Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts, NGO Status Roster
The Hague, 9 March 2021
Petition: 316
Subject: Will the resignation of Mr. Yoshiro Mori be the beginning to pay more respect for Comfort Women?
His Excellency Yoshihide Suga,
Prime Minister of Japan.
Excellency,
Mr. Yoshiro Mori had to resign as head of the Tokyo Olympics Organization Committee. The pressure to do this, despite his powerful position as former Prime Minister, was due to his inappropriate remarks about women. The people of Japan, traditionally following the antiquated views on the position of women, do not seem to accept these any longer. The position of women in society as well as in public life is changing. This is a global trend which Japan appears to follow as evident in the reactions to Mr. Mori’s resignation.
Prime Minister,
Despite the difficult times the world is encountering due to the Corona pandemic the public reaction to Mr. Mori resignation is encouraging. Nevertheless, it is worrying that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states on their web site that clearly on the facts the Ministry expanded the explanations of Japan’s position on the Comfort Women issue. It counters false claims that Comfort Women were forcefully taken away and used as sex slaves. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has long hesitated to speak clearly on the facts of Japan’s wartime history, leading to widespread falsehoods and misunderstanding. This is an outrageous statement and typifies the hidden shame of Japan’s war time history!
Prime Minister,
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, promoting equality and respect for women. It is time now for Japan to follow up on Mr. Mori resignation and acknowledge that Comfort Women were sex slaves for the Japanese Military and forced into prostitution. An honorable apology is long overdue. Japan officials must stop denying the historic facts and pay respect to women in particular Comfort Women.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President.
The Hague, 9 February 2021
Petition: 315
Subject: Renewal of the dialogue with the Japanese Ambassador in the Hague?
His Excellency Yoshihide Suga,
Prime Minister of Japan.
Excellency,
Due to the Corona pandemic we had to close our offices in The Hague. As a result, we have limited contacts with our members. Nevertheless, the board of the Foundation Japanese Honorary Debts had a meeting in discussing the effects of all our petitions and discussions since 1990. The hard conclusion is that Japanese governments and their representatives in The Hague respect our efforts in keeping a dialogue. However, in the discussions and communications there is no commitment to demonstrate a willingness to consider the moral aspects of Japan’s war time history in Dutch East Indies.
We hope and expect, after the frightening experience of
the Corona pandemic, that the Japanese Ambassador in the Hague his Excellency Hidehisa
Horinouchi will take the opportunity to give the “Dialogue” a renewed meaning to
the moral aspects of Japans war time history. Following the lead, which the new
President of the United States of America advocates.
In the post Corona area, we expect a meaningful restart
to the dialogue. We expect to receive a confirmation from you as Prime Minister
of Japan that the Japanese Ambassador to The Netherlands is to explore with the
Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts such a renewed dialogue.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President.
His Excellency Yoshihide Suga,
Prime Minister of Japan.
The Hague, 12 January 2021
Petition: 314
Subject: In the changing Corona world we cannot forget the past.
Excellency,
The board and members of the Foundation Japanese Honorary Debts wish you, your Cabinet, and the people of Japan a safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year. During the present Corona pandemic, we all try to keep healthy and safe, and reflect also on the future not forgetting the past. In last year’s petition 302 I wrote that the effects of World War II are still not resolved satisfactorily for the individuals who endured the war. They still suffer from the memories and the pain both physically and emotionally. The survivors, the majority in their eighties, are again in the Corona lockdown cruelly reminded of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. They cannot forget and feel the pain they had to endure during Japan’s occupation. Their next of kin try to console them but are restricted by the Corona lockdown. Due to Corona the world has changed dramatically. Let us hope that the vaccinations will restore the situation in a positive way.
Prime Minister,
In the same petition 302 I refer to: “a letter dated 29 May 2019 addressed to Mr. J.A.M Rijkes from Culemborg, written by the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands. He wrote, abbreviated: “Prime Ministers of Japan officially stated that Japan expresses the feelings of deep remorse and sincere apology for its actions during the war.” In the letter, he refers further: ”That in accordance with the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty and the 1956 Protocol Japan paid 10.000.000 USD for the purpose of expressing sympathy and regret for the suffering inflicted during the war. The Dutch Government and the Japanese Government are in agreement that all war-related reparations have been settled with these agreements are regulated in accordance with international law.”
