The Asahi Shimbum quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow for Technology and National Security Jamie Metzl on the need for Japan to accept its history in order to move forward, in light of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s war anniversary statement:
“Japan needs to move forward through a much deeper historical accountability process that will ultimately make the country stronger,” Jamie Metzl, a senior fellow at the US think tank Atlantic Council, told The Asahi Shimbun.
Metzl, who previously served in the US State Department, said Japan is “creating its own vulnerability unnecessarily” by failing to fully come to terms with its history and that Germany should be held as a positive example.
“In Germany, apology is not seen as a form of national humiliation. It’s seen as a form of national strength and a reminder of what the country has become today,” he said. “I think that Japan is seeing this issue in the wrong light. Apology and coming to terms with this history should be seen as part of Japan’s continued rebirth.