Japan's PM Aso under pressure after air force chief's denial of aggression

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso at the Asia Europe Meeting in Beijing in late October. Taro Aso has come under pressure to clarify his own position on Japan's colonial past after his government sacked the air force chief for remarks about World War II.
(AFP/Pool/File/Ng Han Guan)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081102/wl_asia_afp/japanwwiihistorymilitary_081102085800

by Shigemi Sato Shigemi Sato – Sun Nov 2, 3:58 am ET AFP/Pool/File –
TOKYO (AFP) –
Prime Minister Taro Aso came under pressure Sunday to clarify his own position on Japan's colonial past after his government sacked the air force chief for denying Japan's wartime aggression.

Some major newspapers here urged conservative Aso, who took office in September, to state his opinion clearly and to examine why Japan's ruling elite continues to glorify the country's wartime history.

"Why a distorted historical view at the top?" asked a headline in the Mainichi Shimbun's editorial. The Tokyo Shimbun said it wanted to "listen to the premier's perception."

General Toshio Tamogami, chief of staff of Japan's Air Self-Defence Force, was dismissed on Friday after writing in an essay: "It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation."



"We need to realise that many Asian countries take a positive view of the Greater East Asia War," the essay said.

Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada fired Tamogami, saying the essay clearly deviated from a 1995 government statement that apologised for Japan's past aggression and its colonial rule in Asia.

Prime Minister Aso criticised the essay by saying: "It is inappropriate, given his position, even if he (Tamogami) expressed the opinion personally."

The controversy has come at a bad time for Aso, who cannot afford a diplomatic faux pas as he struggles to boost his low approval rating ahead of general elections that are due within a year.

China expressed "strong indignation" over the essay, which it said generally justified Japan's action during the war. South Korea called it "a distortion of history, which must not be left unchecked."

The opposition vowed to take the Aso government to task over the issue in the upper house of parliament, which it controls.

"If the essay has raised the fear that Japan may do something again, the blame for that must lie with the whole government," Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, said on Saturday.

Despite its officially pacifist position, Japan has often come in for criticism for internal perceptions of its wartime past, with neighbours closely watching for any sign of a militarist revival.

The Mainichi editorial pointed out that Aso has in the past made remarks that sought to rationalise Japan's colonialism. In 2003, he said Koreans had willingly adopted Japanese names during Japan's 1910-1945 rule of the peninsula because it was advantageous when doing business.

It also recalled how Shinzo Abe, who served as prime minister from 2006-2007 using the theme of Japan as a "beautiful" nation proud of its history, supported the 1995 statement, but refrained from admitting the country's wartime responsibility.

"Such attitudes, words and deeds of politicians are at the root of the problem," the Mainichi said.

The Tokyo Shimbun said it wanted to ask Aso whether he felt the essay was "inappropriate" because of its substance or just because of the way it was presented.

"The premier ought to send a clear message about this as a way to cut off the trouble at its root," it said.

In contrast, the conservative daily Sankei Shimbun said that it would be suppression of free speech if "free, individual historical views are snuffed" in order to keep peace in parliament and save ties with China and South Korea.