Japan’s emperor urged: Give public apology, just compensation for WWII victims

President Benigno Aquino III bids Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko farewell before they part ways. KRISTINE SABILLO/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

A militant youth group demanded just compensation and public apology for the Filipino victims of the atrocities committed by Japanese during the second World War in the wake of the historic state visit of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in the country.

In a statement, youth group Anakbayan said that without just compensation and public apology from the Japanese for their victims, no resolution on the Japanese war crimes is in sight.

“We have not forgotten the cruelties and abuses inflicted by the Japanese Imperial Army against the Filipino people. There has not been any real closure of this matter and yet here we have the Aquino government inviting Japanese troops to our backyard,” Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo said on Wednesday.

Over a million Filipinos were said to be killed during the Japanese occupation with thousands of women who were taken as sex slaves by the Japanese troops. These women are now called “comfort women.”

READ: Discuss comfort women issue with Japan emperor, group asks Aquino

The group also decried the existing military agreement between Philippines and Japan which it claimed to be an act of “selling out” the country’s sovereignty.

READ: PH, Japan ink military aid agreement

The Japanese emperor and empress arrived in the country last Tuesday for a five-day state visit. The visit marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of the diplomatic ties between the two countries.

READ: Japan’s emperor, empress arrive in Manila for 5-day visit

“Their visit underscores the abiding friendship between the Japanese and Filipino people,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in an earlier statement. RAM