Japan: Ritual of Reconciliation

When South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan traveled to Tokyo last week on an unprecedented three-day state visit, one question hung over the proceedings: Would Emperor Hirohito, symbol to many Koreans of a catalog of Japanese misdeeds, apologize for the brutal annexation of Korea in 1910 and the savage measures imposed during World War II, when Japan deliberately starved the Korean people and dispatched more than 1 million to Japan as forced laborers? On the first evening of the visit, Hirohito cleared the air. "It is indeed regrettable that there was an unfortunate...

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