President Roh clarified his policy towards relations with Japan yesterday, distancing himself from the position taken in “Why Japan Should Apologize” on the Plunge Pontificates blog. Blog author and NGO operator Plunge said that the problems could be solved if Japan would just apologize.
At this point, arguing that Japan has no need to apologize has lost much of its appeal. Japan is in a unique situation, one that demands a proper apology be made. It is here that we come to the next argument. That argument being that Japan has apologized on numerous occasions and that Japan is tired of apologizing. It is here that I will state unequivocally that Japan, as a nation and as a people has NEVER apologized for the actions and atrocities it committed over the past 100 years. Individuals have apologized, Japan has not. There has only been one attempt at a full apology, that in 1995 and it was an unmitigated disaster.
Seeking to distance himself from this position, President Roh emphasized that his reasons for preparing for “Diplomatic War” were not based in a desire to hear Japan say “sorry” yet again. His government was not calling on Japan for “another apology.” (Emphasis mine.) Rather, the president stated that the Korean people wanted to see meaningful action that they felt would fit the suitable apology that has already been stated on numerous occasions:
We call on Japanese leaders not to make new apologies but to make actions suitable for the apologies already made… In this context, we are not demanding any new apologies from Japan.
Forget both Roh and Plunge for a minute. Mr. Richard Halloran said it best in this article in the English-langugage Japan Times with this article: Strong apology needs a willing recipient. To excerpt:
The Chinese, South Koreans and North Koreans don’t want the issue resolved because it has been a useful weapon to hammer Japan for political and economic concessions and to divert attention from domestic troubles such as unemployment or corruption or repression.
Too true.
Roh also refused to comment on the new movie in which he stars alongside his northern counterpart…
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COMMENTS / 25 COMMENTS
Kushibo added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 1:00 amHalloran says that, “Strong apology needs a willing recipient.” As Plunge suggests here, no strong apology has occurred.
I think it is Plunge’s point that an apology of mere words is meaningless. When Murayama has to water down his apology by a Diet that rises up in protest against the words he is using, and when 80 or 90 Diet members visit Yasukuni Shrine on the day it is announced Koizumi will apologize, then the apology says little other than that the government-dominating LDP knows an apology is demanded.
In that link, Plunge describes several ideas for backing up the words to make it a real apology. Nothing along the lines of a sincere apology has happened, so we’re in no position to say that apologizing has failed.
The problem is not the reception to the strong apology, but that no strong apology has been forthcoming.
Curzon added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 1:06 amPlunge, and yourself, are just wrong. You’re hearing it now from the horse’s mouth itself and that still doesn’t convince you? Did you read what Roh said? To repeat the quote above:
“...we are not demanding any new apologies from Japan.”
june added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 1:21 amCurzon, Korea is not the only one, whether she actually demands an apology or not. Philippines demands it! What’s your take on this? I am just curious.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2005/apr/24/yehey/opinion/20050424opi1.html
Plunge added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 2:01 amYes, but I consider Roh a numnut and an embarrassment to Korea if not humankind in general.
I got a good laugh though!
Plunge added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 2:01 amOh, I’ve also posted my research materials as more than a few have emailed asking for them.
Curzon added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 2:14 amPlunge, I’ve heard you say this before. Why is Roh a numnut in your eyes? I’ll keep my eye on your pontifications for an answer.
June, I am not interested in your sexual orientation! As for the Manila Times editorial, I heard some American nut recently say we should nuke the DPRK, but that doesn’t mean American demands such action. Similarly, I see an editorial in a newspaper asking for an apology, not evidence that Filipinos demand an apology.
But let Japan again apologize to the Philippines, why not? If it does some good, go for it. I just don’t think their claims make much senseã€Â? and to requote myself in re Japan’s numerous apologies to Korea:
The collective denial in this regard is curious: Japan has apologized, paid reparations, and the Korean government accepted it. Koreans I talk to repute this, saying the aforementioned apologies and reparation payments “don’t count”Â? because 1.) the Korean government at that time was not democratic (a tool of US interests!), and 2.) Japan wasn’t “sincere,”Â? whatever that means.
Plunge added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 2:37 amsigh Another article to write, why I can’t stand Roh. Actually, sounds good. Still, I’m in the middle of my next lengthy pontification so it might be a little bit.
Kushibo added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 3:24 amCurzon said:
Plunge, and yourself, are just wrong. You’re hearing it now from the horse’s mouth itself and that still doesn’t convince you? Did you read what Roh said?
This is what the horse said: “We call on Japanese leaders not to make new apologies but to make actions suitable for the apologies already made“¦ In this context, we are not demanding any new apologies from Japan.”Â?
In other words, he’s asking for action to make the prior apologies actually mean something. In other words:
apology + action backing up apology = Plunge’s “strong apology”Â?
