Lessons of war
War is terrible. Nationalists pushed Japan into wars with many Asian countries but Japan’s experience in wars was dreadful and ever shocking. On 15 August 1945, Emperor Showa, Hirohito, in a radio televised speech declared Japans’ surrender to the the war. Japan paid a heavy price. It lost around 3 million people. Over 225,000 people were died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the nuclear attack. Over 25 leading Japanese were sent to the gallows under the Tokyo Far Eastern War Tribunal that also tried Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, cabinet ministers, and war-time generals and awarded them capital punishments.
After such a ghastly lesson, war curtain should not be raised by any one in any circumstances whatsoever. Peace should be preferred over wars and conflicts. The experience of Japan and other East Asian countries cannot be repeated again. The war-type statements should be banned.
There are differences among political circles in Japan about Japan’s surrender in World War II. The Imperial system lives with the global opinion about Japan’s surrender in World War II. Emperor Akihito expressed deep remorse over World War II at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo on 15 August, marking the surrender of Japan 71 years ago.
“Reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated,” Emperor said. “I now pay my heartfelt tribute to all those who lost their lives in the war, both on the battlefields and elsewhere, and pray for world peace and for the continuing development of our country.” Imperial thinking prevails in Japan and it is the thinking for peace.
Interestingly, many political parties and politicians differed. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not express remorse, although he said that “we shall never again repeat the horrors of war”. Abe is repeatedly is doing so in the past four consecutive years. However, a notable change was witnessed. This time he avoided visiting the Yasukuni Shrine. Instead he visited the National Cemetery where 365,000 unidentified soldiers were buried.
The effort could to mend ties with China and Korea that were deteriorating to a large extent. Nowadays Diaoyu/Senkaku between China and Japan and Dokdo/Takeshima between South Korea and Japan draw on nationalistic lines. These disputes were the leftovers of World War II and a source of militant nationalism.
Should Japan be stuck to Yasukuni tributes or move hundreds of thousands of miles ahead to build a peaceful neighborhood? The task depends on Japanese leaders and sees how they will tackle the issue. Each year in August is great day of remembering Japan’s war people. They are buried at the Yasukuni a shrine in town-down Tokyo. Commoners also visit but that is not an issue. When Japanese leaders visit it, it became an issue between Japan and East Asian neighbors.
For many Japanese, the dead are their heroes and they pay tributes to them. To others in East Asia, especially to the Koreans and Chinese they were war criminals and paying tributes would rekindle their militant souls and the revival of Japan’s militant past. The hatchet is not buried. The dispute surfaces every August.
Although Abe did not visit the Yasukuni Shrine this time, he dispatched proxies. He sent ritual cash offerings from his pocket. So he paid homage but in a different way. A group of 70 Diet lawmakers visited the Shrine. This also included Olympics Minister, Tamayo Marukawa, Reconstruction Minister, Masahiro Imamura, Farm Minister, Yuji Yamamoto, Internal Affairs Minister, Sanae Takaichi, and Abe’s brother, Vice Foreign Minister, Nobuo Kishi, also paid homage. Defense Minister, Tomomi Inada, was on a foreign visit and she was known for playing down Japan’s atrocities in wars. Many other important public figures also attended Yasukuni rituals.
China and Korea opposed homage at the Yasukuni Shrine. They view these visits as Japan’s revival of its militant past. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, said Japan should deeply reflect on its past history of aggression and take appropriate action to win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community. The official Xinhua News Agency said that Mr. Abe sent offerings to the shrine “regardless of the feelings of the peoples of neighboring countries.”
South Korean lawmakers made a celebration on Dokdo, claimed Takeshima by Japan, on the same day. South Korea wants an apology from Japan. “(We) express deep concern and regret that responsible political leaders … are again paying tribute to the Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies the history of the war of aggression,” South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The South Korean issue of “comfort women” remains a thorn in ties with Japan despite some improvement when Abe apologized to the South Koreans last year.
Control over the sentiments of the Yasukuni Shrine would greatly improve the Tokyo-Beijing-Seoul ties. In spite of the Yasukuni Shrine controversy there are some signs of improvement of ties between Japan and its two neighbors as the controversy was lowered down to some extent. It looks a good start. The reason was Abe’s skipping of visit to the shrine. Horrible past must be buried rather than revitalizing it. Pledges must be made not to revive the war.
