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Commentary: Obama's onus to keep Abe away from whitewashing history

Xinhua, April 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's America trip is closely watched by Japan's neighbors, the host, U.S. President Barack Obama, is obligated to keep his guest away from wayward and dishonest comments on history, which may dampen the hard-won upward trend of relations in the region.

A day before the Obama-Abe summit in Washington, the U.S. and Japan said they have strengthened their alliance by unveiling a long-planned update of their defense cooperation guidelines, which grants Japan's Self Defense Forces a more ambitious and assertive role internationally.

For Abe, the small yet decisive revision is a crucial step for his overall plan to reinterpret Japan's Pacifist Constitution, and might further embolden him to be more assertive and less tamed on issues of Japan's history of aggression in World War II (WWII).

So, the Obama-Abe summit scheduled later Tuesday provides a timely opportunity for the U.S. president to remind his Japanese colleague, who might be carried away by the long-dreamed breakthrough, to remain clam and make no wild talks when addressing a joint session of U.S. Congress Wednesday.

The speech, to be the first of its kind for a Japanese prime minister, is largely believed to be a rehearsal for Abe's "70th anniversary of the end of WWII speech" in this August, during which the historical revisionist prime minister reportedly would not completely repeat the Murayama Statement's wording, including the reference to Japan's "colonial rule" in Asia.

Abe's consistent double-dealing has disappointed the world and drawn rebukes both at home and abroad, and if he successfully skips apology for Japan's WWII atrocity by omitting the phrase like "colonial rule" in the yard of Mr. Obama, the rest of the world could easily draw the conclusion that Abe's wrongdoings are backed or at least acquiesced by Washington.

In other words, Mr. Obama should be aware of the danger of being politically kidnapped by a more assertive Japanese prime minister emboldened by the United States itself, and tries his best to lecture the reckless guest on how to be honest with history. Endi