The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, said there is no need to apologize for past wars.
He is quoted by RT, a Russian news network, as saying: “I uphold the basic thinking behind past war apologies, which means there isn’t a need to reiterate them.”
With the anniversary of the official end of World War II in the Pacific, many believe he is implying he will not be giving an official apology for Japan’s part in the war.
In fact, the New York Times ran a story several days ago asking that very question: Where does the prime minister of Japan really stand when it comes to Japan’s involvement in ?the war?
And what does he think Japan still owes the world in terms of reparation?
For example, in 2013 Abe visited a shrine commemorating millions of Japanese who died in the war — including several individuals who have been declared guilty of war crimes.
Many nations were ?outraged.
Japan has also changed its position on conducting military operations abroad and Japanese military spending is the highest it has ever been in the 70 years since the war — about $42 billion annually.
I personally don’t think Abe is a revisionist and I am quite confident he is aware and ashamed of what his country did several decades ago — who wouldn’t be?
Yet, I think he thinks it’s time to move on.
And I think this changing attitude toward World War II is growing in Japan, which in many ways is just a function of time.
Shinzo Abe himself was not even born before 1945, and in fact, few people are still alive who fought in ?World War II.
I also believe he feels neighbors of his, particularly China, have used Japanese stance of pacifism following World War II to their ?advantage.
China’s military spending for 2015 will total $142 billion and it shows no sign of slowing. In fact, China spends the second most on military than any other country.
China also is seeking to expand its territory in the South China Sea and there is no question China has world leadership ambitions and certainly regional ?leadership ambitions.
In many ways I don’t blame Japan. They are facing economic stagnation and have been for several years.
Their neighbors are growing stronger every day and there is a sense that they are losing their international clout.
On top of that, they have to bear the shame of horrible actions taken many, many years ago.
My hope is that Japan and the rest of the world will move on, but do so in a mindful way — remembering we are never really that far from ending up where we have been.
The world is changing and changing quickly.
Only if we engage with the future not being constrained by the past, will we have a ?successful century.
cgerst@indiana.edu
