Through the comfort woman statue dispute, this essay argues that Japan’s assumption of being understood without speaking out no longer works internationally.
Clear assertion and factual rebuttal are essential to protect national interests.

In the international community, the Japanese assumption that others will understand without being told does not apply.
2018-01-19
The following is a continuation of the previous chapter.
Doing nothing only plays into the other side’s hands.
—What concerns me about reactions within Japan are opinions such as “It is wrong to dissolve a sister-city relationship over the comfort woman issue,” “It gives Japan a negative image internationally,” “It will harm Osaka’s bid for the World Expo,” or “An aggressive response only plays into the hands of anti-Japan groups.”
It feels as though national interests are being taken lightly, or that people are overly complacent.
Yoshimura.
To say that dissolving the sister-city relationship “plays into the hands of anti-Japan groups” is completely the opposite; rather, doing nothing is what plays into their hands.
There is no action more beneficial to those engaged in anti-Japan activities than the stance of taking no action and leaving factually incorrect criticism unchallenged.
In fact, it is precisely because the Japanese government refrained for many years from rebutting criticism regarding the comfort woman issue that political propaganda has now spread worldwide.
In response to this trend, Japan’s current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has clearly stated in the Diet that San Francisco’s acceptance of the comfort woman statue is “extremely regrettable and incompatible with our government’s position” (November 21, 2017, House of Representatives plenary session).
Foreign Minister Taro Kono has expressed the same view.
Osaka City is not making any outlandish claims; it is merely expressing the same position as the Japanese government.
Moreover, which cities Osaka chooses to establish or dissolve sister-city relations with is a decision for the city itself and does not constitute diplomacy.
Therefore, it is unlikely that Osaka’s international reputation will decline because of this matter.
On the contrary, clearly asserting what must be asserted is the international norm.
In the international community, the Japanese assumption that others will understand without being told does not apply.
The very phrase “it gives Japan a negative image internationally” itself reflects an attitude that panders to political propaganda critical of Japan.
Might not the thinking of those promoting the installation of comfort woman statues be concealed within such statements?
To be continued.