Friday, March 02, 2007

Message control lost

This will really spice up Prime Minister Abe's visit to the United States next month.

Japan's Leader Denies Women Were Forced Into WWII Brothels
Associated Press

TOKYO, March 1 -- Japan's prime minister denied Thursday that the country's military forced women into sexual slavery during World War II, casting doubt on a past government apology and jeopardizing a fragile detente with his Asian neighbors.
You cannot buy a headline like that.

And on the Washington Post website too.

Just think of how much it would have cost the proponents of the Honda resolution to place an ad in the WashPo denouncing the proposed reinterpretations of the Kōno Statement.

Poor Ambassadors Katō and Ōshima. With reports like these coming out of Tokyo, who needs enemies?

Later - Just to make it clear, through his statement playing fast and loose with the word "coercion", the Prime Minister has, in essence, labeled the surviving comfort women "old whores". Such was probably not his intent---but intent has little to do with the outcome.

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