Following Japan’s apology to the Republic of Korea over “comfort women,” the People’s Republic of China is demanding the same for itself.

The problem is this. When one nation repeatedly and incessantly demands an apology from another, the apology-demander can never take the apology as anything other than the result of an exercise of power over the apology-giver, no matter the sincerity of the apology. This is especially true in the present case, with the PRC cavalierly dismissing the Japanese apology to the RoK as American puppetry.

The apology-demander can never view the apology as anything other than a lie, square filler that it is. That renders the apology less than a waste of time for the apology-giver; the apology is reduced to a surrender of sovereignty (even if a small amount)—an act of puppetry—to the apology-demander.

Japan would do well to ignore the PRC’s incessant demands and only after the matter has died down for some considerable time make an apology, unbidden. If one is warranted.