Prime Minister,
We still do not agree with this statement. However, we concluded with our lawyers, that it is time to confront the Dutch Government with the statement in the letter. We started a litigation on the grounds of a wrongful act resulting from the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the Yoshida-Stikker Protocol. The possible result of this litigation does not indemnify Japan and itspeople of its moral obligations. I repeat therefore our request on behalf of the Dutch people from the Dutch East Indies to develop together with the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts a solidarity program for and in support of the victims and their relatives.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President.
Stichting JES komt op voor de belangen van Nederlandse slachtoffers die door toedoen van Japan tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog in voormalig Nederlands-Indië oorlogsschade hebben geleden. Hieronder vallen mensen die de meest verschrikkelijke dingen hebben meegemaakt, in Japanse interneringskampen en daarbuiten. Aan veel van de slachtoffers is door de Japanse bezetter onomkeerbare fysieke en geestelijke schade toegebracht door onder andere intimidatie, opsluiting, marteling, uithongering en ontzegging van medicijnen. Daarnaast zijn inboedels geroofd en huizen, gehele wijken en dorpen vernietigd.
De Nederlanders uit Nederlands-Indie is groot onrecht aangedaan. Een reden dat hen nooit compensatie is geboden ligt ook in het optreden van de Nederlandse regering na de Tweede Wereldoorlog. De Nederlandse Staat heeft namelijk de weg naar schadevergoeding van Japan afgesloten door afstand te doen van de vorderingen van slachtoffers van de Tweede Wereldoorlog jegens Japan door middel van een Verdrag en Protocol in de jaren ’50. De Nederlandse Staat heeft de slachtoffers daarvoor nooit compensatie geboden. Daarnaast behandelde de Nederlandse Staat mensen uit Nederland en die uit Nederlands-Indië ongelijk wat betreft de vergoeding van oorlogsschade. Het gevolg hiervan is dat de oorlogsschade van slachtoffers uit Nederlands-Indië tot op de dag van vandaag niet is vergoed.
Over deze kwestie heeft Stichting JES en een groep individuele eisers tegen de Nederlandse Staat een rechtszaak aangespannen. De zitting in deze procedure vindt plaats op 24 januari 2022 bij de rechtbank Den Haag. Vóór het starten van de procedure heeft Stichting JES twee brieven gestuurd naar de Staat om in overleg te treden. Hier is nooit antwoord op gekomen. In plaats daarvan is de Staat met gestrekt been in de procedure gegaan. Desondanks blijft Stichting JES hopen dat deze kwestie – ook met het nieuwe kabinet in het achterhoofd – buiten de rechter om kan worden opgelost. De tijd begint te dringen: degenen die de Tweede Wereldoorlog hebben meegemaakt zijn allemaal op zeer hoge leeftijd. De slachtoffers en nabestaanden hopen dat er nu eindelijk erkenning komt voor het leed dat de slachtoffers in Nederlands-Indië is aangedaan en hoe de Nederlandse Staat hiermee is omgegaan. Voor nadere informatie verwijs ik u naar het bijgevoegde persbericht, uitgebracht bij de dagvaarding.
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Stichting Japanse Ereschulden dagvaardt de Nederlandse Staat vanwege het onmogelijk maken voor slachtoffers van schadeverhaal op Japan
Stichting Japanse Ereschulden is deze week, samen met individuele slachtoffers en nabestaanden, een proce- dure gestart tegen de Nederlandse Staat wegens de gevolgen van het Vredesverdrag met Japan in 1951 en het Yoshida-Stikker-Protocol in 1956. Het gaat hier om het ontbreken van volledige erkenning van schade geleden door oorlogsslachtoffers in voormalig Nederlands-Indië tijdens de Japanse bezetting in de Tweede Wereldoor- log. Het betreft schade geleden door schending van de meest fundamentele rechten. Aan veel van de slachtof- fers is door de Japanse bezetter irreversibele fysieke en geestelijke schade toegebracht onder andere door inti- midatie, opsluiting, marteling, uithongering en ontzegging van medicijnen. Daarnaast zijn inboedels geroofd en huizen, gehele wijken en dorpen vernietigd.
