abe's apology

Last week, activists gathered in Washington to protest the Japanese government's practice of sex slavery during World War II, as President Bush hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Among the protestors was 78-year-old Lee Young-soo, who was abducted at age 15 by the Japanese Imperial Army: 60 years later, pain still fresh for WWII sex slave. According to this article, with Bush at his side, Abe told reporters he has "deep-hearted sympathies" for what the "comfort women" went through then. He said he spoke with Bush and a U.S. congressional delegation about the issue:

"I do have deep-hearted sympathies that the people who had to serve as 'comfort women' were placed in extreme hardships and had to suffer that sacrifice," Abe said through a translator. "I, as prime minister of Japan, expressed my apologies, and also expressed my apologies for the fact that they were placed in that sort of circumstance."

Bush said he and Abe had a "personal visit on the issue" and that "he told me what was on his heart about the issue, and I appreciated his candor."

"The 'comfort women' issue is a regrettable chapter in the history of the world, and I accept the prime minister's apology," Bush said.

That sounded like an apology, sort of, I think. But hey, who the hell is Bush to "accept" Abe's apology? He's not the guy the prime minister should be apologizing toand Bush certainly shouldn't be accepting. Here's the official statement from Congressman Mike Honda, who sponsored a resolution condemning Japan for the comfort stations and urging Abe to apologize: HONDA WELCOMES JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER'S REGRET ON 'COMFORT WOMEN' ISSUE. Now he is calling on the next logical extension of Abe's remarks, for the Japanese government "to endorse the prime minister's personal sentiments in a formal, official and unambiguous fashion, recognizing that these women were coerced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army before and during World War II."