[bobman0330]

Recently, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe asserted that there was no historical proof that the "comfort women," i.e., the women who served in Japanese military brothels during WWII, were coerced into being there. This has caused a scandal because there is a great deal of proof, including testimony from many of the women and soldiers, and government documents, all of which conclusively demonstrates that tens of thousands of women were kidnapped and serially raped.

Nor is this the first time Japanese officials have done similar things. The former PM regularly visited the Yasukuni shrine, which honors over a thousand war criminals. IIRC, there was also a controversy over the way Japanese textbooks described some of the events of WWII.

My question is why are Japanese officials behaving like this, and why is it tolerated? Aside from being morally repugnant, white-washing Japan's past really darkens the country's reputation amongst its Asian neighbors, particularly China and Korea (its number 2 and 3 trading partners). It seems especially futile when the general truth has been pretty well established by historians. Is this part of a revolt by a younger generation against the guilt of the past? Pure bull-headed chauvinism? Something else entirely?