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Asahi Shimbun
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
EDITORIAL: Nishida's comments distort history of Battle of Okinawa
It was an extremely insensitive comment that dismissed out of hand the efforts made by the people of Okinawa and others to pass on to future generations the lessons of history by inscribing in memory what transpired during a wretched war. Based on a sloppy understanding of the facts, the speaker himself was the one 'rewriting history' that he claimed took place. Upper House member Shoji Nishida of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party spoke at a symposium sponsored by those supporting amending the Constitution in Naha on Constitution Day, a national holiday held on May 3. Touching upon an explanation at the Himeyuri-no-to memorial for students who died during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II, Nishida repeated his argument that it was 'terrible' and 'rewriting history.' He said the context of the explanation was that, 'The Japanese army kept coming in, and the Himeyuri unit ended up dying. And then the Americans came in and liberated Okinawa.' But the director of the Himeyuri Peace Museum clearly said that such an explanation never existed in the past or now. After his comments were reported in an Okinawa newspaper, Nishida held a news conference and said it was based on his 'impression' from a visit to the site about 20 years ago and that he did not remember the exact wording. He added that if someone else had read the explanation that person might have come up with a different impression. That view must be described as irresponsible because it ignores the facts. During the waning days of the Pacific War, Okinawa was considered a sacrificial pawn before any fighting on the Japanese mainland. A total of 200,000 Japanese and U.S. soldiers and others died in the fierce fighting. Of that number, about 94,000 were said to be Okinawan civilians. It was not a case of those Okinawa residents becoming entangled in the fighting, but the result of military mobilization that called for the military, public and private sectors to live together and die together. At the symposium, Nishida also said that education in Okinawa about the war, including the interpretation of the ground battle, was 'ridiculous' and that 'we have to create a history that we can accept.' He likely wanted to legitimize the decisions made by the government and the military of that time. But the same mistake will likely be repeated from a stance of turning one's eyes away from inconvenient facts and interpreting history in a self-centered manner. While Nishida said it was 'regrettable' if his remarks hurt the Okinawan people, he initially refused to retract his comments because he said they were based on facts. We can only be flabbergasted at his attempt to turn responsibility onto the mass media when he said the problem was with the reporting. The LDP's Okinawa prefectural chapter criticized Nishida's comments and junior coalition partner, Komeito, called for a retraction and an apology. Nishida will be up for re-election in this summer's Upper House election so the question remains as to whether the LDP will officially recognize him as its candidate and whether Komeito will endorse his candidacy. There has not been any noticeable response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other LDP executives. Having said an assessment of the past war was important in this 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Ishiba's insight will be called into question. --The Asahi Shimbun, May 9
Kyodo News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Kyodo News
Japan lawmaker "corrects" controversial war memorial remarks
KYODO NEWS - 7 hours ago - 19:04 | All, Japan A hawkish lawmaker of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Friday he will "correct and delete" his controversial remarks that exhibits at a war memorial in Okinawa rewrote the history of one of the fiercest ground battles of World War II. Shoji Nishida, a member of the House of Councillors, apologized to the people of Okinawa, saying his comments at a recent symposium were "extremely inappropriate." During the symposium in Okinawa on Saturday, Nishida took issue with how wartime history is explained at the Himeyuri Peace Museum, which includes a cenotaph built in memory of over 200 female students and teachers who died during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. "I want to apologize to the people of Okinawa and correct and delete my remarks," Nishida told reporters in Tokyo. Nishida's apology came after he initially resisted calls from people in Okinawa and lawmakers of his own party to retract the remarks. Nishida said at the symposium that the exhibits at the museum in Itoman, Okinawa, seem to imply that "Japanese soldiers swarmed (into the area), leading the Himeyuri corps to die. Then, the U.S. troops came to set Okinawa free," prompting the museum to state that there were no such descriptions on its premises. The fate of the Himeyuri student corps is remembered as one of the tragedies of the Battle of Okinawa, in which over 200,000 people, from both the Japanese and U.S. sides, died. Of the corps, 123 girls and 13 teachers died, either in the crossfire between Japanese and U.S. troops or by suicide. Related coverage: Japan imperial couple, Princess Aiko to visit Okinawa WWII sites
09-05-2025
- Politics
