Financial Times (December 30)
“Faced with the choice between the romantic nationalism close to his heart, and the recognition that only bold economic and diplomatic measures can restore his country to prosperity, Mr Abe appears to have listened to his head and chosen the latter.”In reaching a final “comfort women” agreement, “both South Korea and Japan have showed courage, pragmatism and the willingness to risk a domestic backlash. The benefits of this rapprochement should not be underestimated, at a moment when east Asia confronts both opportunity and peril.”
Tags: Abe, Bold measures, Comfort women, Courage, Domestic backlash, Japan, Nationalism, Pragmatism, Prosperity, Rapprochement, Recognition, South Korea
New York Times (June 23)
“Any reasonable American strategy for managing China’s increasingly aggressive actions in Asia depends heavily on cooperation with Japan and South Korea.” Alas, a new report on comfort women, calling the sincerity of Japan’s 1993 apology into question, has again cast a wrench in relations with neighboring South Korea. Prime Minister Abe’s “continued willingness to play to that political fringe is interfering with Japan’s ability to carry on its leading role in the region.”
Tags: Abe, Aggression, Apology, China, Comfort women, Cooperation, Japan, Political fringe, Sincerity, South Korea, Strategy, U.S.
