Our ties with Japan “remain very strong,” assures Roque
(Eagle News) — The Palace on Thursday expressed confidence the installation of a Filipino “comfort woman” statue in Manila would not become a diplomatic issue for the country and Japan.
In a press conference on Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the country’s ties with Japan “remain very strong” even after Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda supposedly expressed regret over the statue during a meeting with the President on Tuesday.
“We have every reason to be optimistic that bilateral relations with Japan will become even stronger,” Roque said.
He said that in the first place, the statue–which was unveiled by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and officials of Manila City Hall on December 8— was not a “presidential project.”
“That should be addressed to the NHCP. It’s not something that the President will act on himself… Si Erap Estrada ang tanungin niyo,” Roque said.
The statue of the woman is situated on Roxas Boulevard.
The “monument,” a statue inscription reads, “is a reminder of the Filipino women who were victims of abuses during the occupation of the Japanese forces from 1942 to 1945.”
“It took a while before they came out into the open to tell their stories,” the inscription noted.