De Nederlandse Staat heeft de route naar volledige erkenning en compensatie van schade afgesneden door middel van het destijds gesloten Vredesverdrag met Japan (1951) en het Yoshida-Stikker-Protocol (1956). Ne- derland heeft in het Vredesverdrag en het Yoshida-Stikker-Protocol afstand gedaan van vorderingen van de Nederlandse oorlogsgetroffenen en hun nabestaanden jegens Japan. Als gevolg hiervan kunnen de Nederland- se slachtoffers de Japanse staat niet met succes aanspreken op de oorlogsmisdaden die zijn gepleegd en de schade die hierdoor is veroorzaakt. Deze ‘ontrechting’ klemt te meer nu de Nederlandse Staat tot op de dag van vandaag evenmin bereid is zelf volledige compensatie te bieden, terwijl hij daartoe wel verplicht is.
Stichting Japanse Ereschulden dagvaardt daarom nu, samen met individuele slachtoffers en nabestaanden, de Nederlandse Staat om erkend te krijgen dat met het afstand doen van vorderingen op Japan en het tot op de dag van vandaag weigeren om de slachtoffers daarvoor te compenseren, door de Staat onrechtmatig is gehan- deld.
Stichting Japanse Ereschulden zet zich in voor de belangen van Nederlanders en hun nabestaanden uit voor- malig Nederlands-Indië die tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog door toedoen van Japan schade hebben geleden. Het is de hoogste tijd dat, 75 jaar na de capitulatie van Japan, juridische aansprakelijkheid wordt erkend voor de positie waarin de Staat betrokkenen heeft gebracht en dat de Nederlanders uit voormalig Nederlands-Indië volledig worden gecompenseerd voor het ondervonden leed en de oorlogsschade.
Stichting Japanse Ereschulden heeft de Staat daarover aangesproken en aangeboden mee te denken over moge- lijke oplossingsrichtingen. Tot dusverre heeft de Staat echter geen enkele reactie gegeven. Dat is voor de oor- logsgetroffenen en hun nabestaanden extra pijnlijk in dit belangrijke herdenkingsjaar. Stichting Japanse Ere- schulden heeft zich daarom genoodzaakt gezien een juridische procedure te starten teneinde de aansprakelijk- heid van de Staat vastgesteld te krijgen. Deze week is bij de Staat een dagvaarding bezorgd. Dat is helaas ken- nelijk de enige manier waarop de al 75 jaar durende impasse tussen de Staat en de Indische gemeenschap kan worden doorbroken.
Voor meer informatie kunt u contact opnemen met dhr. H. Leversteijn (h.leversteijn@gmail.com) 0621891858) en dhr. J.F. van Wagtendonk (jfvanwagtendonk@hotmail.com).
His Excellency Yoshihide Suga,
Prime Minister of Japan.
The Hague, 8 December 2020
Petition: 313
Subject: December 7, 1941 Japan started the Pacific War.
Excellency,
7 December 1941, now 79 years ago, Japan started the Pacific War. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and brought the United States of America into World War II. Japan’s attack, on behalf of Emperor Hirohito, was devastating and brutal. Many died and those who survived had to live with a never-ending trauma.
During the war, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy committed widespread war crimes during the occupation of the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch, who are still alive, remember it too well. They are still waiting for Japan’s sincere apology with moral compensation for the horrors and lasting damage to their lives and their relatives. The current so-called Peace Exchange Program is insufficient to remove these reminders. The program is of very small-scale and involves very few real victims. The survivors are too old to endure the journey to Japan. It would be better for Japan to show genuine regret and remorse in a more appropriate program involving present survivors and survivors of the deceased.
Prime Minister,
In a letter dated 29 May 2019 to Mr. J.A.M Rijkes from Culemborg, the Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Japan in the Netherlands wrote, abbreviated:
“Prime Ministers of Japan officially stated that Japan expresses the feelings of deep remorse and sincere apology for its actions during the war.” In the letter, the deputy refers further:” That in accordance with the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty and the 1956 Protocol Japan paid US$ 10 million for the purpose of expressing sympathy and regret for the suffering inflicted during the war. The Dutch Government and the Japanese Government are in agreement that all war-related reparations have been settled with these agreements are regulated in accordance with international law. “
Prime Minister,
I do not agree with this statement and I object that reference to “international law” is being used in what I consider to be moral obligations of Japan and its people. Hence my request on behalf of the Dutch people from the Dutch East Indies to develop together with the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts a solidarity program for and supported by the victims and their relatives.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts Foundation.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President.
His Excellency Yoshihide Suga,
Prime Minister of Japan
The Hague, 10 November 2020
Petition: 312
Subject: Stop denying the Japanese “Comfort Women” system.
