Historians' Warning - 역사학자들의 경고

  A group of noted Japanese studies scholars around the world has issued an open letter denouncing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his right-wing coonservative govenrnment's attempts to rewrite history. 

  The letter came after Abe failed to apologize for the system of sexual slavery run by the Japanese military during World War II and other wartime atrocities during his speech before the joint meeting of the U.S. Congress last month. The hhistorinas had waited until the end of Abe's U.S. visit to see if he would address the issue of accepting responsibility for Japan's wartime history. However, that did not happen and 187 historians, including Harvard University professor Ezra Vogel, University of Chicago professor Bruce Cummings, Pulitzer Prize winner Herbert Bix of Binghamton University, and University of Connecticut professor Alexis Dudden, among others, signed a statement titled, " Open letter in Support of Historians in Japan"

  Noting that the goal of historical inquiry "should be to understand the human conditions and aspire to improve it," the scholars also said, " We defend the freedom of historical inquiry, and we call upon all government to do the same."

  The letter specifially defends the studies that have been done on military sex slavery against the Abe government's attempt to discredit them, or at least cast doubts on their credibility. The historians have recognize that much of the achieve of the Japanese military was distroyed and actions of the local people who provided women to military may never have been recorded. Nevertheless, they argue that historians have discovered numerous documents demonstrating the military's involvement in the "transfer of women and oversight of brothels."

  While the Japanese nationalist assail the reliability of the victims' testimonies, the historians maintain that "the aggregate record they offer is compellng and supported by official document as well as by the accounts of soldiers and others    

       

 

  1) denounce A : A를 맹렬히 비난하다.  cf. She publicly denounced the government's handling of the crisis

  2) come after : (수동태로 안 씀) ~을 뒤따르다.  ~ 의 뒤를 잇다.

  3) (wartime) atrocities : (특히 전시에 자행된) 잔혹행위   cf. It was the worst atrocity of the Korean War.

  4) inquiry : 연구, 탐구 문의.   inquire : ~에게 묻다. 알아보다.

  5) aspire (to sth): 열망하다, 염원하다.   cf.  If you aspire to be a travel writer, should read this book

  6) call on/upon somebody : ~에게 청하다. 부탁하다.  cf. I now call upon the chairman to address the meeting.

  7) oversight : (잊어버리거나 못보고 지나쳐서 생긴) 실수, 간과. 여기서는 관리, 감독을 의미 

               cf. Congress tries to reform its oversight of intellence agencies

  7) brothel [^|brɑ:θl;^|brɔ:θl]: 사창가.

  8) assail [ə^|seɪl] : (신체적, 언어적) 공격을 가하다. 몹시 괴롭히다.  cf. They assailed the speaker with jeers

  9) testimony : 증거, 증언    cf. conflicting testimony : 상반된 증언