Hundreds of protesters in San Francisco call for apology from Japan's Abe

San Francisco, April 28, (People's Daily Online)----Hundreds protested in front of Japanese Consulate in San Francisco on Tuesday over Japanese Premier Minister Abe Shinzo's refusal to admit the country's war crimes.

The protest by Chinese Americans and Korean Americans came during Abe's visit to the United States, and two days ahead of his visit to the San Francisco Bay Area.

With Chinese and South Korean flags as well as signs in hands, protesters chanted "Shame on Abe" and "Abe apologizes" both in Chinese and English.

Alan Ho, president of Global Alliance for Preserving the History of World War II in Asia, said, "It has been 70 years since World War II ended, the Japanese government has never made a formal apology for their atrocities. What's worse, Japan has denied more than once its crimes committed during the war, including the comfort women and Nanking Massacre. The country also distorts history by rewriting or omitting facts in its textbooks. We come here today aiming to protest Japan's reviving of militarism by Abe."

Lai Shujiong, a 96-year-old veteran who fought against Japan's invasion during the war took part in the protest. He repeatedly told the reporter that Japan should fully come to terms with the atrocities they committed before and during World War II. He said, "I, by myself, saw Japanese crimes."

It's reported that at a White House news conference on April 28 after meeting with President Barack Obama, Abe sidestepped a question on whether he would apologize, saying instead that he was "deeply pained" by the suffering of "comfort women."

Kwan Hi Kim, a Korean-American protester, said: "There are at least 60 comfort women in South Korea alive. Japan owes them apologies."

"It's hard to say because we don't know what the truth is. But we feel quite uncomfortable today when we see so many people protesting here," a Japanese journalist said when asked about her attitude towards Japanese government and the protest.