Toronto & BC ALPHA’s Position and Actions
in Response to the Recent Conducts of Japanese Government
(April 2005)

Position: The mandate of both Toronto and BC ALPHA (hereafter refer to as ALPHA) is to foster humanity education and racial harmony with its mission to promote public awareness, learning and preserving of the history of World War II in Asia. In the past few weeks, citizens from several Asian countries have come out to denounce the latest round of the Japanese government’s authorization to further whitewash history textbooks (e.g., glossing over the severity of its wartime misconduct), and to object its attempt to bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council before owning up to its war crimes committed during WWII. We, as ALPHA, would like to declare our position on these Japanese government’s behaviours that have heightened tensions with its neighbours, particularly with China and Korea, in recent months.

ALPHA, which upholds the spirit of humanity, does not endorse group animosity of any kind, including anti-Japanese sentiments. However, we do stand firmly against the Japanese government’s continuous acts to deny and dismiss the war atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army on the soil of its neighbouring countries during WWII. These acts have been manifested by its approval of the whitewashed history textbooks, and its continuing tributes paid to the shrine of convicted war criminals. Such blatant behaviours confirm our belief that no real peace and reconciliation can be forged between Japan and other Asian Pacific countries without:

- the Japanese government openly admitting its wartime aggression and war crimes against the civilians and prisoners of wars in the victimized countries;

- the Japanese government offering its official apologies and compensations to war victims and survivors, which Germany has rightly done for a long time;

- the Japanese government preserving and learning this dark chapter of history of WWII in Asia as an important human rights lesson and a strong reminder that such a holocaust should never be repeated.

Until all these issues are addressed, we remain vehemently oppose to Japan’s attempt to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Actions:
While we understand the strong sentiments among the people of war victimized countries as demonstrated in China and Korea in recent weeks, as organizations for humanity, both Toronto and BC ALPHAs also want to discourage any irrational or illegal outbursts that might lead to vandalism and bodily harm. Neither do we think that indiscriminate boycotts of Japanese goods would be sustainable and effective in pressuring for change. Rather, we need to plan our responses and actions rationally and strategically in order to assure our voice and the truths be heard both emphatically and empathetically by the international community. Real impact can only be realized by exerting pressures at various strategic levels and with the support of different sectors of the broader community. The following are five important ways that we would like our community to endorse and participate at this time:

1) Petition our Canadian government to oppose Japan’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council unless the Japanese government admits its war crimes and offers formal apologies to its WWII victims. A Canada-wide online signature campaign is being set up by ALPHA at www.asia-wwii.org. You are encouraged to submit your petition through our website, and all collected signatures will then be presented to Ottawa. The Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WWII in Asia has also posted a world-wide online petition (sign.sjwar.org) to UN and other governments. For the past 8 weeks, the Global Alliance has gathered over 40 million signatures from more than 100 countries. (Please join the Global Alliance online petition if you haven’t done so.)

2) Place a full-page ad in the New York Times in late April/early May and in September to express our concerns and opposition to Japan’s UN Security Council bid unless full reparation and compensation are made by the Japanese government. The advertisement will be widely circulated to all representatives of UN member nations, U.S. Senators and House Representatives, as well as our Canada’s Members of Parliament.

3) Call for a targeted boycott of consumer goods produced by targeted Japanese corporations that are known to have been directly involved in the WWII atrocities. This is not an anti-Japanese move, but a gesture of public indignation, concerns and condemnation over the attitude of those perpetrators who still show no remorse and refuse to face up to their war crimes. This time we call for a boycott of Mitsubishi Group of companies*. The boycott campaign will persist until Mitsubishi stops supporting ultranationalist groups’ attempts of history denials and is willing to offer apologies and compensations to its victims, including the forced labourers who were abducted and brutally treated during the war.

4) Educate the public and the younger generations about the WWII atrocities in Asia, which are rarely known in North America and most parts of the world. As global citizens regardless of country or culture, we have the responsibility to know the truth, to be the voice of the innocent victims, and to support their rights for redress. ALPHA has been working closely with scholars and educators in promoting the teaching of this important, but largely hidden, history and human rights lesson in secondary schools.

5) Raise $100,000 in order to carry out the above-mentioned tasks. ALPHA, being a grass-root voluntary organization (co-chaired by Dr. Joseph Wong, and Ms. Thekla Lit), relies on the generous donations and volunteer help from the community to support its missions. Those who are willing to contribute financially can make cheques payable to Toronto ALPHA with the account #:0532-5209-009, and deposit them at any TD-Canada Trust branch.

Your support in these five endeavours will be an effective and concrete way to help promote the cause and to collectively pressure the Japanese government to redress the wartime wrongdoings and injustices that had been inflicted on millions of innocent lives.

[Please share this announcement with any interested individuals and organizations for their support. Should there be further queries about ALPHA’s position and actions, please e-mail: info@asia-wwii.org.