A True Friend Of Japan

For over a decade and a half Mindy Kotler has been fighting a largely lonely battle, stepping on a lot of toes, arguing, sometimes inadroitly, points that were once derided as sensationalist and disruptive but now are seen as conventional wisdom: that if Japan wishes to regain the status of a normal nation in East Asia then the Government of Japan has to stop pretending

1) that the comfort women system is not an issue, and

2) that the issue can be handled by non-government forces handing out money and deceptively worded unofficial apologies.

Ms. Kotler has just published a crackling op-ed, "The Comfort Women and Japan's War on Truth," in The New York Times. Please take a moment read it. (Link)

The Japan establishment has focused on the messenger (Link -J) and ignored the message. In so doing it has failed the most basic tests of human life: the ability to tell friend from foe.

A friend, a true friend, does not tell you what you want to hear. A true friend tells you what you do not want to hear: that what you are doing is stupid and that you need to deal with reality, not keep pretending that you can live in a reality of your own.