米連邦下院に従軍慰安婦決議案を提出 ホンダ議員、首相の謝罪要求

従軍慰安婦決議案、米下院通過の可能性も
中央日報・日本語版 2007/02/01

「日本軍従軍慰安婦の希望は大きなものでない。 日本政府が犯罪事実を認め、謝罪し、歴史的責任を取ることを望んでいるだけだ。 和解するためには過去を忘れてはならない」。

日系のマイク・ホンダ米国下院議員（６５、民主、カリフォルニア）は先月３１日、従軍慰安婦決議案を下院に提出し、このように述べた。 決議案は、日本が従軍慰安婦に加えた集団強姦と強制堕胎、人権じゅうりんは史上類例がない残酷な蛮行だったと指摘、日本政府が公開的に歴史的責任を認め、日本首相が公式声明を出して謝罪することを求める内容だ。

ホンダ議員は、昨年パーキンソン病で引退した同党のエバンズ元下院議員の意志を引き継いで今回、決議案を出した。 エバンズ氏が昨年提出した同じ趣旨の決議案は下院国際関係委員会を通過したが、親日派である当時のハスタート下院議長（共和）が全体会議上程を拒否したことで採択されなかった。 エバンズ氏の決議案を積極的に支持したホンダ議員は今回、ワッソン議員（民主）、ロイス議員（共和）ら下院議員６人とともに再び決議案を提出した。

ホンダ議員は「日本では９３年に従軍慰安婦に対する責任を認めた河野洋平当時官房長官の声明を撤回しようという動きがあり、日本のいくつかの教科書は戦争犯罪を縮小しようとしている」とし「日本政府は、日本国内で出ている『慰安婦の性奴隷化と人身売買はなかった』というの主張に対して公開的に反論すべきだ」と要求した。 「日本政府は現在と未来の世代にこの犯罪について知らせ、国際社会の勧告に従うべきだ」とも述べた。 今回の決議案は、「日本政府は歴史的責任をはっきりと認めるべきだ」というエバンズ決議案に比べ、要求の程度がはるかに強い。

日本は下院の決議案採択を阻止するため民主党の大物であるフォーリー元下院議長をロビイストとして雇用した。 しかし同じ党所属のペロシ下院議長は決議案を支持しており、全体会議を通過する可能性も高い。 ホンダ議員は決議案を出しながら、ペロシ議長に「元慰安婦の生存者らが心の平和を得られるよう、われわれが助けるべきだ」と述べ、「決議案は、正義を要求する元慰安婦らの声を米国が聞いていることを示すものだ」と強調した。

ワシントン＝李相逸（イ・サンイル）特派員

2007.02.01 17:57:31

米７議員が従軍慰安婦決議案を提出、日本に謝罪求める
（2007年2月1日13時13分 読売新聞）

　【ワシントン＝五十嵐文】米下院のホンダ議員（民主党）ら与野党議員７人は３１日、いわゆる従軍慰安婦問題をめぐり、日本政府に謝罪を求める決議案を提出した。

　共和党が多数を占めていた昨年も、同様の決議が提出され、国際関係委員会で採択されたが、本会議での採決は見送られた。今回は、民主党が上下両院で多数を占めており、本会議で可決される可能性がある。

　決議は、自民党有志議員が、慰安婦の「強制連行」を認めたような河野洋平官房長官談話の見直しの動きを見せていることを強くけん制し、日本の首相による「公式かつ明確な謝罪」を求めている。

従軍慰安婦決議案を提出　米議員、首相の謝罪要求
2007/02/01

　下院の与野党議員は31日、太平洋戦争中の従軍慰安婦問題をめぐり、日本政府に対し「明確な形で歴史的責任を認め、謝罪する」よう求めた決議案を提出した。

　昨年も同様の決議案が提出されたが、今回は日本の首相の公式な謝罪声明を新たに要求。旧日本軍の強制を認め、謝罪した1993年の「河野洋平官房長官談話」の見直し論が自民党内に起きていることを強くけん制する内容となっている。

　共和党が議会多数派だった昨年は、親日派のハスタート前議長ら同党指導部の意向で本会議での採決は見送られた。しかし、現在多数派の民主党を率いるペロシ議長は同決議案に同情的とされ、今回は本会議で可決される公算が大きい。

　一方、「旧日本軍による強制はなかった」との観点で「河野談話」見直しを求める自民党議員が、可決阻止へ向け訪米を検討しており、日米間の新たな火種となる恐れもある。

　日系のホンダ議員（民主党）や共和党の有力外交族のロイス、スミス両議員ら７人が提出した決議案は、当時の日本政府が「性的隷属」の対象となった慰安婦の獲得に関与したと指摘。「軍の強制売春」があったとし「残酷さと規模において前例がない」と非難している。

　また、日本の一部教科書が「慰安婦の悲劇を過小評価しようとしている」とし「河野談話」見直しの動きに言及。慰安婦問題を次世代にも教えるよう求めている。（共同）


US Congress Calls for Japan to Apologize for Comfort Women
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
Korea Times

U.S. Rep. Michael M. Honda introduced a bipartisan resolution to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, calling for Japan to formally acknowledge and accept responsibility for sexually enslaving women during World War II.

