Slow to Make Amends

From dark shadows in Manila Bay rise dozens of twisted bits of rusty ship superstructures, a menace to navigation, an eyesore, a jagged Reminder of the Japanese invasion. Since Filipinos think that Japan should clear the mess it left in Manila Bay, the debris is also a constant reminder of their claim for reparations from Japan. That claim has gone unsettled and unpaid for eight years.

Visiting Manila in 1946, General Dwight Eisenhower (then Chief of Staff of the Army) said the destruction wrought there by the Japanese before they were driven out was matched by only one other city he had seen: Warsaw. Originally, the Philippines demanded $8 billion in reparations, a figure which included $1,000 for each of the 91,180 Filipinos who died at the hands of the Japanese. Since then, some of the legacy of hatred has diminished, and so have Philippine demands. Four months ago, Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay got down to cases by asking Japanese Premier Ichiro Hatoyama to demonstrate "that Japan is really sincere in making amends by doing it in a tangible way to the best of its ability." The amount of money involved, Magsaysay indicated, could then be adjusted.

Hatoyama responded by inviting Magsaysay's envoy to a Tokyo bargaining table. But it soon became clear that the Japanese, fearful of their precarious foreign trade position, meant to drive a hard bargain: a large award to the Philippines might set off a chain reaction of higher demands from other victims of Japanese expansion, e.g., Thailand, Indonesia.

By last fortnight, the Philippines had reduced its claim by 90%. It asked only $20 million in cash, $30 million for "services," including ridding Manila Bay of its sunken hulks, the rest in capital goods, and investment loans. Still the Japanese balked. Last week Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu hinted to the Japanese Diet that he might compromise between Manila's $800 million demand and Japan's last offer of $400 million.

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