Japanese Prime Minister expresses his intention to issue a ‘forward looking statement’ replacing the 1995 Japanese government’s apology for wartime atrocities; Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso goes on a four-day long trip to Myanmar; Abe’s envoy meets South
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  • According to reports, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during a recent interview, expressed his willingness to issue a ‘forward looking statement’ that could replace the 1995 apology statement offered by the then Japanese Prime Minister Tomichii Murayama for Japanese wartime expansionism. He also pointed out that during his previous tenure as Prime Minister (2006-2007), the LDP administration could not find any evidence to indicate that the ‘comfort women’ had been forced to serve as sex slaves in the Japanese military brothels during the war. 1

    Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso paid a four-day long visit to Myanmar from January 2, 2013. 2 It was the first overseas visit by a member of the newly appointed Abe cabinet. This visit is significant considering that Abe is keen on emphasizing on developing closer ties with developing Asian economies to seek new growth opportunities for Japanese businesses. 3

    Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s special envoy and ruling LDP lawmaker Fukushiro Nukaga met with South Korean President–elect Park Geun Hye recently. During the meeting, Park expressed her willingness to forge a conciliatory and cooperative partnership between South Korea and Japan while dealing with the bilateral historical issues squarely. 4

    In other developments, the Japanese government is currently planning to purchase from the US its Global Hawk-a high altitude long-distance unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to bolster the Japanese SDF’s intelligence gathering capabilities. This move reportedly meant to more effectively deal with the increasing pressure from China on the Senkaku island issue. The Global hawks could also be instrumental in enhancing the SDF’s capability in gathering intelligence on North Korea. 5

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