Japan PM's message to warn against calamity of war, 80 years after WWII
Ishiba also told a parliamentary session Monday that he recognizes the importance of sticking to the war anniversary statements issued by prime ministers on the 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries. These statements have been scrutinized by other nations, particularly those like China and South Korea that suffered under Japanese aggression.
Ishiba's remark came as government sources said the prime minister is unlikely to express his views on the war anniversary on Aug 15 but may do so later, potentially on Sept 2, the date when Japan signed the instrument of surrender in 1945. He has already decided not to issue another war anniversary statement approved by the cabinet.
"Whatever the format, I believe it is important to release something so as to avoid the fading (of World War II memories) and to never go to war again," Ishiba told a session of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives.
He also said Japan must show "what we can do" to prevent another war, instead of "simply expressing thoughts," adding that he will make a decision by examining the past statements in detail.
After taking office last year, he expressed his wish to take a fresh look at the country's wartime history and draw lessons from it.
Ishiba is scheduled to attend a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the Aug 6, 1945, atomic bombing of Hiroshima, western Japan, the government said. He will then travel to Nagasaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan for another memorial ceremony on Saturday, commemorating Nagasaki's devastation by an atomic bomb on Aug 9, 1945.
On the 50th anniversary in 1995, then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, leader of a major left-leaning party, expressed "deep remorse" and offered his "heartfelt apology" for Japan causing damage and suffering to the people of many nations.
In 2015, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a conservative, retained key phrases such as "aggression" and "colonial rule" from the statement and acknowledged Japan's past apologies without offering a new one of his own.
Some lawmakers within the LDP associated closely with Abe do not want Ishiba to issue a statement that could dilute the 2015 statement that they believe helped end the country's "apology diplomacy."
© KYODO
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The Diplomat
an hour ago
- The Diplomat
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The NATO summit in June 2022 was former President Yoon Suk-yeol's debut abroad; he had just taken the oath of office the previous month. Amid reports of Yoon's schmoozing and talk of aligning South Korea more firmly with the West, the then first lady, Kim Keon-hee, also made headlines with her outfit choice. She appeared at a banquet with Korean expats, wearing a French designer pendant worth about $44,000. At the time, someone at the presidential office advised against wearing it, to which Kim replied 'I know what I'm doing.' Clearly, she didn't know – or didn't care – about the legal requirement for elected officials to disclose ownership of pricey jewelry, which Kim had not done. As public opprobrium mounted, Kim said she borrowed the necklace from her acquaintance. The public eventually lost interest amid the subsequent vortex of other more momentous scandals. 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His spiritual wiles coupled with practical political benefits also ensnared Kim and Yoon. An exorcism convocation staged by the shaman in 2018 – which involved skinning a bull alive and slaughtering a dozen hogs – featured lanterns bearing the names of patrons and objects to benefit from the ritual. Some of the lanterns bore Kim and Yoon's names and their occupations. The shaman had advised Kim on her art business and managed Yoon's 2022 presidential campaign staff, even escorting and introducing Yoon to local bigwigs during barnstorming. Prosecutors now allege that the former head of the UC's international outreach division – the de facto second-in-command within the UC hierarchy – paid the shaman tens of thousands of dollars so that the UC could befriend Yoon. That's in addition to the allegations that the group gifted Kim the diamond necklace and designer bags. In return, the UC's requests included state aid for its development project around the Mekong River in Cambodia and Yoon's support for its plan to acquire a major South Korean broadcaster. The former UC second-in-command admitted to handing over the money and designer goods to the shaman and then securing approval for the UC's Mekong project from Yoon. From 2022 to 2024, the Yoon administration quadrupled South Korea's Official Development Assistance (ODA) cap for Cambodia. In the meantime, the UC reps met up with Cambodia's then-prime minister while Kim went on a humanitarian aid trip to Cambodia for some staged photo ops. Three special counsels set sail in July to explore the true extent of the Yoon administration's graft, especially those involving spiritual figures and religious outfits due to Yoon's and Kim's fondness for the occult. 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A British aircraft carrier strike group is set to visit eastern Japan for three weeks from next Tuesday, the Japanese Defense Ministry said. The aircraft carrier the Prince of Wales, the destroyer the Dauntless and the Norwegian frigate the Roald Amundsen are all slated to make a port call in Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, the ministry said Friday in a press release. The Prince of Wales will move to Tokyo on Aug. 28 and stay there until Sept. 2, while the Roald Amundsen will make a four-day stay in the capital from Aug. 19, the ministry said. Japan remains "committed to proactively contributing to regional peace and stability in close coordination with like-minded partners" including Britain and Norway, the ministry said. It will be the second such British naval visit, as Japan hosted an aircraft carrier strike group in 2021 led by the Queen Elizabeth, according to the ministry. Japan and Britain, both U.S. allies, have been boosting their defense collaboration including a trilateral project with Italy to jointly develop a next-generation fighter jet by 2035. © KYODO
