Not just apologies but repentance

by Nassrine Azimi

Year after year the question arises. Will Japan apologize sincerely for its violent, cruel, fascist intrusions into other countries? Or will it continue to appease its right wing hardliners with semi-apologies that just irritate everyone?

   Japan should apologize, of course. It has plenty to apologize for, and apologies are a crucial technology in peace culture. However, this issue is far deeper than some leader saying, “I’m sorry,” and far broader than Japan, Korea and China. 

   Nassrine Azimi, co-founder of Green Legacy Hiroshima and the woman who built the UNITAR office in Hiroshima, has written the best article on this topic I have ever read. Azimi is an Iranian-born Swiss citizen who lives partly in California and mostly in Hiroshima. She is a career UN diplomat with a thoroughly global, remarkably objective view of international relations. Read this article and I’m sure you’ll agree that we, human beings on this planet, would do well to draft her to serve as our queen.

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