In response to the 2015 Japan–Korea agreement and related media coverage, this essay expresses strong criticism of press narratives and a personal resolve to continue transmitting what the author sees as historical truth to the world. A reflection on international perception and historical memory.

2015-12-29

A friend said to me, “It’s far too wasteful for you to be paying 5,000 yen a month for a newspaper like this. You should stop.”

…Yet I will never again allow that newspaper to commit the kinds of wrongdoings it has in the past.
That may be one of the missions given to me by God.
Without my saying more, my friend understood instantly.

…Professor Watanabe Toshio observes that only several Western European countries and Japan constitute highly advanced civilizations (the first region), while Russia, China, India, and Islamic countries (the second region) remain separated by a vast developmental gap.
(From his December 20 Nikkei article.)

Despite taking one billion yen of Japanese taxpayers’ money, the deeper reason why Korea did not document the agreement lies here.
By exercising its full capacity for “bottomless malice” and “plausible falsehoods,” it conceals the intention, if possible, to once again extract Japanese tax money.

But this time, unlike the absurd Kōno Statement that was effectively staged by the Asahi Shimbun, I have already stepped forward and continue to transmit what I see as truth to the world.
Not only that—the world itself has progressed far beyond what it was then.

The entire world watched the recent Japan–Korea negotiations.
The United States naturally welcomed them, and major British newspapers reported them as a “historic decision.”
This cannot become another theatrical farce orchestrated by that newspaper.

If Korea attempts to take advantage of the lack of documentation—which, needless to say, was its own doing—and once again demonstrate the nature of “bottomless malice” and “plausible falsehood,” it will be digging its own grave.

At that point, the Japanese people as a whole will no longer forgive.
Together we can expose what we see as the true historical record to the light of day and respond with full force.

The Japanese are not a people who will remain passive forever.
When the time comes, we can demonstrate the spirit of the samurai and act with unmatched resolve.

Payment, of course, should be made only after confirming Korea’s actual behavior.
Even if political circumstances lead to complications in the order of contributions,
how Korea acts afterward will itself serve as a litmus test to the world of whether it is a responsible nation.

When Togetsu Bridge came into view, I ended this conversation.
To be continued.