As for this matter of “coercion,” the issue is on what basis is it being talked about as “coercion?” What I mean is that there is no evidence to prove that there was the sort of coercion that involved the authorities forcing their way into houses and kidnapping people.
This issue all started with the Asahi Shimbun reporting that someone called Seiji Yoshida had given testimony that there was organized abduction by the authorities of women to serve as “comfort women”, but the thing is that we learned afterwards that it was all made up.
In other words, it all started with his allegation. After that nobody brought forward any testimonies about the abduction of women, the authorities’ involvement in kidnapping, or things like that.
… (the U.S. House of Representatives) Resolution is not based on objective facts. Furthermore, it discusses the problem without full understanding of how the issue has been handled by the Japanese Government.
… I cannot help but feel that Mr. Ogawa's remarks are designed to put a stain on Japan’s history.
Name
Shinzo Abe
Position
The Prime Minister
Party
The Liberal Democratic Party
Date of Speech
2007/3/5
Place of Speech
The on-line full-text database of the Minutes of the Diet
Source
参議院予算委員会 第3号 平成19年3月5日 (The Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, March 5, 2007)
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