Chasm grows between Japan, neighbors, says study

WASHINGTON: The gap between Japan and its neighbors over war history is deepening, with Chinese and Koreans sharply critical of Tokyo but most Japanese believing they have apologized enough, a survey said Thursday.
The survey by the US-based Pew Research Center found overwhelming sentiment in South Korea and China that Japan has not shown enough contrition, with a mere one percent of South Koreans saying Tokyo has apologized sufficiently.
Perceptions have worsened in recent years, with the percentage of South Koreans who see Japan favorably slipping by 25 points since 2008 and the same figure sliding by 17 percentage points in China.
Only 22 percent of South Koreans and four percent of Chinese said they saw Japan in a positive light, according to the survey, which polled adults in eight nations by telephone or in person in March or early April.
Bruce Stokes, the report’s author, said there was not data to determine whether hardening attitudes were linked to the return to power in December of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is known for his conservative views of history.
But Stokes said that the attitudes were clearly influenced by a series of incidents including Japan’s approval of controversial textbooks and statements questioning the facts behind “comfort women.”
Some 200,000 women from conquered territories were forced into wartime brothels for Japanese soldiers but right-leaning politicians, including Abe before he took office, have cast doubt on the extent of Japan’s role. Japan apologized to former comfort women in 1993 and issued a broader apology for wartime suffering two years later, leading some Japanese officials to accuse neighboring countries of deliberately keeping tensions alive.
A left-leaning government set up a fund to compensate former comfort women, but it could not operate in China and most South Koreans refused the money because the funds came from private donors.
Historical disputes cloud Japan’s relations with its neighbors.
The United States has been concerned over the lack of coordination between Japan and South Korea, US allies that share common interests on North Korea and other issues.