A journalist close to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has defended her view that Korean women who were sent to Japanese wartime military brothels were not sex slaves, and accused a liberal-leaning newspaper of fabrication.
One of the newspaper's reporters said a day earlier that the journalist's comments triggered threats against him and had interfered with the settlement of the issue between Japan and South Korea.
Their public spat — a defamation suit by reporter Takashi Uemura against journalist Yoshiko Sakurai — highlights Japan's struggle to come to terms with its wartime atrocities more than 70 years after World War II.
In this Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, photo, Takashi Uemura, a former Asahi newspaper reporter, speaks during a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, in Tokyo. Yoshiko Sakurai, a journalist close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended her view that South Korean women who were sent into Japanese WWII military brothels were not sex slaves, accusing the liberal-leaning newspaper of fabrication. The conservatives hold the Asahi newspaper where Uemura works responsible for spreading the impression that all of the so-called "comfort women" were coerced. (AP PhotoMari Yamaguchi)
The two represent the divide. The conservatives hold the Asahi newspaper, where Uemura used to work, responsible for spreading the impression that all so-called "comfort women" were coerced. Liberals say evidence, including court documents and accounts of the women, shows many people were forced into sexual slavery.
Sakurai told a news conference on Friday that she sympathizes with comfort women despite their being "prostitutes" but that "I still think the Asahi and Mr. Uemra should be held accountable" for hurting Japan's image. She said Japan can't have a unified view of its wartime history because of what she called media bias.
Sakurai spearheads the view of Japanese nationalists that comfort women were voluntary prostitutes, and that Japan has been unfairly criticized for a practice they say is common in any country at war. Sakurai, a former newscaster at Nippon Television, is close to the country's powerful conservative political lobby, which includes many lawmakers in Abe's Cabinet and ruling Liberal Democratic Party and backs Abe's campaign for an amendment of Japan's pacifist constitution.
Uemura, who currently teaches at a university in South Korea while heading a liberal Japanese magazine, says he is worried about a widening gap in the understanding of wartime history between the two countries. The comfort women and other wartime issues have often strained relations between Tokyo and Seoul, most recently after a South Korean court ruling on Japan's forced mobilization of Korean laborers during the war.
Uemura in 2015 filed a defamation suit against Sakurai and three publishers that carried articles by her that alleged his stories were "fabrication." A district court in Sapporo in northern Japan ruled last Friday that Sakurai's articles hurt Uemura's reputation but did not amount to defamation.
Uemura wants Sakurai and the magazines to publish an apology and pay 16.5 million yen ($146,000) in compensation. He said he will appeal to a high court. He has also filed other libel suits against a scholar and a publisher in Tokyo.
Historians say tens of thousands of women, including Japanese, Koreans and others from around Asia were sent to front-line military brothels to provide sex for Japanese soldiers. A 1991-1993 Japanese government investigation concluded many of the women were recruited against their will, leading to a landmark Japanese apology. The investigation found no written proof in official documents, and conservatives have cited that in arguing the women were not coerced.
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DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