Excellency,
In these difficult Corona times, it is hard to consider the war history of Japan. Nevertheless the Corona situation, the government of Japan must stop its policy denying the truth about the Comfort Women system. Despite the Japanese denials, the testimony of the survivors must be honored globally to avoid recurrence. Statues of Comfort Women remind the world of the truth of these Japanese war crimes. It is an outrage that representatives of the Japanese government ordered the removal of the Comfort Women Memorial in Berlin, Germany. The Japanese government must stop these actions immediately. We are pleased that the German government rejected the request to remove the statue. The Japanese government, and in particular you, are familiar with the facts that during World War Two Dutch women and girls were abducted from the concentration camps and sexually enslaved as Comfort Women by the Japanese military during their occupation of Dutch East Indies!
Prime Minister,
The Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts supports actively the joint nomination of the original testimony documents by Dutch Comfort Women held by the Foundation on the International Memory of the World Register of the UNESCO. The government of Japan objects to this registration denying the Comfort Women system during World War Two applied by the Japanse military in Dutch East Indies. The historic memory of Comfort Women matters. We strongly urge you and your government to stop disrupting the proposal of the Committee for Joint Nomination of the documents on the Japanese Military “Comfort Women” to the UNESCO International Memory of the World Register. Thus, saving the memory of the Comfort Women.
Prime Minister,
I will be sending a copy of this petition to the Chair of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President.
Cc Mevrouw K. Arib, voorzitter Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal.
His Excellency Yoshihide Suga,
Prime Minister of Japan
The Hague, 13 October 2020
Petition: 311
Subject: Personal acknowledgement receipt of this petition.
Excellency,
On behalf of the Board and Members of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts we respectfully congratulate you on the appointment as Prime Minister of Japan. As Cabinet Secretary for many years you got to know about the activities of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts and our monthly petition personally addressed to the Prime Minister but presented to the Japanese Ambassador in The Hague. Unfortunately, we never received from previous Prime Ministers an acknowledgment of receipt of the petitions. We hope that you will rectify this diplomatically unheard-of treatment of an acknowledged NGO with Roster status at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
Prime Minister
In our last petition to your predecessor we suggested that he should reconsider Japans position after the Second World War ended. Japan lost the war she started and had to capitulate on 15th August 1945. The San Francisco Peace Treaty terminated the state of war. As you know the Prime Ministers of Japan never acknowledged Japans historic liability to the individual Dutch victims: the Japanese Honorary Debts! The personal tragedies of the Dutch caused by the Japanese military is a black page in the history books of Japan and the Netherlands.
Prime Minister,
As Cabinet Secretary you were fully aware of our desire to come to terms. We never received a personal reply from previous Prime Ministers. An insult to injury considering the appalling behavior by the Imperial Army and Navy during the Second World War in Asia including the Dutch East Indies. As the new Prime Minister of Japan faced with many problems as result of the Covid-19 pandemic it would suit you to personally acknowledge the receipt of this petition. At a later stage we should jointly agree to make suggestions how to come to terms with the Japanese Honorary Debts.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President.
Kan ik (weer) donateur of sympathisant worden?
Den Haag 18
augustus 2020
Aan Donateurs,
(her)nieuw(d)e Donateurs en Sympathisanten.
Hoe verder na
het Persbericht van 11 augustus 2020.
Waarde
Donateurs, (her) nieuw(d)e Donateurs en Sympathisanten,
Naar aanleiding
van het hierboven aangehaalde persbericht hebben wij vele bemoedigende en
enthousiaste reacties, maar ook vragen ontvangen. We spreken de Nederlandse
Staat aan. Niet Japan, omdat door het toedoen van Nederland dat niet mogelijk
is. Het gaat ons daarbij om dat de rechter vaststelt dat de Nederlandse Staat
aansprakelijk is. We worden daarbij bijgestaan door een van de beste advocaten
op dat gebied in Nederland.
Door de grote
stroom aan telefoons, mails en brieven hebben we tijd nodig om deze te
beantwoorden. Ik hoop dat u begrip hebt dat dit niet meteen kan plaatsvinden. Bij
de vele gelijkluidende vragen of verzoeken een aantal algemene antwoorden:
1. Kan ik
alsnog donateur worden? Het antwoord is ja! U dient uw verzoek met volledige naam,
geboortedatum, volledig adres, telefoonnummer, e-mailadres en slachtoffer status
(1st generatie of 2e generatie) te sturen naar Stichting Japanse
Ereschulden Platinaweg 25, 2544 EZ Den Haag of per mail info@japanse-ereschulden.nl. 1st
generatie leefde op 15 augustus 1945 en 2e generatie is een directe
afstammeling van na 15 augustus 1945 overleden ouders. De jaarlijkse donatie
bedraagt €18,00, eventueel aangevuld met een vrijwillige extra bijdrage.
