2007.06.28 02:52 am 美敦促日本向慰安婦道歉 【聯合報 東京特派員陳世昌／二十七日電】 美國眾院外交委員會廿六日以卅九比二的壓倒性多數通過不具拘束力的決議案 , 敦促日本「以明確態度正式承認二次大戰期間曾強迫婦女充當慰安婦 , 承擔歷史責任並道歉」 。此案將交由眾院院會審議 , 且很可能通過 。日本政府則不予置評 。 此案在眾院支持者眾 , 連議長波洛西都發表聲明表示 , 「期望眾院院會通過此案 , 讓外界明白我們不會忘記慰安婦悲慘的遭遇」 。美國曾於一九八八年正式立法 , 向二次大戰期間被美國政府拘禁的日裔美國人道歉 。美國眾院希望日本對慰安婦的正式道歉 , 也能達到相同的位階與分量 。 日本政府發言人、內閣官房長官鹽崎恭久針對此事表示 , 這是他國國會的決議 , 日本不宜置評 。他說 , 安倍首相四月訪美時已表明政府立場 , 亦即繼承九三年的河野洋平談話 , 表達了日本政府對慰安婦問題的「道歉與反省」 。日本將繼續尋求美方的理解 , 並靜觀事態的發展 。 日本首相安倍晉三則稱 , 他已經表明過對慰安婦的立場 , 沒有什麼可以補充 。安倍說 , 此事由美國議會做出判斷和決議 , 他認為不應妄加評論 。 安倍在此之前 , 對慰安覆問題曾發表過有關「狹義和廣義的強制性」談話 , 表示只有過狹義的強擄慰安婦 , 指稱這是慰安婦經營業者的強制行為 , 日本軍方並未介入 , 這項談話曾引起非議 。 整體而言 , 美日政府都不希望將此一問題政治化 , 加上安倍將在一月訪美 , 日本政府只盼此事早日落幕 。

 

House seeks Japanese apology on female abuse Bipartisan support seen for measure condemning use of sex slaves in WWII Updated: 2:43 p.m. ET June 26, 2007 WASHINGTON - A congressional panel on Tuesday endorsed overwhelmingly a resolution urging Japan to apologize formally for coercing thousands of women to work as sex slaves for its World War II military. The 39-2 approval by the Foreign Affairs Committee allows the measure to be considered by the full House. A large crowd of supporters applauded and cheered after the lawmakers’ vote. Japan “has actively promoted historical amnesia; the facts are plain,” the committee’s chairman, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said. This resolution “seeks admission of the horrible truth, in order that this horror may never be perpetrated again.” More than 140 lawmakers from both political parties have agreed to co-sponsor the nonbinding resolution, which urges Japan to “formally acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner” for the suffering of so-called “comfort women” during the 1930s and 1940s. While popular among U.S. lawmakers, the resolution has caused unease in Japan. Officials there say their country’s prime ministers have apologized repeatedly — including during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Washington in April — for the Imperial Japanese Army’s forcing of women to work in military brothels during World War II. Abe said Tuesday he was not in a position to comment on a decision by the U.S. Congress. But he told reporters that he was “convinced that Japan-U.S. ties remain unshakable.” Some U.S. lawmakers questioned the resolution. “I wonder how many times we expect a government to apologize for the sins of an imperial government of the past,” Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo said. “Asking the Japanese government to take historical responsibility for atrocities of the defunct imperial-era government is somewhat counterproductive and unfair to the people of Japan.” Acknowledgment, no compensation Critics contend that, despite the apologies, Japan has never assumed responsibility fully for the treatment of the women. People across Asia and the United States, including conservative supporters of Japan in Congress, were infuriated at Abe’s suggestion in March that no proof existed that the military had coerced women into brothels. U.S. officials later said Abe’s subsequent public statements supporting a 1993 government apology were convincing. Japan acknowledged in the 1990s that its military set up and ran brothels for its troops. It has rejected most compensation claims, saying they were settled by postwar treaties. The Asian Women’s Fund, created in 1995 by the Japanese government but run independently and financed by private donations, has provided a way for Japan to compensate former sex slaves without offering official government compensation. Many comfort women have rejected the fund. Supporters of the resolution want an apology similar to the one the U.S. government gave to Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during World War II. That apology was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Historians say up to 200,000 women were forced to have sex with millions of Japanese soldiers during the war. In February, three elderly former comfort women testified to a congressional panel of their rape, torture and humiliation by Japanese soldiers during the war. © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

2007-08-01