NCCK Statement of concern about the ‘conservative swing’
of Japan issued in Korean on Feb. 27, 2014
The leaders of the denominations which are members of NCCK face the 95th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement Day with great concern about the Japanese Government which is riding a wave of a rightwing trend in Japanese society. The island nation is not only struggling to distort history and gloss over its past atrocities but also is threatening the peace of North-East Asia.
Since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was elected in Japan, he has been making political moves which have angered other countries including Korea. He has made careless remarks about the comfort women issue and has shown his respect at the Yasukuni Shrine where many war criminals are buried. He goes so far as to arbitrarily interpret the definition of aggression, and keeps expressing his personal opinions which deny Japan’s imperialist history and its perpetration of war crimes. He also is attempting to renegotiate and change the Murayama and Kono Statements which were milestones in making confessions about the war.
Not only Korea and other Asian countries but also the USA and other countries are raising their voices against the Abe regime’s recent movements which
totally deny historical facts and instigate narrow-minded nationalistic democracy.
The Korean Wave (enthusiasm for Korean pop culture) has been wide spread in Japan and in the life of its people, and there is a significant amount of trade in both personnel and goods flowing between Korea and Japan which is enabling a positive relationship of friendship and cooperation. Nevertheless, because of the right-wing politicians’ irrational behavior and inappropriate remarks, anti-Korean sentiment and discord among the two nations is being encouraged. Prime Minister Abe has said strongly that the Asia-Pacific War was a defensive war. He also strenuously claims the legitimacy of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and tries to revise the statements of previous prime ministers on the good relationship and cooperation with neighboring countries.
We are deeply worried and concerned that these movements will not remain simply as errors and distortions of historical understanding, which deny facts or avoid responsibility for compensation. In the background there is a national strategy to amend Article 9 of the Constitution (the peace article) so that Japan can expand its national self defense force and again transform to a country which can start a war. This means that not only does Japan ignore and disregard the lessons of past wartime aggression, but also it accelerates the conflicted military relationship between Japan and China. These right-wing policies will raise conflicts among the neighboring nations and eventually drive peace and international relations in North-East Asia into catastrophe.
Thus we make the following requests:
1. To the Japanese government and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan has to take full responsibility for its actions and hold a proper historical awareness of its invasions. This begins with observing your peace constitution and honouring the spirit of peace. You must realize that the Prime Minister’s individual political belief is a very dangerous threat for the future of Japan and the surrounding countries in North-East Asia. You must stop rationalizing and glorifying the ideology of imperialism which at the same time is strengthening a new cold discord in north-east Asia. The Prime Minister’s duty is to cooperate in harmony and trust in diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan.
2. To the Japanese church and people.
Japanese Christians and society have always raised their voices against the movement of attempting Imperialism. You must fight for peace and harmony, building up a peace community through encouraging private communication, not stepping back and passively watching the situation.
We never forget how the Japanese Church, the Korean Christian Church in Japan and the civil society took efforts to help the Korean Church and society suffering from an absolute military dictatorship. We also highly respect and appreciate the awakening historical consciousness of the Japanese people who blocked the adaption of textbooks which were full of skewed information about the relationship among Korea and Japan. For those reasons, while holding a deep fear about the conservative swing of Prime Minister Abe and the anti-Korea movements in Japan, we also have hope and expect prophetic movements and actions to continue.
The year 2014 is a year in which we remember the history of war and the age of imperialism of which the Donghak Movement is a symbol. Next year we will observe the 50th anniversary of the Korea-Japan Agreement and the 70th anniversary of our Independence, which is at the same time the 70th anniversary of Japan’s loss in the War. In this situation it is very important for Christians to awaken their beliefs and make efforts for God’s Justice and Peace in this world. We hope that there will be a change from conflict to harmony and from competition to friendship and cooperation so that we can walk together toward peace and build a new history.
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