2. Kan ik als
voormalig donateur weer donateur worden? Het antwoord is ja! Dit gebeurt op
basis van het huidige registratienummer, dat weer geactiveerd wordt, na
betaling van de jaarlijkse donatie van €18,00 eventueel aangevuld met een
vrijwillige extra bijdrage. U dient naam, adres en registratienummer te zenden
aan Stichting Japanse Ereschulden, Platina weg 25, 2544 EZ Den Haag of per mail:
Over de jaren
hebben vele trouwe donateurs en sympathisanten hun jaarlijkse donatie betaald
vaak aangevuld met een extra vrijwillige bijdrage. Hiermede zijn reserves
opgebouwd waardoor wij een rechtsprocedure in Nederland aanhangig kunnen maken.
Om onze onafhankelijkheid daarin te waarborgen hebben wij nooit om subsidies
gevraagd noch gekregen. Van nieuwe donateurs en hernieuwde donateurs wordt een
vrijwillige extra bijdrage zeer gewaardeerd.
3. Sympathisanten
die onze rechtsprocedure willen steunen zonder zich te willen registeren als
donateur kunnen een vrijwillige bijdrage storten op onze bankrekening IBAN NL97
INGB 0006 2591 39 onder vermelding vrijwillige bijdrage rechtsprocedure.
Donateurs en
sympathisanten ontvangen 3 keer per jaar het Nieuws Magazine, kunnen de
maandelijkse demonstratie op de 2e dinsdag van de maand bij Japanse
Ambassade bijwonen, waarna verslag wordt gedaan over de aan de Japanse Eerste
minister aangeboden petitie en voortgang van de rechtsprocedure in het Marriott
Hotel, Den Haag, bij een, corona afhankelijke, eenvoudige lunch.
Indien u alsnog
vragen hebt richt die dan per mail aan info@japanse-ereschulden.nl.
Namens de Stichting Japanse
Ereschulden.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
Voorzitter
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.
Petition # 309: Still no change in not telling the true history and not the glorified lies.
His Excellency Shinzo ABE
Prime Minister of Japan
The Hague, 11 August 2020
Petition: 309
Subject: Still no change in not telling the true history and not the glorified lies.
Excellency,
On 9th September 2003 I wrote to the then Prime Minister of Japan his Excellency Junichiro KOIZUMI:
Quote: “Excellency,
In August we remember and celebrate the end of World War II. During the various ceremonies, the remembrances bring back our sufferings and the cruelty committed by the Japanese Imperial Army during the War in the Dutch East Indies and other places in Asia. We celebrate the ending of World War II which gave us back our freedom; albeit in a disunited country where almost all the surviving Dutch in the Dutch East Indies were forced to repatriate to The Netherlands. The remembrance evokes anger, that the Japanese government does not recognize the social and moral responsibility it has towards those who suffered at the hands of Japanese soldiers and civil servants. Let me repeat the anger:
It is beyond comprehension that the Japanese government is on the one hand proud to celebrate more then 400 years of friendship with the Dutch, but neglects its Honorary Debts to Dutch nationals originating out of World War II, hiding its responsibility on legal grounds.
True friends recognize their failures and do the utmost to repair the damage done, if they believe in the sincerity of friendship. It requires a meaningful gesture both in apology and material reparation to establish the friendship. In understanding the present, you must tell the true history and not the glorified lies. In remembering the actual facts the pain and the disbelief come back, but this horror must be faced as the world must know the truth of how the Imperial Army and the Japanese civil servants treated their friends for 400 years during World War II. The world must know that the present government of Japan appears not to learn from the past.” Unquote.
Prime Minister,
Ever since I wrote to His Excellency Junichiro KOIZUMI his successors, including you, ignored our petitions. I deeply regret such dishonorable attitude. The Japanese Ambassadors in the Hague had to refer to the San Francisco Peace treaty:” legally Japan is in the clear and has no obligations to an Honorary Debt”. However, it should be an honor for Japan to redeem the morally correct Honorary Debts together with a personal apology to the surviving victims.
Prime Minister,
Today I will be looking forward to your personal condolence.
On behalf of the Foundation of Japanese Honorary Debts.
J.F. van Wagtendonk
President.