Japan PM recalls wartime remorse after 13 years

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Aug. 15 that Japan “will never repeat the horrors of war” and that the nation “must once again deeply engrave in our hearts the remorse and lessons of that war.” His address, delivered on the anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II, marked the first time in 13 years that a Japanese leader has used the word “remorse” in the annual commemoration.

Speaking at the National Memorial Service for the War Dead at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender, Ishiba said, “Eighty years have passed since the war ended. Now, the majority of our people belong to generations with no memory of war.” He pledged to “pass down, across generations, the sorrowful memories of war and the resolute vow never again to engage in war, and to continue working toward lasting peace.”

Since former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa first expressed “condolences” in 1993, Japanese leaders have often marked the anniversary with words of remorse, including Tomiichi Murayama in 1994. Murayama, in particular, acknowledged Japan’s colonial rule and aggression, stating that the country “caused untold and immeasurable suffering to many people in the world, particularly in Asia.” His remarks set a precedent for prime ministers to include expressions of remorse in their memorial addresses.

In 2013, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe omitted the word “remorse” from his address, instead saying he would “engrave deeply in our hearts the lessons of history.” His successors, Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida, also left out any expression of remorse in their speeches marking the anniversary.

While Ishiba revived the use of “remorse” in this year’s address, he did not include words such as “aggression” or “perpetration” that had accompanied it in earlier speeches. The government also did not issue a prime ministerial statement marking the 80th anniversary of the war’s end, a practice observed every decade since 1995. Ishiba was reportedly interested in delivering such a statement, but after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat in last month’s upper house election, he decided against it.

On the anniversary, current and former Cabinet members visited Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals from World War II are enshrined. Among them was Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, considered a leading contender for the premiership. Ishiba did not visit the shrine but made a monetary offering.

Regarding South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s planned visit to Japan on Aug. 23 and 24, the Japanese government said it hopes the trip will lead to the stable and forward development of bilateral ties. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular press conference that “Japan and South Korea are important neighboring countries that must cooperate as partners in addressing various challenges in the international community, and in the current strategic environment, bilateral relations and trilateral cooperation with the United States have become even more important.” He added that the two governments have agreed to maintain close communication, including through shuttle diplomacy.


In-Chan Hwang hic@donga.com