A similar resolution, drafted by Rep. Lane Evans, passed the committee last September. But it failed to go to the House's plenary voting session due to Japan's strong lobbying.

More than 200,000 ``comfort women'' suffered gang rape, forced abortions and other humiliations under Japan's colonial and wartime occupation of Asia from the 1930s through the duration of World War II, a statement posted on Honda's Web site said.

``These women's hope is a modest one: That the government of Japan acknowledges, apologizes and accepts full historical responsibility for this crime,'' Honda said.

The Japanese-American lawmaker said the purpose of this resolution is not to bash or humiliate Japan.

``This legislation, rather, seeks to achieve justice for the few remaining women who survived these atrocities, and to shed light on a grave human rights violation that has remained unknown for so many years,'' he said.

Daniel Kohns, Honda's spokesman, said a hearing will be held in the next couple of weeks.

The resolution is cosponsored by Reps. Edward R. Royce, Christopher H. Smith, Diane E. Watson, David Wu, Phil Hare and Delegate Madaleine Bordallo. It does not have the force of law but can place the Japanese government on the defensive.

Honda received the baton from Evans, who recently retired due to Parkinson's disease, to restart the legislative action.

The new resolution has a stronger tone than the previous version, pressing for Japan's formal apology as well as acknowledgment and responsibility for the sexual slavery and admitting that there was ``coercion.''

It also calls for an apology by the Japanese prime minister himself in his official capacity.

Last October, Prime Minister Shinjo Abe briefly told the Japanese parliament that he accepted a 1993 statement, under which Yohei Kono, then chief cabinet secretary, officially acknowledged and apologized for the enslavement of comfort women.

Japan established the Asian Women Fund in 1995 to help the victims of enslavement. But the fund is private and not a government fund.

Tokyo argues that the fund was established with cooperation from the government and the Japanese people, and that the government contributed funds for the organization's operating costs as well as its medical welfare support projects, according to a wire news report.

Historians say at least 200,000 young women, mostly Koreans but also from Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Indonesia, were forced to serve as sex slaves in Japanese army brothels.

im@koreatimes.co.kr

02-01-2007 17:49

2007/02/01 08:13 KST
(LEAD) Comfort women resolution submitted again to House committee
By Lee Dong-min

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. congressman submitted a resolution Wednesday that in stronger words holds Japan responsible for sexual enslavement of women during its colonial occupation of Asia in the past century and demands its apology.

The resolution presented to the House Foreign Affairs Committee revives the bill passed in the last Congress in what was the first congressional action to press Japan to acknowledge and accept responsibility for "comfort women." Two previous resolutions, submitted in 2001 and 2005, were both shelved due to strong Japanese lobbying.

Rep. Michael Honda (D-California) sponsored the resolution with six other Congressmen, including Republicans Chris Smith and Ed Royce. Rep. Honda is of Japanese descent.

Daniel Kohns, spokesman for Rep. Honda, said a hearing is scheduled in the next couple of weeks.

"It will be sooner (rather) than later," he said.

Former Congressman Lane Evans, sponsor of the previous resolution, retired, and Honda had promised to pick up the baton.

Comfort women is an euphemism for hundreds of thousands of women Japan abducted or lured into frontline brothels to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during the war years. Most of the victims were Korean women, whose country was colonized by Japan from 1910-1945.

Japan admits that such women existed, but denies its imperial government was involved in mobilizing them or in running the brothels, a stance that continues to irritate its neighbors.

Wednesday's resolution has a stronger tone than the previous version, pressing for Japan's formal apology as well as acknowledgment and responsibility for the sexual slavery and admitting that there was "coercion" of the victims.

It also calls for an apology by the Japanese prime minister himself in his official capacity.

"I rise today in strong support of the over 200,000 'comfort women' in Asia who suffered unimaginable dehumanization by the Japanese Imperial Army," Honda said in his statement.

The victims' experiences were "unprecedented in cruelty and were officially commissioned by the government of Japan," he said. And yet, "Japan has equivocated in its stance on this issue, which is made clear in their recent attempts to alter previous public statements and their school textbooks."
"The purpose of this resolution is not to bash or humiliate Japan," said Honda. "This is about achieving justice for the few remaining women who survived this atrocity."
But he criticized recent movement within Japan to rescind the apology expressed by then-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono in 1993.

The House committee last time passed the comfort women resolution in a consensus vote, but was unable to put it to a full floor ballot before its term ended in December.

Advocates of the resolution are hopeful that it will reach the House floor this time, backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has indicated support for a vote.

ldm@yna.co.kr

For Immediate Release
January 31, 2007 Contact: Daniel Kohns: 202.225.3327
daniel.kohns@mail.house.gov
REP. HONDA CALLS ON JAPAN TO APOLOGIZE FOR WWII EXPLOITATION OF ‘COMFORT WOMEN’
Introduces Bipartisan Measure Seeking Justice for
Victims of Wartime Sexual Slavery

US House of Representatives