Japanese Newspaper Criticizes Abe's Memorial Speech: "No Reflection, Not Even Mentioning the Fact of Perpetration"

"Abe Prime Minister's Historical Awareness and Expressions Regressed Compared to the Past"
"Criticism Also Arises Regarding Active Pacifism"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Tokyo Shimbun of Japan criticized Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for not apologizing for the harm caused to Asian countries on the 15th. The newspaper also pointed out that Abe's historical awareness revealed in this year's commemorative speech has regressed even further compared to before.

At the 75th anniversary memorial service for the end of the Pacific War (defeat), Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reads a speech.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 20th, the newspaper stated in an editorial, "In his commemorative speech on the day of the end of the war, Prime Minister Abe neither reflected on the harm caused to various Asian countries during World War II nor mentioned the lessons of history."

It added, "If we do not face even the 'negative history,' it damages international trust."

The newspaper also mentioned that compared to past commemorative speeches, Abe's historical awareness and expressions have regressed. In previous speeches, phrases such as "humbly facing history" and "engraving the lessons of history in our hearts" appeared, but this year, even those expressions disappeared.

This criticism was contrasted with the Emperor's mention of "deep reflection" this year. Especially, five years ago, the Emperor mentioned the word "history" five times in his commemorative speech, expressing his intention to face the past, which stands in contrast to this year.

Criticism was also raised regarding Abe's mention of "proactive pacifism" in this year's commemorative speech. The newspaper stated, "Proactive pacifism is Prime Minister Abe's diplomatic and security strategy contained in the 'National Security Strategy' established in 2015, and it is a phrase that reflects the Prime Minister's political intention to amend the constitution to explicitly mention the Self-Defense Forces and expand their military role. Mentioning such a political expression at a place to honor the war dead and pray for peace inevitably causes discomfort."

The Asahi Shimbun also criticized Abe's mention of proactive pacifism in an editorial on the 16th. The newspaper said, "While Prime Minister Abe's intention may have been to emphasize a forward-looking approach, considering that partial approval of collective self-defense exercises and the abolition of the three principles on arms exports have been promoted under the pretext of 'proactive pacifism,' it is hard not to feel uneasy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.