Comments reflect Hashimoto's true nature
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E-mail China.org.cn, May 24, 2013
A person cannot escape their true nature. Someone of low character, even if they rub shoulders with the political elite, cannot become a politician in the truest sense. Toru Hashimoto, head of Japan Restoration Party and mayor of Osaka, is a prime example.
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Toru Hashimoto, head of Japan Restoration Party [File photo] |
Hashimoto's responses to media on May 13 were derisory. He claimed that the sexual servitude endured by the so-called "comfort women" recruited by Japanese forces during World War II was "necessary to maintain discipline in the military" and "afforded a period of rest and relaxation to Japanese soldiers who might at any time lose their lives."
Hashimoto's "rest" comments sparked a public outcry. The Chinese Consulate General in Osaka lodged a protest against the Osaka city government on May 14, saying "we are shocked and indignant at the Japanese mayor's remarks." South Korean "comfort women" Gil Won-ok and Gim Bok-dong, both in their 80s, will visit Japan to demand an apology from Toru Hashimoto and present him with evidence of Japanese brutality.
The time has come for the mayor, who espouses the idea of rest and relaxation masquerading as brutality, to take a rest himself.
Hashimoto, 43, has been an emerging political leader in Japan for several years. After graduating from Waseda University, he passed the bar examination and became a lawyer, eventually rising to public prominence through a TV talk show. There is a substantial difference, however, between talk show populism and the serious world of politics. Hashimoto's remarks have been condemned throughout the world as they lack conscience, flagrantly challenge historical fact and are an offense against all that is good and decent.
Rape is a truly ugly and barbaric act which is deplored by decent people everywhere.
Statistics from non-governmental Japanese organizations indicate that during World War II the Japanese military recruited as many as 700,000 "comfort women," which is a truly shocking number. The dignity of 700,000 women was trampled and their lives were damaged and the figure doesn't include those non-"comfort women" who were raped by Japanese soldiers.
Hashimoto's remarks represent a second assault on the victims of Japan's wartime brutality and are an affront to women everywhere. His words have been strongly condemned, both domestically and internationally, with many Osaka citizens demanded that their mayor withdraw his remarks. There have also been rallies in the city calling for Hashimoto to resign his position as Mayor of Osaka.
The American writer James Freeman Clarke said, "A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman, of the next generation." Hashimoto obviously showed his true colors with his comments. In his eyes, there was only the next election and no next generation, and certainly no concept of responsibility at all. One can only imagine the kinds of disasters which would visit Japan if Hashimoto were to assume power.
From Shinzo Abe's comment that "the definition of what constitutes aggression has yet to be established" to Hashimoto's theory that "sexual servitude is reasonable," Japanese politicians' bigoted and myopic beliefs are being revealed thick and fast, with the intention to deceive people and upset the delicate balance of peace.
As the saying goes, "he who keeps on doing evil is only digging his own grave." It is time for Japanese politicians to take note: Such disgraceful comments bring shame not only upon the person who makes them but also upon the Japanese people and the Japanese nation and are certain to be condemned by the civilized world at large.
This article was first published in Chinese and translated by Li Jingrong.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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