LDP's Nishida Retracts Remark on WWII Exhibits
News from Japan Politics May 9, 2025 19:30 (JST) Tokyo, May 9 (Jiji Press)--Shoji Nishida of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday retracted his recent remark criticizing exhibits about members of the "Himeyuri" nursing corps who died in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. Speaking to reporters at the Diet building, Nishida apologized for the remark, saying that the remark was "very inappropriate." He had previously refused to withdraw it. "I lacked consideration, so I apologize to the people of Okinawa," Nishida said. During a symposium in Naha, the capital of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, on Saturday, Nishida claimed that descriptions at a monument commemorating the Himeyuri corps of female students were rewriting history, informed sources said. According to the sources, he said the descriptions seemed to suggest that Japanese soldiers caused the deaths of Himeyuri members and that U.S. troops liberated Okinawa. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Kyodo News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Kyodo News
Japan lawmaker "corrects" controversial war memorial remarks
KYODO NEWS - 9 minutes ago - 19:04 | All, Japan A hawkish lawmaker of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Friday he will "correct and delete" his controversial remarks that exhibits at a war memorial in Okinawa rewrote the history of one of the fiercest ground battles of World War II. Shoji Nishida, a member of the House of Councillors, apologized to the people of Okinawa, saying his comments at a recent symposium were "extremely inappropriate." During the symposium in Okinawa on Saturday, Nishida took issue with how wartime history is explained at the Himeyuri Peace Museum, which includes a cenotaph built in memory of over 200 female students and teachers who died during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. "I want to apologize to the people of Okinawa and correct and delete my remarks," Nishida told reporters in Tokyo. Nishida's apology came after he initially resisted calls from people in Okinawa and lawmakers of his own party to retract the remarks. Nishida said at the symposium that the exhibits at the museum in Itoman, Okinawa, seem to imply that "Japanese soldiers swarmed (into the area), leading the Himeyuri corps to die. Then, the U.S. troops came to set Okinawa free," prompting the museum to state that there were no such descriptions on its premises. The fate of the Himeyuri student corps is remembered as one of the tragedies of the Battle of Okinawa, in which over 200,000 people, from both the Japanese and U.S. sides, died. Of the corps, 123 girls and 13 teachers died, either in the crossfire between Japanese and U.S. troops or by suicide. Related coverage: Japan imperial couple, Princess Aiko to visit Okinawa WWII sites
Asahi Shimbun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
LDP lawmaker partially retracts remarks about Okinawa battle
Upper House member Shoji Nishida apologizes on May 9 for remarks he made about student nurses killed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. (Takeshi Iwashita) Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Shoji Nishida on May 9 retracted and apologized for remarks denigrating a war memorial in Okinawa Prefecture but stood by his assertion that the prefecture is 'rewriting history.' 'It was highly inappropriate to invoke the name of the Himeyuri-no-to memorial without proper explanation,' Nishida, a 66-year-old member of the Upper House, said at a news conference in Tokyo. 'I now understand how deeply painful and traumatic this history is for the people of Okinawa.' The Himeyuri-no-to memorial, located in Itoman city, is dedicated to more than 200 nurses and teachers of the Himeyuri (star lily) Student Corps who were mobilized for the war effort and were killed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. In a speech at a symposium held in the Okinawa prefectural capital of Naha on May 3, Nishida described the Himeyuri-no-to as 'terrible' and an example of 'rewriting history.' He claimed the memorial's narrative wrongly implied that the Japanese military's presence led to the students' deaths, while portraying the U.S. arrival as a liberation of Okinawa. An official at the memorial has said the site contains no such narrative. Although acknowledging that he was 'insensitive to have caused distress' to the people of Okinawa, Nishida said he stands by his view that the history of the Battle of Okinawa has been distorted. 'I still believe what I said to be factual,' he said. 'I was wrong because I didn't understand the emotions of the Okinawan people, not because I said anything untrue.' Nishida said he would not retract his broader critique of Okinawa's history education, including its interpretation of the ground battle. After his May 3 speech, Nishida was roundly criticized by Okinawa Prefecture officials as well as politicians in both the ruling and opposition camps. At a May 7 news conference, Nishida refused to retract his claims and accused the media of taking his statements out of context. The lawmaker asserted that his remarks were based on fact, although he admitted he could not recall the exact wording of the memorial displays he saw more than 20 years ago. Nishida represents Kyoto Prefecture in the Upper House and is up for re-election this summer. (This article was written by Taishi Sasayama and Hayato Jinno.)
