[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF HOUSE RESOLUTION 121

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                       HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american somoa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 28, 2010

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Korean 
American Voters' Council for their continued commitment to the 
advancement of the Korean American community and to remind my 
colleagues about House Resolution 121, the ``comfort women'' resolution 
which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 30, 2007.
  The Korean American Voters' Council was a strong advocate and key 
initiator in educating members of Congress on the ``comfort women'' 
issue three years ago when House Resolution 121 was passed. The Korean 
American Voters' Council is a grassroots non-profit organization built 
up of volunteers who work on constituency development, civic 
participation, voting rights advocacy, and community education within 
Korean American communities across the country.
  Friday, July 30, 2010, will mark the third anniversary of the passing 
of House Resolution 121. House Resolution 121 calls upon the Government 
of Japan to make an official and unequivocal apology, taking 
responsibility for the Japanese Imperial Armed Force's role in 
enslaving over 200,000 girls and women of Asia as ``comfort women'' 
before and during World War II.
  House Resolution 121 was sponsored by my distinguished colleague, 
Representative Michael M. Honda, and it was my privilege to serve as a 
co-sponsor of this bill and to hold the first hearing ever held in the 
U.S. Congress on this sensitive subject. The hearing was held before 
the House Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the 
Global Environment on February 15, 2007 and paid tribute to those who 
suffered while acknowledging the past contributions of those Members of 
Congress like former Chairman Henry Hyde of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee and also the late Congressman Lane Evans who also championed 
this cause.
  It has been three years since passage and the resolution clearly 
expressed a need for a formal acknowledgement and apology by the 
Government of Japan, through the Prime Minister to the victims of this 
atrocity. The Government of Japan has had multiple changes in the Prime 
Minister position and not one has formally acknowledged and apologized 
for this human rights violation. The victims are running out of time 
for this apology, as most of them are elderly, and the time is now for 
the Government of Japan to formally apologize for their past mistake.
  I strongly urge the Government of Japan to formally acknowledge and 
apologize in order to begin the reconciliation process and to create 
better relationships in the future. Japan cannot move forward by 
erasing the past and it is of the utmost importance that Japan follows 
through on House Resolution 121.

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