Japan Press Weekly

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2025 August 13 - 19 [POLITICS]

Japan marks 80 years since end of its war of aggression and colonial rule

August 15 marks 80 years since the end of Japan’s war of aggression and its colonial rule over Asian nations. More than 20 million people in the Asia-Pacific region and more than 3.1 million Japanese citizens were killed in the war of aggression.

With forces that are unapologetic about Japan’s past war of aggression and colonial rule in power, the Japanese government is pushing toward turning the country into a “war-capable nation” under the thumb of the United States. Meanwhile, forces that advocate xenophobia are stirring up division and discrimination gained ground as a result of the July Upper House election. The root cause lies in the fact that those who falsify history, and justify and glorify the war of aggression and colonial rule continue to occupy the core of the government.

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko, in her statement released on the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, said she will do everything she can to stop the government plan to significantly increase armaments to turn the country into a “war-capable nation” as it goes against the postwar pacifist Constitution. She pointed out that the question is how to face up to Japan’s past mistakes, and stressed the importance for the people of Japan to share a common understanding of Japan’s history of aggression and colonization so that we can pass this understanding on to future generations.

Tamura criticized xenophobia for inciting hostility and discrimination against foreigners and immigrants, bringing about division among people living, working, and studying in Japan. She condemned such behavior as “trampling upon democracy and human rights.” She stated that she will do her utmost to face off squarely against extreme right-wingers in order to eliminate xenophobia.