An LDP Lawmaker Challenges History of Okinawa

A member of House of Councillors affiliated with Liberal Democratic Party, Shoji Nishida, made a speech which contested against historiography of Himeyuri Students in Okinawa, who were sacrificed for the Battle of Okinawa at the last phase of the World War II in 1945. Nishida refused to retract his words that labeled the story of Himeyuri Students as rewriting history. The parties including LDP criticized what Nishida had said about history of Okinawa.

Himeyuri Students, female students of Okinawa Daiichi Girls’ High School and Okinawa Teachers’ College, were mobilized to the front line in the Battle of Okinawa as nursing personnel. Over 200 students and their teachers were killed in the battle or in caves for refuge. The Himeyuri Monument, built in the city of Itoman in 1957, is one of the symbolic remains of the Battle of Okinawa, visited by many tourists every year.

 

In a symposium held by conservative groups, including local branches of LDP, Shinto Political League and Japan Conference, held in Naha, Okinawa, on May 3rd, or the Constitution Day, Nishida made a keynote speech to the audience, in which he criticized description of Himeyuri Monument. “I don’t know now, but it was terrible. According to the introduction, Japanese Imperial Army advanced there and Himeyuri Students died. And then, Americans came in and Okinawa was liberated. That was the context. That kind of thing happens when history is rewritten,” said Nishida about his visit to Himeyuri Monument in 2007.

 

Nishida also accused education in Okinawa. “In Okinawa, the people are wrongly educated, including interpretation of the ground battle in Okinawa. Japan cannot be independent unless we create a history with which we are satisfied,” told Nishida. Staffs of Hjmeyuri Peace Museum totally denied Nishida’s argument. Nishida refused correcting his speech four days later.

 

Nishida was elected in the Upper House election in 2007, under leadership of then prime minister Shinzo Abe. Known as one of the closest allies of Abe, Nishida has been supported conservative policies including constitutional amendment. He once argued that “deep state” exists in Japan. As a member of Abe faction in the LDP, Nishida received kickback fund from the faction.

 

To the speech of Nishida, LDP’s coalition partner, Komeito, protested Nishida’s speech. Secretary General of Komeito, Makoto Nishida, demanded the LDP retraction of his speech and required apology of Shoji Nishida. “It is totally different from my perspective (on Himeyuri Students). I can never accept it,” said Makoto Nishida. The chair of Party Organization and Campaign Headquarters, Yuko Obuchi, admitted that the speech of Shoji Nishida hurt sentiment of the people in Okinawa, and expressed her disappointment.

 

The opposition parties immediately accused Shoji Nishida. Secretary General of Japan Communist Party, Akira Koike, condemned Nishida, saying “It was really unforgivable speech.” Secretary General of Constitutional Democratic Party, Jun-ya Ogawa, told that Nishida’s speech was “extremely inappropriate.” It is possible that the opposition powers criticize fundamental stance of the LDP on Okinawa, which was revealed by Shoji Nishida, in election campaign of the Upper House this summer.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amendment of Local Autonomy Law

The House of Representatives started discussion on revision of the Local Autonomy Law, which would vest the national government a power to instruct local government in an emergency. It may change the relationship between the national and local government, which has been recognized as equal. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing that it would give the national government an excessive power.   With the Meiji Restoration, the national government abolished the feudal system, introducing modern governance. However, its autonomy was not sufficient. The governor of each prefecture was appointed by the national government. The local governments subordinated to the national government. It was as late as 2000 when  the Comprehensive Decentralization Law  was enacted and the relationship between the national and local government was defined as equal.   The national government found inconvenience in the relationship between the national and local government, when ...
Read more

Request for Final Nuclear Disposal Site

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry requested Genkai Town, Saga, to accept “literature survey” for building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste. Genkai is going to answer within this month. If it accepts, it will be the third place to accept that survey, following two places in Hokkaido. Main reason to accept the survey is supposed to be subsidy from the national government.   Japan has no final disposal site. Among all 54 reactors in 17 nuclear power generation plant, 12 reactors of 6 plants are operating. The rest of them are not in operation, some of which are determined to be decommissioned. Used nuclear fuels are stocked in each plant, 　 or have sent to a reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori. There are two plans to stock nuclear wastes in the intermediate facility for disposal, one is already built and another is still in negotiation.   Nuclear Fuel Final Disposal Act in 2000 determines to bury nuclear waste in the underground. Literature survey, ...
Read more

Death Penalty Demanded on Criminal of Arson

On the historically brutal case of arson, the public prosecutors demanded an ultimate penalty to the offender. In the trial on the arson and murder in Kyoto Animation in 2019, the prosecutors requested death penalty on the defendant, Shinji Aoba. The lawyers of Aoba argued that the court should avoid sentencing death penalty. The judgement will be passed next January. Aoba was indicted as putting fire after pouring gasoline in the building of Kyoto Animation (Kyoani), a studio producing animation works, and killed 36 staffs and injured 32 on July 18 th , 2019. In the trial, Aoba argued that he could not tolerate Kyoani, because it had stolen his novel story in its works. Aoba later apologized to the victim’s families that he had done too much and regretted it.   In the closing argument in Kyoto Regional Court, the prosecutors demanded death penalty for Aoba, because the number of victims were extremely high in the history of criminal trials in Japan. “It is hard to describe about h...
Read more