Forgiveness

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is visiting the US. He was greeted by a few protests against the war crime Japan committed in World War II, particularly the organized crime against Asian women - "Comfort Women". I was watching the news in the train and a protest sign caught my attention. It reads like this:

FORGIVE AND FORGET
IS POSSIBLE
ONLY AFTER ADMITTANCE

Yes. No one deserve forgiveness if he denies the crime he committed. Look at Germany. It is not a shame to admit a crime, especially when it is not committed by your own hands. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder had kneed down at the Holocaust memorial in Poland when he was in office. You can't tell how big the portion this action contributes to his own political benefit, but it itself is a history.

In the Japanese political system, it is impossible for their Prime Minister to do things like that. Emperor Akihito has expressed remorse to China for their suffering during the World War II, and on his visit to Saipan, the US territory where deadly fight had occurred in the Pacific battles, the Emperor offered prayers and flowers at several memorials, honoring not only the Japanese who died, but also American soldiers, Koreans forced to fight for Japan, and local islanders. If both the Chinese and Japanese Governments really want to reconcile their relationship and go for the good for both sides, make good use of the constitutional status of the Emperor and invite Emperor Akihito to Nanjing. That will become the turning point of history.