Charles Rangel: “I want to thank Congressman Honda and all the Members who are asking that the Prime Minister of Japan try to restore the…”

“I want to thank Congressman Honda and all the Members who are asking that the Prime Minister of Japan try to restore the integrity that has been built up to this great nation since the war. Having been a combat soldier, I know, history will dictate that people are not particularly proud of what viciousness can come out of physical combat. Without getting into the years of occupation that Japan has caused so many Koreans to suffer before the end of World War II, we now have found that these two nations have rebuilt themselves into being our strongest security and trading partners, and so we should remove the stigma of lack of credibility from the Government of Japan. Certainly I think that most Americans who remember Pearl Harbor, Corregidor, and Bataan--I was a kid, but all I knew was that the Japanese had attacked us. I can't begin to tell you the visions that they tried to have us have. But today they are our friends. Let's try to get this behind us and move forward. ____________________”