I am not so sure who you mean here.
Is it PM Abe and young politicians in LDP?
or Congressman Honda and those who support him in Congress?

I thought Abe is too meddled with “Patriotism”.
Foreign dispatches made an interesting analysis before.
But I reserve the judgement now. As I said, what really matters is how the US-Japan alliance will develop, as long as he is moving in the right direction, that is all we need. And the issue of comfort women is relative small;for, Abe has made it clear from the beginning, from the time he took office, that he stood by Kono’s statement. And Japan has done her due on this issue.
The opposition party that want to use this issue, any issue to topple the cabinet in power, whatever measures .
Thanks to Onishi’s successive and exclusive bashing on Japan, he is now notorious for it.
I think people will realize what is real issue.
There are Japanese politicians who care about
historical issue. But I think they know that it is not Japan’s priority.
When I made the statement above, what I had in mind was Korean politicians like Roh.
I am a bit surprised he didn’t come to your mind.
Is it so difficult to be critical about brethren?

When the mainstream politicians of the nation give up being politicians and pretend to be historians, they are not just lousy historian, but the politics of the nation will surely stagnate.
.

I am not so sure who you mean here.
Is it PM Abe and young politicians in LDP?
or Congressman Honda and those who support him in Congress?

Anpontan has given a great insight on this matter.
Something different is going on in real politics.

Notice your FP article also notes;

the Chinese strategy has changed. They’re trying to avoid this history issue getting in the way of the relationship. Plus, it’s difficult to have big problems with Japan and not, in some way or another, get caught up in problems with the United States. They want to focus on their internal development, not be distracted by problems in their external relations.

Sure enough, Korea and some media will keep ranting; that is okay, that is what they’ve been doing and that is what they will be doing and that is their business, I think I should pay more attention to what is going on behind the scene and how the US Japan alliance will develop. That is really what matters.
When the mainstream politicians of the nation give up being politicians and pretend to be historians, they are not just lousy historian, but the politics of the nation will surely stagnate.
.

ponta,
I don’t think Bush want to make a big deal out of this comfort women issue. But I think the general atmosphere in washington is that Japan is not dealing this comfort women issue properly.

Even the weekly standard criticized PM Abe for his foolish statement and discussed japan’s revisionism and new foreign policy.
And the advice given by the Weekly Standard is basically to shut up and not to sugarcoat the comfort women issue.

Also the Foreign Policy also discussed the comfort women issue in which, I think, it presents a valuable insight to this comfort women issue for the japanese rightwingers. Let me just quote.

It(comfort women issue)’s the worst possible issue for Japan. They can’t say anything that seems as though it’s defending the awful actions of the Japanese government during its militarist period, and expect that anybody anywhere is going to be sympathetic. Too many of the conservatives in Japan have convinced themselves that it’s just what they call the “left-wing American media” that is playing up this issue for its own purposes, without saying what those purposes are. So there’s a lot of self-delusion going on here about how bad this is for Japan’s image.

But I felt that many people in Washinton seem to start to care about the seriousness of japanese rising nationalism.

I start to believe that Washinton really does not care about the comfort women issue.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/04/20070427-6.html

No questions were asked about comfort women at the press conference except the one asked by a Japanese leftist jounalists.
http://tech.heteml.jp/2007/04/post_944.html
And in response to that, Bush replied,

The comfort women issue is a regrettable chapter in the history of the world, and I accept the Prime Minister’s apology. I thought it was very — I thought his statements — Kono’s statement, as well as statements here in the United States were very straightforward and from his heart. And I’m looking forward to working with this man to lead our nations forward. And that’s what we spent time discussing today.

Kjeff

Money can’t buy you love.

I am looking forward to hearing a story again about your wife from you.

But I felt that many people in Washinton seem to start to care about the seriousness of japanese rising nationalism.

The western media has been talking about “rising Japanese nationalism” for years. Where is this “rising Japanese nationalism” and why is it that western journalists are the only ones that seem to be able to see it?

Well,will the Congress pass the Honda’s bill or not?
I don’t know.

But PM Abe did something spectacular(?), so now in Washington where people are mostly preoccupied with the Iraq for a while(4 years? ) so that people wouldn’t really care about other country than Iraq, this historical issues between Japan and east asian countries are brought attentions to.
The real issue is that some japanese right wingers including PM Abe, seem to start to dismiss even the Tokyo war crime tribunal as unjust.
And now some people in Washinton seem to believe that it is necessary to send Tokyo a warning signal to the uprising revisionist
in a very mild way like passing a non- binding resolution for the comfort women.

Will it be finally passed this year?
I don’t know.
But I felt that many people in Washinton seem to start to care about the seriousness of japanese rising nationalism.