Petition # 310: Last chance to acknowledge!

Petition # 310: Last chance to acknowledge!

Petition # 310: Last chance to acknowledge!

His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan

The Hague, 8 September 2020 
Petition: 310
Subject:  Last chance to acknowledge! 

Excellency, 
It must be a personal big disappointment for you and your family that you, due to ill health, had to announce to step down as Prime Minster of Japan. Since your first tenure and later your second tenure as Prime Minister we have been writing you. Every month during those periods we pointed out to you that that Japan should reconsider its Second World War past. Japan lost the war she started and had to capitulate on 15th August 1945. The San Francisco Peace Treaty terminated the state of war. In the treaty Japan recognized that it should pay reparations for the damage and suffering caused by it during the war. Nevertheless, it was recognized that the resources of Japan were not presently sufficient to make a complete reparation for all such damage and suffering. Since the San Francisco Peace Treaty became effective Japan became a world power with sufficient resources to pay reparations for the damage and suffering to the individual victims of Japan’s war. We call Japans historic liability to the individual Dutch victims: the Japanese Honorary Debts! The personal tragedies of the Dutch caused by the Japanese military will remain a black page in the history books of Japan and the Netherlands.

Prime Minster,
In our petitions to you as Prime Minister we suggested that it should be an honor for Japan to settle the liability to the Dutch victims who lost but all during the Japanese military occupation of Dutch East Indies.  The US $10 million consideration under the Yoshida-Stikker protocol was an insult as it did not consider the true damage. The Dutch individual victims were not consulted. 

Prime Minister,
Our petitions suggest coming to terms. We never received a personal reply from you as Prime Minster. The Japanese Ambassadors in The Hague stated that all was settled with the San Francisco Peace Treaty. A dishonest approach to redeem the Japanese Honorary Debts to the surviving victims. We expect that you, in your last days in office, will reconcile in acknowledging the receipt of all our petitions during your tenures as Prime Minister of Japan. But too that you suggest to your successor to deal with our request honorably and diligently. 

Prime Minister,
Nevertheless, we wish you personally all the best and for as far as possible a comfortable recovery.

On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.

J.F. van Wagtendonk
President.