Japanese leader Abe stops short of apology for World War II

Around 1 000 protesters had gathered at the mission to push for reparations ahead of Saturday’s 70th anniversary of the end of Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi endorsed the Murayama apology on the 60th anniversary in 2005, increasing the pressure on Abe to do the same this year.

But Mr Abe has said he wants to be “forward-looking”, and to highlight Japan’s peaceful development since the war and its central role on the global stage.

The governments of South Korea and China will parse the statement to gauge the level of contrition.

If an apology is too much for Abe to express his “remorse” for the brutal Japanese militarism which inflicted huge sufferings on people in neighboring countries before and during WWII, it means whatever he is going to say to build bridges will be insincere.

Japan would not be able to do this without the tacit approval of the Washington, which needs the cooperation of allies like Tokyo and Seoul to carry out its Asia-Pacific strategy, Zhang said.

On the other hand, the new security bills have helped Abe fulfill his long-term goal to expand Japan’s military, something his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi dreamed of a long time ago.

“On the 70th anniversary of the war, I bow my head deeply before the souls of all those who perished both at home and overseas”.

Beijing and Seoul made it clear to Tokyo that they expected Abe to adhere to the 1995 statement, widely considered the Japanese government’s official apology for its wartime actions, in which then-prime minister Tomiichi Murayama offered a “heartfelt apology” for Japan’s “colonial rule and aggression”. “I will properly follow the path of peace to construct a prosperous and proud Japan”. Hundreds of thousands of Koreans were forced to fight as front-line soldiers, work in slave-labor conditions or serve as prostitutes in brothels operated by the Japanese military during the war. But the comfort women say that they have not been properly compensated for the brutality they endured. “True patriotism is the courage to not close your eyes to the historical facts of the past, and to know how to apologize for your wrongs”, said Hatoyama, who visited the Seodaemun Prison in Seoul the day before to kneel and deliver an apology to Korean independence fighters imprisoned, tortured and died during the occupation.

The South Korean side has indicated that bilateral relations can only take the next step forward if Japanese leaders are willing to have a frank and honest discussion about their history, but for Japan’s conservative leadership headed by Abe, this is an unacceptable request, Zhang wrote.

“We hereby reiterate our firm determination never to repeat the same mistake by forever engraving such issues in our memories through the study and teaching of history”.