Japan on way to heap more indignity on itself

Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun has been criticized by rival newspapers and some politicians since it retracted 16 articles on "comfort women" in August. The articles citied the testimony of veteran Japanese solider Seiji Yoshida, who said he had helped abduct about 200 women on Jeju Island (in then unified Korea) to serve in the brothels of Japan's Imperial Armed Forces during World War II.

The Asahi, saying Yoshida's testimony could not be confirmed, retracted the 16 articles published in the 1980s and 1990s. Conservative politicians and media outlets in Japan have lashed out at the newspaper for "demeaning Japan" abroad, saying there is no objective evidence to prove the Japanese army coerced "comfort women" into prostitution.

While reiterating not to challenge and replace former Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono's apology for the country's systematic use of "comfort women" - known as the Kono Statement - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration has repeatedly lambasted the Asahi and tried to absolve the Japanese army of the heinous crime.