The House of Representatives is considering a resolution to urge Japan to acknowledge and apologise for the Imperial Army’s forced organisation of brothels during the war, staffed by so-called comfort women. It is an overdue but encouraging step, and Congress should pass it. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s drawing of distinctions about the degree of coercion used to bring Korean, Chinese, and even Japanese women to these brothels is an unfortunate response to the proposed resolution.

There are certainly areas of ambiguity in the historical record about this and other Japanese war crimes. But the direct involvement of the Japanese authorities, including the military, in the forcible recruitment of comfort women has been well documented, including by Japanese scholars. It is vital that the Japanese take seriously the pain that still burdens Chinese, Koreans, and other victims of past Japanese aggression.

The reckoning with the past, however, is not simply a matter of passing judgment on Japan’s misdeeds. The US, too, bears responsibility for the failure to confront Japanese war crimes. The US is not an outsider to the problems of history arising out of the wars in Asia, and America must confront its role in mishandling Japanese war-crime issues after 1945.

First, the US played a crucial role, whether intended or not, in shaping the process of historical reconciliation (or lack thereof) after the war. Unlike the Nuremberg trials, the Tokyo war-crimes tribunal focused on the actions that most directly affected the Western allies. The proceedings paid only cursory attention to crimes committed against Asians, such as Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the use of forced Korean labour in Japanese mines and factories. Second, and perhaps most significant, was the US decision to preserve the Showa Emperor in the belief that this would facilitate the occupation and reconstruction of Japan. There is still no consensus about the extent of the emperor’s responsibility for Japanese militarism and war crimes. As a report by the International Crisis Group put it, “the absolution of the emperor left the country without anyone to blame.”

Third, as Japan’s importance as a bulwark against communism in the region increased, the US sought to quickly put issues of its historical responsibility aside. The San Francisco treaty of 1951 formally ended the war, settling Japan’s obligations to pay reparations for its wartime acts. But China and Korea were not signatories to the treaty, and Japan’s responsibility toward those nations was never settled.

These unresolved questions now fuel the fires of nationalism in northeast Asia. Anti-Japanese sentiments seem undiminished in China and Korea, particularly among the younger generation. It is appropriate that Congress is taking a role in trying to heal the wounds of history. But simply demanding Japan’s apology will not be enough. By fully acknowledging what war-crimes victims went through, the US can help bring Japan and its neighbours closer together. — The Christian Science Monitor