Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts, NGO Status Roster
His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan
The Hague, 13 January 2015
Petition: 242
Subject: A new year to reconcile and redress.
Excellency,
The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts and its supporters wish you and the people of Japan a happy and prosperous New Year. A year in which your promised change towards a lasting peace based on Japan’s economic revival may come true. With your renewed mandate you and your cabinet obtained the time and the support in shaping up a “new Japan” ready for its peaceful and democratic future. It also gives you the opportunity to make good the past in view of that future.
Prime Minister,
In the past year you invested heavily in international relationships with your neighbours and with The Netherlands during the Royal Dutch visit to Japan. During the many international visits you were reminded that Japan’s military past is not forgotten. Regardless of your efforts and demonstrations of goodwill it became clear: a positive resolution of Japan’s war history is essential in developing future relations.
Japan cannot but accept the facts and come forward with sustainable proposals acknowledging these facts. Japan must offer the surviving victims and their next of kin reconciliation and redress. The 15th August 2015 commemorates the end of World War Two. After the war Japan was given the opportunity to resurrect and to reconcile, but failed to redress its wrongdoings during that war.
Prime Minister,
It is only 8 month to the 70th Anniversary, a limited time in which to come to terms for a sustainable solution. You are now in a position to demonstrate that Japan wants to reconcile its past and invest in a peaceful future. Japan cannot continue to live with its unresolved past of coercing Comfort Women into military sexual slavery, Kempeitai terrorism, unit 731 medical experiments, racial discriminations and large scale concentration camps with the purpose to annihilate its inmates. The victim countries and their NGO’s will continue to remind Japan and the international community that reconciliation is long overdue and cannot wait any longer. On the 15th of August 2015 you can give Japan back its respect and establish a sustainable future.
Prime Minister,
The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts has written 241 petitions to the Prime Minister of Japan, which were handed over to the Japanese Ambassador in The Hague personally. We never received from the Prime Minister of Japan an acknowledgement of receipt of any of the petitions, nor an encouragement to resolve in a dialogue a meaningful solution. As a Non-Governmental Organization we are respected and accepted by the United Nations and the Dutch Government. It would be a matter of politeness and respect if we receive from you an acknowledgement of receipt of our petitions and an encouragement to future dialogue.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts,
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President
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