The Japanese' Incredible Ability to Deny Their Past - Update 2

According to Reuters, Prime Minister said the following in the Japanese Parliament Budget Committee, when asked by a Parliament Member about his view on the forcibility of mobilizing Comfort Women: "As the Prime Minister, I apologize at this moment. My view is the same as the Kono statement. (The Korean's Note: See this post for what Kono statement is.) As I mentioned several times, I feel sympathy for the people who went through the difficulty, and I apologize for their having been placed in such a situation."

Some apology, huh? Mr. Abe, "difficulty" is when you need to have some sushi and you can't find a pair of chopsticks. Being kidnapped and raped 20 times a day for several years is not a "difficulty." And "having been placed"? Who taught you how to apologize, Richard Nixon?

But it's not fair to characterize all Japanese people to be oblivious this way. Professor Kimizima Kazuhiko, one of the co-writers of the joint history textbook between Korea and Japan, said the following in a press conference: "In talking about forcible mobilization of Comfort Women, Prime Minister Abe is distinguishing between the "narrow" meaning and the "broad" meaning; but in "forcibility", there cannot be a narrow or broad meaning. I don't think such maneuver to avoid responsibility is right."