China criticizes Japan leader Abe’s World War II statement

The commentary said descendants of any country in the world must inherit their predecessors’ past attainments along with responsibilities brought by their forebears’ prior crimes. At the last two ceremonies, he also did not pledge that Japan would never go to war. (Korean: 11) “In order to gain the trust of its neighbors and the worldwide community, Tokyo should follow up on its declaration to uphold its previous historical statements, with consistent and honest actions”.

“We must not let our children, grandchildren and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologise”, he said.

Meanwhile, Hagiuda explained to reporters that Abe decided not to visit the shrine after a comprehensive evaluation, while pointing out that his visit to Yasukuni in December 2013 became a political and diplomatic issue.

His remarks were welcomed by the United States but blasted by China as a non-apology, while South Korea derided it as “an unpardonable mockery of the Korean people“.

In 1995, then Japanese premier Tomiichi Murayama expressed deep remorse and offered a heartfelt apology for Japan’s past aggression and colonial rule, according to CCTV America.

Massachusetts made the remarks in a speech at the opening of an exhibition in Taipei commemorating what it refers to as the Republic of China’s (ROC) 1945 victory over Japan in the War of Resistance.

The Japanese prime minister on Friday expressed “utmost grief”, but said future generations should not have to keep apologising for the mistakes of the past.

“This was a remarkable passage”, Lind said.

Speaking on Saturday at a ceremony in Seoul, Ms Park called on Mr Abe to reiterate Japan’s apologies for abuses during its wartime occupations of neighbouring countries. But Tokyo has resisted direct compensation to the victims, prompting activists and former comfort women to say Japanese leaders are avoiding officially acknowledging what happened.

“It is a positive thing that Abe mentioned the words “invasion” and “colonization” for the first time in his speech”.

Akihito had expressed remorse before, but not at the annual service.

Since bilateral relations between Seoul and Tokyo were normalized in 1965, history perceptions shown in previous statements, including the Kono Statement and Murayama Statement, have been a foundation sustaining the bilateral relations, Park said.

The three who paid homage to the war dead enshrined there, which includes Class-A war criminals, were Haruko Arimura, minister in charge of women’s empowerment, Sanae Takaichi, minister of internal affairs and communications and Eriko Yamatani, minister in charge of the issue of Japanese abducted by North Korea.