Holding the Line
While the rest of the world gives North Korea whatever it wants, Japan will have none of it
In a show of its firm resolve to keep up pressure on North Korea, Japan has decided to extend tough sanctions against the reclusive Stalinist state for six months, citing a lack of progress on the nuclear issue as well as the past abductions of Japanese nationals.
At a regular meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet made the decision to extend the sanctions, imposed in the wake of North Korea’s first nuclear test last October, which sparked international outcry and raised regional tensions.
Japan, which sees North Korea as its biggest security threat, has taken much harsher punitive measures than any other countries against the reclusive Stalinist state over its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea also test-fired ballistic missiles last July, which fell into the Sea of Japan.
The Japanese sanctions bar North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports, ban imports of all items from North Korea, and block in principle all North Korean nationals from entering Japan. The six-month measures took effect immediately after Pyongyang’s nuclear test last October.
I believe that the big three in East Asia will not agree on a North Korean policy until they settle their own difference among themselves. Every land claim, history book revision, interpretation of World War II must be agreed upon by the three parties before any progress can be made in the Korean pennisula. Otherwise, North Korea will continue to exploit such difference and get its way.
There are several precedents in history that show our ancestors knew the difference between good and evil. But even in their times, things like slavery, the exploitation of women, and other practices that would today earn hearty condemnation, were acceptable and commonplace. Not remarkable.
Applying today’s standards of acceptable behaviour to incidents that happened several decades ago, and expecting a full apology from today’s politicians, is a foolish enterprise.
A local political leader may apologize to a domestic electorate for the alleged crimes of his predecessors against citizens of his own country in order to garner domestic sympathy and support. But expecting that same local political leader to apologize to a foreign public for crimes that he, or his existing electorate had no part in, and accept responsibility for paying extensive reparations and compensation.. you are dreaming.
No politician is willingly going to take money away from domestic projects, from the needy in his own electorate, to pay compensation to foreign nationals who were the victims of crimes committed by their great-grandparents.
And if you try to force them, they will likely become more ultra-nationalistic and make every attempt to re-write history.
And that benefits nobody.
Comment by chris — April 13, 2007 @ 12:44 pm