In other words, Goldstone s retraction is either not warranted by the evidence on which he says that he now relies, or it is premature. At the very least, it alleviates much of the pressure on the Israeli authorities to go forward with good faith prosecutions.

The 18 December 1985 retraction did not remedy the effects of that judgement, which had been provisionally executed The placing of Le Praley's affairs under court supervision, ordered on 18 April 1990, was also a miscarriage of justice since the law was not followed.

That retraction appears to be causing as much embarrassment and diplomatic vitriol in Japan and South Korea today as the original series did. But, at a time when both countries cannot afford to permit partisan or sloppy abuses of history to roil their bilateral relations, Asahi s careless work has turned out to be more than abysmal journalism it has introduced a dangerous element into regional diplomacy.