Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts, NGO Status Roster
His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan
The Hague, 10 December 2013.
Petition: 229
Subject: Renewal of the dialogue upon the arrival of the new Japanese Ambassador to The Hague.
Excellency,
The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts has presented many petitions to the Prime Ministers of Japan conveying the same message:
Requesting Japan to show its moral responsibility for the remorseless brutalities by the Japanese military conducted during their occupation of the former Dutch East Indies from 1942 till 1945.
Despite the desire expressed by Japan’s Ambassadors in The Hague to maintain a dialogue with the Dutch from the former Dutch East Indies represented by the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts, these petitions were never acknowledged and the message ignored. Moral responsibility is not a legal matter, but a matter of conscience and principal. It is the way in which we respect each other, admit our mistakes and crimes, apologize and compensate for the ill feelings and damage done. A genuine dialogue between Japan and the Foundation is required in establishing mutual understanding and acceptance.
Prime Minister,
Compare Japan with Germany. After World War Two Germany realized how the individual survivors suffered and what they lost as result of the war which Germany started. Without pressure from the Allies, Germany accepted moral responsibility, offered their apologies and compensated the damages inflicted by the German military and their political systems. Germany did this generously and without hesitation. Despite haunting memories and unrepairable damages to health and property the efforts made by Germany were accepted by the victims. Germany is respected as a nation of conscience and principals. They enjoy a status of respect and reliability.
Japan could be in a similar position by accepting moral responsibility. It would be appropriate for you to understand the meaning of the more than 200 petitions presented to Japan’s Prime Ministers since 1993.
Prime Minister,
A new Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of The Netherlands has been appointed. His Excellency Masaru Tsuji must be given time to read our previous petitions. In particular the last 50 petitions, which outline our suggestions, are essential for a meaningful dialogue. As a matter of goodwill and conscience we ask you strenuously to provide the new Ambassador with new instructions so that we can seek jointly for an appropriate and creative solution.
Prime Minister
In the meantime, as already requested in our previous petition 228, may we ask you to stop visiting the Yasukuni Shrine. You should not honor convicted war criminals! Stop hurting the millions of people who still suffer from the after effects of the Second World War Two started by Japan.
We would welcome an acknowledgement of the receipt of this petition by you personally.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts,
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President
His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan
The Hague, 12 November 2013.
Petition: 228
Subject: Reconsider your intention to visit the Yasukuni Shrine
Excellency,
As far as we can ascertain the Yasukuni shrine was established by the Meiji Emperor. It was to be dedicated to the spirits of the men, women and children who have died for the Emperors of Japan. The people enshrined include not only soldiers but also civilian war dead. Many of the 2,500,000 enshrined died during World War Two. The spirits of these include 1,068 convicted war criminals of which 14 are classified as class A criminals. These are criminals who “conspired to wage war at the highest level, allowing crimes against humanity”. 7 of the class A criminals were sentenced to death by hanging, 4 were sentenced to life imprisonment and eventually died of natural causes, 1 was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 2 died of natural causes prior to the trial by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. To honor these criminals at the Yasukuni shrine shows not only disrespect to the victims, but also is not in keeping with the Japanese military code of conduct.
Despite these facts the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare together with deputies of the Yasukuni shrine agreed in 1969 that the spirits of these criminals could be honored and registered in the shrine as martyrs of the Showa too.
Prime Minister,
When you and your party members pay respect to the war dead in visiting the Yasukuni Shrine one wonders whether you all realize that the visit also glorifies World War Two crimes such as the approval of enforced sexual military slavery (Comfort Women), the Rape of Nanking, forced military labour of Prisoner of Wars in the mines of Japan and at the railroads in Burma and Dutch Indies, the civilian concentration camps in Dutch East Indies, the medical experiments of unit 731 and last but not least the brutal terror of the Kempeitai in the occupied territories. All violations against humanity by the Imperial Army and Imperial Navy by order of the Japanese government in the name of Emperor of Japan.
Prime Minister,
You must consider these facts prior to your likely visit to the Yasukuni Shrine before year end. As Prime Minister of Japan you cannot visit the Yasukuni Shrine as a private citizen. You are there as the Prime Minister of Japan paying respect to the spirits of convicted war criminals. In visiting the shrine you are deliberately hurting millions of people who still suffer from your country’s atrocities and their consequences. You ignore the sensitivity of your neighbouring countries, risking a further escalation of the current disputes. Above all it appears that for local political reasons you do not care at all what happened in the past, whitewashing Japan’s guilt and avoiding the moral obligations stemming from that guilt. We ask you to think again upon your intended visit
We would welcome an acknowledgement of the receipt of this petition by you personally.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts,
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President