Tokyo is facing flak for its advertisement on a major U.S. news channel depicting itself as having laid the groundwork for the development of Asian nations, in an apparent move to whitewash its wartime atrocities.

It aired the two-minute ad on CNN and also posted it on YouTube in 10 languages, including Korean and French.

The advertisement comes a month before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to deliver a speech at a joint session of the U.S. Congress during his visit to the U.S. slated for April 26 to May 2.

Analysts say the video clip appears to be intended to highlight the positive aspects of Japan’s postwar role in Asia to counter growing opposition from Korean- and Chinese-Americans to Abe’s planned speech, which they assume will not carry any expressions of atonement for Japan’s wartime atrocities.

The clip was produced by Japan’s Foreign Ministry and claims that Tokyo helped lay the foundation for the economic development of South Korea, China, India, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries, without mentioning any of the damage Japan inflicted on them at the height of its militarism.

“With the 1951 San Francisco Peace treaty, Japan returned to the international community and in 1954, started providing economic assistance to Asian countries,” the clip said, referring to the treaty of Japan’s postwar settlements with allied powers.

“It encouraged the steady flow of private investments, including those of Japanese firms, bringing sustainable growth to the region.”

Japan pointed to specific cases where it assisted in Korea’s infrastructure development, including Subway Line 1 in Seoul, a steel plant in the southeastern port city of Pohang and the Soyang River Dam in Gangwon Province. It also touched on the construction of hydropower plants in Myanmar and Indonesia; harbors in China and Sri Lanka; and a water supply system in Cambodia.

Calling the clip a distortion of history, critics in Korea argued that Japan’s description of its support for infrastructure played down the grueling industrialization efforts each Asian country made to become economically advanced.

They also said Tokyo misrepresented its postwar compensation as voluntary financial assistance to Asian countries.

The content of the advertisement gives a glimpse into what Abe might say in his speech slated for April 29 at the U.S. Congress. Observers say he may not focus on Japan’s wartime wrongdoings or any efforts to address the still-strong memories of Japan’s past militarism.

Deteriorating public sentiment against Tokyo in Korea is expected to pose a headache for Washington as Abe’s visit to the United States is largely meant to reaffirm the robust U.S.-Japan alliance and stress Japan’s greater security role in the face of regional and global security challenges.

In Korea, there have been concerns the U.S. has been lukewarm toward Tokyo’s apparently revisionist views of history, particularly after a senior U.S. official made remarks that indicated that Seoul and Beijing were also to blame for strained ties with Tokyo in regards to the past.

During his visit to the U.S., Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama are expected to highlight the evolvement of their alliance over the past 70 years. They are also expected to sign a revision of its 1997 bilateral defense cooperation guidelines.

The revision is expected to contain a set of joint measures to cope with Chinese threats and other emerging scenarios. First adopted in 1978 to counter Soviet threats, the guidelines were last amended in 1997 to reflect post-Cold War security threats.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)