In a speech marking the 96th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, President Park Geun-hye urged Japan to resolve the issue of its military sexual slavery during World War II.

Reminding Japan of the Korean government’s position that future bilateral relations must be based on a correct perception of history, Park noted that the conflicts over the past have prevented the two countries from becoming closer, despite their geographical proximity.

Park maintained her repeated position that the military sexual slavery issue must be settled before there can be progress in Korea-Japan relations. Observing that only 53 former sex slaves remain alive today and that their average age was nearly 90, Park said that time was running out to restitute the women’s honor, and pressed the Japanese government to promptly resolve their human rights issues.

Park also criticized the Japanese government’s continued efforts to distort history textbooks, saying that such attempts damage relations between the two neighbors. Citing the example of France and Germany, who she said overcame conflicts and enmity to lead the building of a new Europe, the president called on Japan to “courageously and honestly” accept historical truths and work toward writing a new history with Korea as a partner.

While this year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of ties between Korea and Japan, relations between the two neighbors have hit rock bottom. While Park is adamant that Japan must resolve historical issues before relations can be improved, the conservative Shinzo Abe government in Japan is moving quite the other way, working to “set right” its history during World War II.

The Japanese government is bent on not only distorting its own history textbooks, it was also caught attempting to get U.S. publishers to change accounts of World War II to reflect its view of history. In fact, the Abe government appears to have launched an all-out blitzkrieg to distort history.

Last month, Abe appointed a 16-member panel to help him prepare the so-called “Abe Statement” to be delivered in August to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. Already there are concerns that Abe’s statement may retreat from the Murayama Statement of 1995 ― which apologized for the damage and suffering Japan caused its Asian neighbors, and which is seen as Japan’s official position on its wartime aggression ― to downplay the military sexual slavery issue, although Abe has said he will largely stand by previous apologies.

Recently, Japan’s crown prince Naruhito, in an unusual move, weighed in on the matter. He said in a statement released on his 55th birthday that World War II must be remembered correctly.

“Today when memories of the war are set to fade, I reckon it is important to look back (at) our past with modesty and pass down correctly the miserable experience of the historic path Japan took from the generation who know the war to the generation who don’t,” Naruhito said.

The Abe government should take his advice to look squarely at history. Not recognizing and accepting historical facts as they are robs all people of an opportunity to learn from the past and risks the possibility of repeating the same mistakes.