Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the national memorial service for the war dead in Tokyo, Japan on August 15, 2024. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed to step up his country’s effort to safeguard the rules-based international order in a peace pledge made on Thursday (August 15, 2024) on the 79th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.
Speaking at a ceremony at Budokan Hall, he said “we will never repeat the tragedy of war” and would uphold the country’s post-war pacifist pledge.
“In a world where tragic wars continue, Japan will continue its efforts to uphold and strengthen the rules-based, free and open international system,” Mr. Kishida said, “and strive to resolve difficult global issues.”
Mr Kishida referred to the deaths of more than 3 million Japanese people, the devastation and loss of life in bloody ground battles on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, the bombing of Japan and the atomic attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. He made no mention of or apologised for Japanese aggression across Asia or the millions of people who died there.
The omission follows a precedent set by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a 2013 speech that critics say was a move to cover up Japan’s wartime atrocities.
Earlier on Thursday (August 15, 2024), three of Kishida’s ministers, including Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, prayed at the Yasukuni Shrine – seen as a symbol of militarism by Asian neighbors.
The controversial shrine honors convicted war criminals among the approximately 2.5 million war dead. Victims of Japanese aggression, particularly China and Korea, view visits to the shrine as a sign of a lack of remorse, and visits by defense officials are considered particularly controversial.
Mr. Kihara is the first serving defense chief to pray at the shrine on the anniversary since then-Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi’s visit in 2021.
“I expressed my heartfelt condolences and paid my respects to those who sacrificed their precious lives in the war,” Kihara told reporters. He said he paid tribute as a private person. Asked about the possible impact on ties with Seoul, he said he would continue his efforts to strengthen ties with South Korea.
Mr. Kishida avoided praying at the Yasukuni Shrine a block away and instead sent a religious ornament.
Asian neighbours criticised the ministers’ visit to Yasukuni on Thursday (August 15, 2024).
The Chinese official Xinhua said “The visits and rituals performed by Japanese officials at the controversial shrine have sparked persistent criticism and hurt the feelings of people in China, South Korea and other countries who were victims of Japan’s brutality during the war,” the news agency said.
In Seoul, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry expressed “deep disappointment and regret” over the ministers’ visit to the shrine in a statement, adding, “Our government calls on Japan’s responsible leaders to face history and demonstrate humble reflection and genuine repentance for the past through their actions, and we emphasize again that this will be an important foundation for the development of future-oriented Korea-Japan relations.”
Emperor Naruhito, who was present at the ceremony, reiterated his “deep remorse” over Japan’s actions during the war, which was fought in the name of his grandfather, wartime Emperor Hirohito.
Mr. Kishida has accelerated Japan’s military build-up and spending, as the country deepens military cooperation with the United States and its Indo-Pacific partners in the face of growing threats from China and North Korea.
Mr Kishida, who will take office in 2021, announced on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) that he will Plans to step down The decision was taken after the ruling party leadership vote in September.