China, SK blast Abe’s shrine offering
Print Edition
JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe drew sharp rebukes from China and South Korea yesterday after sending an offering to a Tokyo war shrine, and saying he may not repeat a formal apology for his country’s World War II rampage.
Abe sent a shrub to the Yasukuni shrine where 14 convicted Class A war criminals are honored along with other war dead, a day before lawmakers paid their respects at the shrine.
China and South Korea, which view the shrine as a symbol of Japan’s unrepentance over its wartime wrongs, were angered by the offering at a time when focus is increasing on a statement Abe will make to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Observers are watching whether he will make direct reference to his country’s colonial rule and aggression, and express “remorse” and “apology,” as previous premiers did on the 50th and 60th anniversaries.
For China and South Korea, which suffered under the yoke of Japan’s imperial ambition, the terms are a crucial marker of Tokyo’s acceptance of guilt for its invasions in the 1930s and 1940s that left millions dead.
Abe suggested in a TV interview broadcast on Monday that as long as he says he agrees with the earlier statements: “I don’t think I need to write it again.”
China’s foreign ministry yesterday urged Japan to face up to history and properly handle the issue, especially as this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the global conflict.
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also urged Japan to regain the trust of neighboring countries and the international community through practical action.
A commentary by Xinhua news agency yesterday said: “Despite all the empty talk of peace, the current Japanese government has been moving toward the opposite end by challenging the post-war order, extending frequent reservations about its war defeat and playing tricks to challenge historical verdicts.”
China and South Korea argue that Japan has not properly atoned for its warring and insist that a landmark 1995 statement expressing deep remorse must stand.
South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-Il said war criminals were “worshipped as God-like figures” at the shrine.
“Japanese political leaders should be aware that paying respects and expressing gratitude to such a shrine is an act of denial of the basic premise on which Japan was allowed back into the international community in the wake of WWII,” he said.
Abe will make brief remarks at the Asian-African summit in Jakarta today, comments that will be closely watched for his stance on Japan’s wartime aggression amid concerns he wants to tone down past apologies.
A Japanese government source said Abe will express remorse over World War II in his remarks, but media have said he will not emulate his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi, who in 2005 repeated a landmark apology at that year’s Asian-African conference.
Last week, Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami said Japan must continue saying sorry for its aggression until its former victims say “enough.”
Omitting a direct apology in the summer statement would damage Japanese diplomacy, said Tetsuro Kato, visiting professor at Tokyo’s Waseda University. “Japan’s relations with neighboring countries could become worse.”
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