October 14, 2025

Akahata editorial

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on October 10 released his “reflections” on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Since the beginning of this year, PM Ishiba has repeatedly stated, “It is important to adopt a perspective of never allowing war to happen again. I wish to share my thoughts on why we could not stop that war.” However, his statement fails to address the most critical aspect of reflecting on the previous war. It shows no remorse over Japan’s past colonial rule and war of aggression.

No mention of historical issues

The statement begins with the words, “To date, Statements by the Prime Minister have been issued on the 50th, 60th and 70th anniversary of the end of the war, and I uphold the positions articulated by the previous cabinets in regard to that history.”

Marking the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII, then Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi issued a statement acknowledging that Japan had pursued “a mistaken national policy” and embarked on the path to war “through colonial rule and aggression”. This historical understanding has been observed as Japan’s official view by successive cabinets since then. It has been incorporated into government agreements between Japan and South Korea, Japan and China, and Japan and North Korea. The Murayama Statement has become an internationally-recognized document.

What reversed this progress was a statement which then PM Abe Shinzo released on the 70th anniversary of the war’s end. The Abe Statement glorified the Russo-Japan War, which resulted in the colonization of Korea, and completely omitted the historical recognition expressed in the Murayama Statement. It effectively abandoned the Murayama Statement. Consequently, right-wingers in the Liberal Democratic Party, including LDP President Takaichi Sanae, have repeatedly disagreed with PM Ishiba regarding the release of an 80th-anniversary statement because they did not want Ishiba to alter the historical perspective set out in the Abe Statement.

PM Ishiba lumped together the contradictory Murayama and Abe statements, claiming that he “upholds” both statements. He is evading the question of what his own historical understanding actually is.

Clearly stating that Japan waged a war of aggression is fundamental for Japan to conduct a realistic and effective diplomacy in the world, particularly in Asia. This is what is required of Japan’s prime minister.

Without touching on the perception that Japan started the war of aggression, the Ishiba statement reads, “Why our domestic political system could not serve as a brake to stop (the war).” By saying this, he diverts the focus.

The Ishiba statement cites the “importance of civilian control” over the military and highlights problems with “[p]arliament and the media”. Yet he does not connect these issues to Japan’s past war of aggression and to the absolute emperor system that drove the war forward. This is why he cannot answer his own question.

It was the absolutist imperial system that led Japan down the path of reckless war. Emperor Hirohito, considered absolute and inviolable as well as divine, was the supreme commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. This system allowed the military to act arbitrarily. Failing to acknowledge these facts shows that Ishiba never learned the lesson of “never allowing war to happen again”.

At that time, democracy was crushed and antiwar voices were thoroughly suppressed by the notorious Public Order Maintenance Law. The general public was kept ignorant of what was actually happening.

Japanese politics questioned

PM Ishiba faced opposition within the LDP itself over his issuing of the statement marking the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. He managed to have it released, but avoided presenting his recognition that Japan had started the war of aggression. These facts demonstrate how far the LDP lags behind the international community.