By Brad Glosserman
It is important to distinguish between the man making the statement and the country he leads.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s speech to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II was destined to be a Rorschach test for listeners. There was almost no chance that the prime minister would assuage all his critics; at best, he would win over some fence sitters. He seems to have done just that. But amidst the controversy surrounding the speech, it is important to distinguish between the man making the statement and the country he leads. Of course, as prime minister Abe speaks for Japan, but overwhelming evidence makes clear that questions about his intentions apply only to a narrow slice of the country.
Given fears a year ago that Abe would repudiate previous government statements and apologies, the content of his 70th anniversary remarks is quite reassuring. Rather than offering a personal comment, he received Cabinet endorsement for a statement that pledged to uphold and honor those earlier declarations: the “position articulated by the previous cabinets will remain unshakable into the future.” It conceded that “Japan gradually transformed itself into a challenger to the new international order … Japan took the wrong course and advanced along the road to war.” He made plain that “upon the innocent people did our country inflict immeasurable damage and suffering” and pledged “Incident, aggression, war – we shall never again resort to any form of the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.”
Significantly, the statement included four key words – “aggression” (shinryaku), “colonial domination” (shokuminchi shihai), “deep remorse” (tsusetsu na hansei), and “apology” (owabi) – that were seen as critical by non-Japanese for assessing the past. Finally it acknowledged that “we Japanese, across generations, must squarely face the history of the past. We have the responsibility to inherit the past, in all humbleness, and pass it on to the future.”
What then is there to complain about? The statement is consistent with its predecessors and there is no missing the contrition and sense of responsibility. If one has suspicions about the prime minister’s intentions, however, then more intense scrutiny is demanded and the focus shifts from the contents of the statement to the omissions. And there is ample fodder for critics.
Read the full story at The Diplomat