Japan's Ishiba to Push Back War Review Statement Past Aug. 15; May Intend to Issue Statement on Instrument of Surrender Anniversary on Sept. 2
Ishiba is instead considering releasing a statement on Sept. 2, which marks the 80th anniversary that Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender that formalized its surrender to the Allied Powers, according to the officials.
Ishiba has previously expressed his desire to release a war review or message.
'The 80th anniversary is a turning point. We will make an appropriate decision based on the statements [on the war] issued by some of the past prime ministers,' Ishiba told reporters on Monday.
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Asahi Shimbun
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- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Abrupt swerve in the government's rice policy is unnerving
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Japan Today
6 hours ago
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Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba offers flowers at the Hiroshima Memorial Cenotaph during the ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on Wednesday. Foreign visitors attending the 80th anniversary ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima said Wednesday's event serves as a powerful reminder of the devastating consequences of nuclear war. Craig Whitehead, an Australian on his third visit to Hiroshima, attended the ceremony for the first time. He said the experience was "enlightening." While the 51-year-old remembers learning about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in school, the focus was on the Australian and American side. "It is nice to get a wider perspective of the history around what happened, but also a reminder about how close we are to it happening again," said Whitehead. "Even that word 'hibakusha,' I just learned that today." The ceremony was attended by around 55,000 people, including officials from a record 120 nations and regions, according to the city. Some visitors came by chance but found the experience equally meaningful. Luca Milan, a 24-year-old student from Italy, said he only realized the ceremony was taking place when he tried to book a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum for Wednesday morning and found it was closed. Milan said he learned of the bombings from his grandfather, who fought in World War II, during which Italy was for a time allied with Japan and Germany as part of the Axis powers. While he watched the ceremony on a large screen from outside the official seating area, he praised its succinctness and said it was "beautiful." Meanwhile, Raj Mody, a Canadian who attended the ceremony as part of a group organized by the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York Ltd., said he felt the museum was more "illuminating" than the ceremony itself. Still, the 63-year-old Canadian acknowledged the value of the event, saying schools all over the world should view a live telecast of the ceremony every year because "the young are the future." While all noted that the current geopolitical environment makes the abolition of nuclear arms an unrealistic goal, they voiced hopes that the annual memorial ceremony would make leaders think seriously about using weapons of mass destruction. Even when all survivors are gone, "indefinitely, we should continue (this ceremony) until people realize how nasty nuclear weapons can be," Mody said. "Keep going," Whitehead agreed. "Keep going for as long as they have to, because it keeps that memory in their mind about what the devastation is like, not just on that particular day, but in the long term." © KYODO
Japan Today
6 hours ago
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Ishiba vows to uphold non-nuclear principles
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a speech during the ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on Wednesday. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday renewed his pledge to uphold Japan's three principles of not possessing, producing or permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons, as the country marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Speaking at a press conference after attending a memorial ceremony earlier in the day in Hiroshima, western Japan, Ishiba dismissed the idea of Japan entering a NATO-like nuclear-sharing arrangement with the United States, which became Tokyo's closest ally in the postwar era. "The government firmly maintains the three non-nuclear principles, and we have no plans to review them," Ishiba said. He also emphasized the need to consider ways to make the extended deterrence provided by the United States more effective, which includes its nuclear capabilities. "This does not contradict our stance to ultimately realize a world free of nuclear weapons," said Ishiba, who formerly served as defense minister. A uranium bomb was dropped by the U.S. bomber Enola Gay and detonated over the city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, in the final stages of World War II, killing an estimated 140,000 people by the end of the year. For decades, Japan has adhered to the three non-nuclear principles while being protected under the U.S. nuclear umbrella. Ishiba underscored the severity of the security environment around Japan, specifically pointing out that some countries in the region possess nuclear weapons. Asked about his plan to issue a message to mark 80 years since Japan's defeat in World War II, Ishiba did not say when he expects to do so, but expressed a willingness to convey that Japan should never again wage a war. Past prime ministers issued statements on the 50th, 60th and 70th war anniversaries with a pledge never to again go to war. The statements have been scrutinized by other nations, including China and South Korea, that suffered under Japan's wartime aggression. Ishiba has said he shares the views on history expressed in the past documents. He does not plan to issue his own statement for the Aug. 15 end of World War II, according to sources familiar with the matter. "I want to think about how we can prevent another war based on the 50th, 60th and 70th anniversary statements," he said, touching on the importance of having political and defense systems dedicated to that end. It has been speculated that Sept. 2 is an option for him to release a message as it is the date when Japan signed the instrument of surrender in 1945. Ishiba also visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which documents the devastation caused by the atomic bombing, in an apparent move to show his government's commitment to a world without nuclear weapons. The prime minister spent about 30 minutes there, listening to explanations from the museum's head and looking at exhibits including belongings of children killed then while helping demolish houses to prevent the spreading of fires in the event of an air raid. It is the first time since 2022 that a sitting Japanese prime minister visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on the Aug. 6 anniversary day. In 2023, then leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, including the nuclear-possessing United States, Britain and France, visited the museum as the Japanese government hosted the summit in Hiroshima. © KYODO
