Hi Blog. I blog this as a matter of record, received from overseas activist lists. Now, while I don’t agree with all sentiments expressed below, I do believe that the US Congress resolution on this is important, since the GOJ would otherwise refuse to settle this issue in my view properly. It will also serve as an update on what’s happening at the grassroots level vis-a-vis this movement. Give the below as due consideration as you see fit. Arudou Debito in Tokyo<\/p>\n
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SUPPORT THE “HOUSE RESOLUTION 121” NOW! LONG-OVERDUE JUSTICE FOR “COMFORT
\nWOMEN”; END JAPAN’S DENIAL AND IMPUNITY OF ITS WAR CRIMES!<\/b><\/p>\n
The H.Res121 calls on the government of Japan to formally acknowledge and
\napologize for its role in the coercion of women into sex slavery.
\n(introduced by Mike Honda, and now has more than 120 co-sponsors)<\/p>\n
May 17, 2007<\/p>\n
Friends,<\/p>\n
It has been more than 60 years of the women forced into sexual slavery by
\nthe Japanese Imperial government and justice has yet to be seen. A clear
\nposition of the United States (country to whom Japan, esp. the current Abe
\nregime, is REALLY beholden to, as we know) via Congress will mark the
\nperhaps the biggest blow to the Japanese government which has stepped up
\npublic efforts to re-legitimatize revisionist history and push forward an
\nagenda for militarization, war and aggression (sound familiar?) in lockstep
\nwith (and arguably, FOR,) its bigger, stronger partner, the United States.
\nPeoples already occupied\/colonized by Japan and the US are seeing
\nintensification of that oppression already on the ground, while “old” issues
\naren’t even yet accounted for. This has got to stop! And helping STOP the
\ntears from flowing of the survivor halmonis, grandmothers, and lolas and
\nmore is an important, critical step towards that end.<\/p>\n
The resolution calls for what many of the survivors have been demanding for
\nyears. And yet, such a minimal demand has been shunned if not openly
\nconfronted and retaliated with accusations of lying, even profiteering, by
\nthose who represent the Japanese government (i see such comments appearing
\nin mainstream press so frequently, it’s even “normalized”). Furthermore,
\nJapan’s legal system aids in protecting Japan’s impunity by dismissing or
\nruling against the demands of the many many survivors from various countries
\nwho have courageously brought on lawsuits.<\/p>\n
It’s been long recognized in Japan that an international or external
\npressure is a critical political force in order to delivery justice to this
\nissue, and now it seems that the House Resolution 121 has gained so much
\nmomentum, we need to keep it up….and get it PASSED!<\/p>\n
And what can those of us in CA’s districts of Tom Lantos (san mateo and
\nsunset) and Nancy Pelosi (SF) and every one else can do to make sure they
\nknow we’re TOTALLY DOWN with their support? Here’s how:<\/p>\n
WRITE A PERSONAL LETTER
\nCongresspersons care what constituents think, and letters are by far the
\nmost effective way of letting them know what you think. Please, take 10
\nminutes, and draft a letter which contains only the following 4 short
\npoints:<\/p>\n
To Congressman Tom Lantos:
\n1) I live in your district.
\n2) I have read and support H. Res. 121
\n3) This resolution is very important to me (because….)
\n4 )I urge you to move quickly to mark-uop and allow a vote in the Foreign
\nAffairs Committee on H.Res. 121<\/p>\n
To Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
\n1) I live in your district.
\n2) I have read and support H.Res.121
\n3) This resolution is very important to me (because…)
\n4) I urge you to move quickly to allow a full vote on the House Floor on H.Res.121.<\/p>\n
*It’s important to write down YOUR ADDRESS so that they know your district
\n(or that you live in theirs).<\/p>\n
Fax or email the letter to: VISIT THEIR DISTRICT OFFICES Lantos’ District Office Pelosi’s District Office And furthermore, We note that this is a very dangerous trend for the world and all of us, Thanks to Gabriela Network (http:\/\/labanforthelolas.blogspot.com<\/a>) and the “121 Coalition” ( http:\/\/www.support121.org<\/a>) for their 411 & support. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Forwarding from other activists: “It has been more than 60 years of the women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial government and justice has yet to be seen. A clear position of the United States (country to whom Japan, esp. the current Abe regime, is REALLY beholden to, as we know) via Congress will mark the perhaps the biggest blow to the Japanese government which has stepped up public efforts to re-legitimatize revisionist history… It’s been long recognized in Japan that an international or external pressure is a critical political force in order to delivery justice to this issue, and now it seems that the House Resolution 121 has gained so much momentum, we need to keep it up….and get it PASSED!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,4,14,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-japanese-government","category-japanese-politics","category-problematic-foreign-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCongressman Tom Lantos: (202) 226-4183 or email thru his website:
\nhttp:\/\/www.lantos.house.gov<\/a>
\nSpeaker Nancy Pelosi: (202) 226-8259 or email: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov<\/p>\n
\nGet together with a small group of friends, family or colleauges, and book
\nan appointment with them. Let them know face to face your concern over this
\nissue. <\/p>\n
\nSan Mateo Office
\n400 S. El Camino Real, Ste., 410
\nSan Mateo, CA 94402
\n(650) 342-0300
\nor in SF: (415) 566-5257<\/p>\n
\n450 Golden Gate Ave., 14th Floor
\nSan Francisco, CA 94102
\n(415) 556-4862<\/p>\n
\n1) Sign the ONLINE petition, Gabriela Network our ally and long time
\nparticipant in the larger effort to deliver justice to the Lolas, has sent
\nthis around, add your name, spread the word!
\nhttp:\/\/www.gopetition.com\/online\/11466.html<\/a>
\n2) Get your organization or group to sign the COMMUNITY LETTER: circulate
\nyour draft for organizational endorsement.
\n3) See if your local\/ethnic papers would be willing to publish an “open
\nletter” supporting the statement to Lantos and Pelosi next week. If you’re
\ninterested in signing on together and get one published in NoCal
\nNikkei\/Japanese media, please contact me!<\/b><\/p>\n
\nwhich isn’t entirely even healed from japan’s first attempt around, when
\njapan invaded its neighbors and on the other hand was its ally the nazi
\nregime – creating lots of legitimate, justified hate and religious,
\nideological rationale for racist imperialist oppression. Many of those in
\npower in Japan are comprised of direct descendants and disciples of the very
\npeople who committed atrocious war crimes against humanity during WWII. This
\nHouse Resolution could be a HUGE blow and a formidable political force to
\nactually mitigate the efforts of Japan to roll back the “Peace” article of
\nthe Constitution, or continue colonial and racist policies domestically,
\nwith such legitimacy and impunity. The most significant thing right now is
\nthe voice of every each one of us right now. Please let yours be one that
\ncounts at this critical moment!<\/p>\n
\nAlso, see their URLs for more info.
\nENDS\n<\/p>\n