Rightwing Japanese politicians have recently made some shocking statements denying Japan's war crimes. But those made by Mayor of Osaka and leader of Japan's Restoration Party Toru Hashimoto made all others pale into insignificance as he crossed the line which distinguishes civilized men from barbarians.

Mayor of Osaka and leader of Japan's Restoration Party Toru Hashimoto [File photo]

Hashimoto suggested on May 13 that the Japanese imperial military's keeping of "comfort women" during World War II was a military necessity. He said: "To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time. For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That's clear to anyone."

"Comfort Women" is a term describing some 200,000 women who were coerced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during the war. Most of the women came from the Korean Peninsula, China and the Philippines. It was reported that Hillary Clinton corrected a State Department official who referred to those women as "comfort women", asking the department to call them "enforced sex slaves" instead. I have had few good things to say about the hawkish Hillary, but I applaud this act of hers.

Hashimoto's shocking remarks have made waves around the world, bringing condemnation from China, South Korea and Japan's ally the United States.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that Hashimoto's remarks "flagrantly challenge historical justice and the conscience of mankind."

A May 17 editorial in South Korea's JoongAng Daily said: "Japan's far-right politicians have lost their minds," adding that Abe and Hashimoto "have unabashedly brought up the ghost of Japan's wartime past and irked neighbors that still bear bitter memories of its military aggression."

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jan Psaki described Hashimoto's comments as "outrageous and offensive." She told reporters: "As the United States has stated previously, what happened to these women who were trafficked for sexual purposes is deplorable and clearly a grave human rights violation of enormous proportions."

Congressman Mike Honda (D-Calif), who himself is Japanese American, and congressman Steve Israel(D-NY) both condemned Hashimoto's remarks as "repulsive" and "disgusting."

Despite the obloquy which has come his way, Hashimoto has stood by his remarks. He claimed that other country's armies acted similarly and Japan is being unfairly singled out for criticism. On a recent visit to the southern island of Okinawa, he suggested to the U.S. commander there that the troops make use of the legal sex industry. His proposal was rejected by U.S. officials.

Hashimoto's remarks came amid continuing criticism of earlier pledges made by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revise past apologies for Japan's war crimes. On May 13, the same day on which Hashimoto made his outrageous remarks, Abe posed in a fighter jet emblazoned with the number 731 – the code name of a notorious Japanese unit that performed chemical and biological experiments on Chinese citizens.

Then, on May 17, Hashimoto's political partner and co-leader of Japan Restoration Party Shintaro Ishihara, the notorious former mayor of Tokyo, denied that Japan's actions in World War II amounted to aggression. He told the Asahi Shimbun: "It's nothing but masochism to define the war as aggression. It's ignorance of history."

That was bad enough. But then Shingo Nishimura, another infamous member of the Japan Restoration Party who denied the rape of Nanjing, asserted: "There are still many South Korean prostitutes roaming around Japan. We should say, 'You must be a South Korean comfort woman' in Osaka." He also made his comments on May 17.

These far-right Japanese politicians are adding insult to injury for the many victims of Japanese aggression. With this, and concerns about future aggression, the world must remain vigilant in the face of such outrageous comments.

The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://china.org.cn/opinion/zhaojinglun.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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