Shamshim added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 4:27 amKeep up the good work curzon, dont worry about trolls like kushibo and plunge.
Mutantfrog added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 6:58 amKushibo and Plunge are hardly trolls. They’re having a debate, trolling is when you start calling someone gay or insulting their mother, comparing someone to Hitler or Stalin, wishing them dead, etc- basically the kind of activity that destroys civil discourse. You shouldn’t accuse someone of that just for disagreeing.
Plunge added these pithy words on 07 May 05 at 6:46 pmThanks Mutantfroggy.
Yes, I disagree with Curzon and Mutantfrog on some issues. We’ve been having some good discussions both online and via email about them as well. But, I respect both of their opinions and they make me think and sometimes really dig to justify what I have said.
Of course, I’m always right and they are always wrong, but that is beside the issue. ;-)
Shamshim added these pithy words on 08 May 05 at 8:12 amStrong action = giving up takeshima and renaming the sea of japan , with a more Korea centric nameand admitting that Japan makes korea spell its name with a K and not a C.
Curzon added these pithy words on 08 May 05 at 8:32 amThat has long-been one of the worst arguments in this whole debate and which just makes me chuckle at the general silliness of Korea’s resentful nationalism. What do you mean, Japan “makes” the country spell its name with a “K”? Is Korea still a colony? The process of getting other nations to recognize a different name is so friggin simple. Contact the states of the world that recognize the Republic of Korea as the sovereign government of South Korea and ask them to recognize a new name. Should you need a real life model for how to do this, please see the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), the Kyrgyz Republic (formerly Kyrgyzstan), Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), Cambodia (formerly Democratic Kampuchea), Madagascar (formerly the Republic of Madagascar), etc etc etc.
This is easy-peasy—in 90 days you’d have “Republic of Corea” sans the letter k. If this is a grievance, petition Roh.
Kushibo added these pithy words on 08 May 05 at 8:38 amKorea/Corea… Is this an attempt by Shamshim to mock my views about what would constitute a strong apology?
The Korea/Corea thing is a stupid nationalistic red herring. There is already a body of evidence showing that the Korean government changed the spelling to Korea sometime in the 1890s, before Japan had any such control over the country.
Fortunately most of the Korean public isn’t buying that idea, and a bill to change the country’s spelling back to Corea died a quick death.
Plunge added these pithy words on 08 May 05 at 1:32 pmI think it should be Colea. Just my personal preference there.
Mutangfrog added these pithy words on 08 May 05 at 4:35 pmEvery single currently used method or romanizing Korean uses the letter ‘k’ and none use the letter ‘c’. That should be enough to end the discussion.
Although Kushibo, Japan did have quite a lot of control over Korea in the 1890s, it just hadn’t been taken over outright yet.
Plunge added these pithy words on 09 May 05 at 3:28 amBah! Considering the difficulties most Coleans have with the “r” sound, I was trying to be helpful.
Kushibo added these pithy words on 09 May 05 at 4:38 amAre you serious, Plunge? While most Koreans would get a big, fat ì—Â?Ô?”ž when they try to pronounce ‘f,’ Koreans are able to pronounce an r/l distinction in most cases. Certainly between ì½”?리씢”ž and be 콜리씢”ž.
Kushibo added these pithy words on 09 May 05 at 4:40 am(Sorry if my pedantic response ruined what was meant to be a facetious remark. I’m waiting on some Chinese food and the hunger pangs have made me irritable.)
Kushibo added these pithy words on 09 May 05 at 5:01 amMutantfrog wrote:
Although Kushibo, Japan did have quite a lot of control over Korea in the 1890s, it just hadn’t been taken over outright yet.Sorry, I should have written that the change occurred by the 1890s.
I really should blog my research, but I’m preparing it for a real-print article, so I want to do it carefully, but I will be able to show that when Japan took over Korea is irrelevant to the Corea/Korea issue.
It’s a red herring, pure and simple. Its only value is as a lithmus test for identifying people who express mindless outrage without checking the facts first.
Plunge added these pithy words on 09 May 05 at 6:38 amKushibo: No, I wasn’t being serious. sigh Has there been a serious comment in this thread since the K/C issue was brought up?
Go eat your Chinese food and relax. I had 갈빔žÃ¬Â°Å“, 김치, ê¹Â?딘Â?기, and 대구ÃÆ’”¢ for dinner. YUMMY!
Mutantfrog added these pithy words on 09 May 05 at 12:31 pmWhat is all this junk about Korea/Corea anyway? I always thought that Korea was just a name chosen by Westerners because it sounded sort of like the old name Koryo, which by the way is Kourai in Japanese – which for some reason is also another word for ‘corn,’ although I can’t remotely fashom the geopolitical significance of that one.
