“The Facts” is a paid advertisement published in the June 14, 2007 issue of The Washington Post by a group of Japanese conservatives calling themselves the Committee for Historical Facts in an attempt to dissuade the U.S. House of Representatives from adopting H.Res.121, a resolution urging Japan to “formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces’ coercion of young women into sexual slavery.”
Co-signed by dozens of political and public leaders in Japan, the ad is often said to have accelerated the passage of the house resolution by giving credence to the notion that Japan had not fully accepted historical responsibility, rather than preventing it. Nonetheless, the group published a similar ad, Yes, we remember the facts. (2012) five years later.
The ad features five “facts” regarding comfort women, which are the same old denier talking points debunked long ago.
Committee for Historical Facts is made up of:
- Taro Yayama (屋山太郎), political commentator
- Yoshiko Sakurai (櫻井よしこ), journalist
- Nobuaki Hanaoka (花岡信昭), political commentator
- Koichi Sugiyama (すぎやまこういち), musician
- Kohyu Nishimura (西村幸祐), journalist
Below is the list of endorsements for the ad.
From Liberal Democratic Party:
- Kazuo Aichi (愛知和男)
- Masaaki Akaike (赤池誠章)
- Tomomi Inada (稲田朋美)
- Taku Etoh (江藤拓)
- Takashi Otsuka (大塚高司)
- Hideaki Okabe (岡部英明)
- Yuichi Ogawa (小川友一)
- Cyube Kagita (鍵田忠兵衛)
- Yoshitami Kameoka (亀岡偉民)
- Minoru Kihara (木原稔)
- Tsukasa Kobiki (木挽司)
- Manabu Sakai (坂井学)
- Yoshinobu Shimamura (島村宜伸)
- Motoshi Sugita (杉田元司)
- Keisuke Suzuki (鈴木馨祐)
- Kentarou Sonoura (薗浦健太郎)
- Masaaki Taira (平将明)
- Touru Toida (戸井田徹)
- Touru Doi (土井亨)
- Masaki Doi (土井真樹)
- Katsuko Nishimoto (西本勝子)
- Jun Hayashi (林潤)
- Yoshihisa Furukawa (古川禎久)
- Fumiaki Matsumoto (松本文明)
- Youhei Matsumoto (松本洋平)
- Youji Mutoh (武藤容治)
- Tomohiro Yamamoto (山本朋広)
- Atsushi Watanabe (渡部篤)
- Yoshio Nakagawa (中川義雄)
From Democratic Party of Japan:
- Kenko Matsuki (松木謙公)
- Hirofumi Ryu (笠浩史)
- Yoshio Maki (牧義夫)
- Izumi Yoshida (吉田泉)
- Takashi Kawamura (河村たかし)
- Takashi Ishizeki (石関貴史)
- Kenta Izumi (泉健太)
- Hideo Jinpu (神風英男)
- Kenji Tamura (田村謙治)
- Eiichirou Washio (鷲尾英一郎)
- Keirou Kitagami (北神圭朗)
- Jin Matsubara (松原仁)
- Sinpei Matsushita (松下新平)
Independents:
- Shingo Nishimura (西村眞悟)
- Takeo Hiranuma (平沼赳夫)
Professors:
- Hayaru Fukuda (福田逸)
- Kohichi Endoh (遠藤浩一)
- Masahiro Miyazaki (宮崎正弘)
- Shudo Higashinakano (東中野修道)
- Kazuhiro Araki (荒木和博)
- Youichi Shimada (島田洋一)
- Tsutomu Nishioka (西岡力)
- Nobukatsu Fujioka (藤岡信勝)
Political Commentators:
- Hideaki Kase (加瀬英明)
- Kanji Nishio (西尾幹二)
- Kouichirou Tomioka (富岡幸一郎)
- Hisahiko Okazaki (岡崎久彦)
Journalists:
- Shigeharu Aoyama (青山繁晴)
- Hiromichi Moteki (茂木弘道)
