By Shannon Tiezzi
Chinese media reported that Tomiichi Murayama had taken ill and was unable to attend the parade.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government may have its concerns about the Chinese military parade held to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, but China had optics prepared to counter those complaints. Former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, whose famous “Murayama Statement” of 1995 became the benchmark for measuring Japanese apologies, was supposed to attend. My colleague Ankit Panda outlined the significance of Murayama’s presence at the parade.
Only it now seems that Murayama didn’t go to Tiananmen Square on Thursday after all. A report from Hong Kong’s Phoenix News said that Murayama did not attend the parade due to an illness. Murayama is 91 years old.
The Phoenix report said that Li Xiaolin, the head of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship With Foreign Countries visited Murayama in the hospital to wish him a speedy recovery and convey the greetings of Chinese leaders.* Murayama told Li that he had come to China specifically for the 70th anniversary events, and expressed his regret that he would not be able to attend all the events due to health issues. He urged continued efforts to promote the development of China-Japan relations, noting a long history of friendship between the two countries.
Read the full story at The Diplomat