Opinion A Missed Opportunity By JULIET HINDELL	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
絶好の機会を逸して… 5月末、天皇、皇后両陛下は27年ぶりに英国を訪問した。歓迎式典後のパレードには、大勢の人が沿道に詰めかけ手を振った。しかし、旧日本軍の元捕虜が馬車に背を向けるなど抗議の意志を示す一幕も…

On his recent visit to Britain the Emperor encountered a hostile reception from some former prisoners of war (POWs). The protest overshadowed his entire visit and as a result some Japanese may have gained the impression that the British harbor resentment and are incapable of forgiving past wrongs.

There is a certain truth to that but the British veterans feel so deeply about this issue because they believe that Japan has failed to apologize adequately for the past. They also claim individual compensation. The Japanese government says officially that all claims to compensation were cleared in the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951.

My problem in covering this story for the BBC was that I understood both sides of the story. I sympathize with the veterans for their suffering. I appreciate the Japanese government's position that it has made amends and continued to make gestures of reconciliation. I know that many people in Japan suffered terribly during World War II as well.

But although the Japanese government knew the Emperor would encounter hostility in Britain they missed their greatest opportunity to pull off a public relations coup. They refused to grant representatives of the prisoners of war an audience with the Emperor. What did they fear? These old men are not dangerous they just wanted to put their case to the highest representative of Japan that they could.

The Japanese government said that the Emperor could not get involved in political issues as a symbol of Japan. But if he goes as the head of state on a state visit to Britain some would argue that he is involved in a political activity. The British Queen makes political statements as a representative of the government. She fulfills a symbolically political role, especially when she travels abroad.

In an interesting parallel, she was forced to apologize for the Amritsar massacre on her latest visit to India. It was an event that had happened before she was born. She had no direct responsibility but as head of state it was deemed suitable for her to apologize.One Japanese newspaper, The Yomiuri, argued that there were plenty of incidents in Britain's colonial history that it could be expected to apologize for. This raises the issue of how far back into history anyone is expected to go to make amends for the past. I would feel that at a government level if people who suffered are still alive then an apology is in order. If however, no one who actually suffered is still alive, an apology rings of insincerity.

By those standards, the Emperor could be expected to apologize to the former POWs. That I think is the most pertinent point. These men and women are old. They do not have much longer to live and they are still haunted by memories of their suffering. Anyone in that situation deserves a dignified apology. The Emperor mentioned his sympathy for their suffering at a state banquet with the Queen. He would have done better for Japan if he could have told them the same face to face.

Shukan ST: July 3, 1998

(C) All rights reserved