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Japan irked over U.S. Congress move

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso has described as "extremely regrettable" the move by the United States House of Representatives to censure Tokyo over imperial Japan's wartime conduct of forcing women from other Asian countries into sexual slavery. The issue relates to the plight of these so-called "comfort women" who were forced to please the military personnel of imperial Japan during the Second World War.

Mr. Aso told a panel of the Japanese House of Representatives in Tokyo on Monday that the U.S. Congress resolution was "definitely not based on facts." He was quoted further as having told the panel that "the draft [U.S.] resolution has absolutely no binding force."

The issue surfaced at a sensitive stage in Japan's ties with its ally, the U.S. Japan has just now distanced itself from a central aspect of the six-party accord on the North Korean nuclear arms issue. This relates to the provision of an initial quantity of energy aid to North Korea. The U.S. and China had played a leading role in shaping the six-party accord.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, separately, in Tokyo that the matter relating to "comfort women" was "basically the U.S. Congress' business." Mr. Abe took the line that it was not necessary for him to "repeat our Government's stance every single time" this issue was raised abroad.

This time, some victims of such sexual slavery, including those from another of U.S. allies, testified before a U.S. congressional sub-committee.

Tokyo had sought to convince the U.S. lawmakers that any resolution on this issue might only affect their sound bilateral alliance.

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