On 80th anniversary of its surrender, Japan should change its course, China strongly deplores Japanese politicians’ visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, lodges serious protests with the Japanese side

 

People mourn at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province on April 4, 2025. Photos: VCG

August 15 marks the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II. On what should have been a solemn occasion for deep reflection on history, some members of Japan's cabinet and lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party visited the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals are enshrined, disregarding Japan's responsibility for wartime aggression and the facts of its invasion, and perpetuating the historical revisionist course of Japanese politics. 

Behind this vague and ambiguous official stance lies a deeper social ailment: a selective amnesia and systematic revision of the history of militarism in Japanese society. Rather than reflecting on history, Japan on this day was, under the combined forces of political maneuvering and societal amnesia, once again missing the precious opportunity to shed its historical burden and rebuild mutual trust with its Asian neighbors.

Japan's ambiguity on historical issues is by no means accidental. Due to its incomplete postwar reckoning and serious lack of introspection, Japan has never truly come to terms with its history of aggression and war crimes. Especially since the end of the Cold War, with the advance of political conservatism and rightward shift in the country, Japan - under the strategy of becoming a "normal country" by "escaping from the postwar regime" - has seen historical revisionism flourish. This is not merely reflected in politicians' verbal gaffes or visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, but in the systematical wrong shaping and distortion of national memory, particularly among younger generations. A recent visit by Global Times reporters found that in Iida City of Nagano, Japan, students studied daily next to the peace memorial museum that has long exhibited physical evidence of Unit 731's human experiments, yet were entirely unaware of its existence. In Tokyo, young people regarded Yasukuni Shrine as an ordinary shrine, having no concept of the Class-A war criminals enshrined there or its symbolism as a relic of militarism.

Even more dangerously, Japan's wrong view of history is directly transforming into perilous foreign policy, especially toward China. The Ishiba administration's ambiguity and retreat on the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender echoed dangerously with its recent series of negative moves concerning China. 

The Defense of Japan 2025 white paper hypes up the so-called "China threat," using it as a pretext to dramatically increase defense spending and develop offensive weapons, shifting its military strategy from "exclusive defense" toward so-called "aggressive posture." On the Taiwan question, Japan has repeatedly crossed the line, sending wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" forces, in serious violation of the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan. Behind such actions lies a disregard for the postwar international order, rooted in the deliberate neglect of the fact - stipulated in international legal documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation - that Japan must return Taiwan island, which it had stolen from China.

Japan's current negative policy toward China goes hand in hand with its historical revisionism. Domestically, it distorts history to create a "China threat" narrative, thereby paving the way for loosening military constraints. Internationally, it uses pretexts such as a potential "Taiwan contingency" to promote military expansion and divert attention from domestic problems. Such strategic judgments, rooted in a mistaken view of history, are pushing China-Japan relations into a dangerous situation and posing serious challenges to regional peace and stability. In response to Japan's obstinacy on historical issues, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's words hit the nail on the head: "Only by facing history squarely can respect be earned; only by drawing lessons from history can a better future be explored; only by remembering the past can straying onto the wrong path again be avoided." This is not only China's demand, but also the only path for Japan to achieve self-redemption.

At the critical historical juncture, the international community has a responsibility to urge Japan to deeply reflect on its history and reassess its policy orientation toward China. First, the Japanese government and its leaders must show political courage and make a clear break with historical revisionism. The acknowledgment of the facts of aggression and responsibility for harm, as stated in the "Murayama Statement" in 1995, is the prerequisite for Japan's reconciliation with Asian neighbors and the key to gain credibility in the international community.

Second, the truth of history must be respected, and historical memory must not be eroded. Regarding egregious acts such as outright denial of the Nanjing Massacre, the Japanese government must take a clear stance and act accordingly. Only through honest and in-depth discussion of its "responsibility for harm" can Japanese society truly learn the lessons of history and prevent the tragedy of war from recurring.

Finally, Japan must reflect on its history in its foreign policy, stop hyping the "China threat," and abandon its beggar-thy-neighbor military expansion. On major issues concerning China's core interests and the postwar international order, such as the Taiwan question, Japan must honor its commitments and act with caution. Japan's national security cannot be built on distorted history and military confrontation, but only on mutual trust and cooperation with its neighbors.

Japan's understanding of history concerns not only its own national future but also the future of East Asia. If Japan wants the future generation to be "free from predestined apology," the country must first turn back from the erroneous path of historical revisionism - 

Global Times editorial

China strongly deplores Japanese politicians’ visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, lodges serious protests with the Japanese side: FM spokesperson

Chinese Foreign Ministry

China strongly deplores Japanese politicians' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which challenge historical justice and human conscience, and has lodged stern protests with the Japanese side, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday in response to Japanese politicians paying respects to the Yasukuni Shrine on Friday.

Friday marks the day of Japan's unconditional surrender in the Second World War, but Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine, and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of Finance Katsunobu Kato and rightwing politicians including Takayuki Kobayashi and Koichi Hagiuda visited the Shrine.

Commenting on the Japanese politicians' visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson pointed out that the Yasukuni Shrine is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarists' war of aggression against foreign nations. The shrine honors 14 convicted Class-A war criminals who bear grave responsibilities for the war crimes committed during that war of aggression.

We urge Japan to face squarely and reflect on its history of aggression, be prudent on historical issues such as the Yasukuni Shrine, make a clean break with militarism, stick to the path of peaceful development, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through real actions, the spokesperson said.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. To view and treat history correctly is an important prerequisite for Japan's post-war return to the international community. It is the political foundation of Japan's relations with neighboring countries, and more importantly, a yardstick for Japan's commitment to peaceful development, the spokesperson noted.

Japan, reverting to its history’s infamy !

The ghosts of Japan’s imperial past have returned to haunt the nation, its government, and the other countries in this region.

IF anyone still doubts the controversies about Japan’s current nationalistic urges, news reports and media commentaries in the region clearly confirm they persist.

Nations sometimes have leaders who shoot themselves in both feet and then promptly stuff them in their mouths. Japan’s current leaders have lately outdone all these others before.

Opinion leaders in the region have recently noted the excesses of right-wing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, its various indiscretions, and the reactions to them.

Much in the simmering controversies, notably in South Korea and China, comes courtesy of Abe’s team in Tokyo’s establishment. He, his deputy Taro Aso and some of their appointees have actively stoked the embers of regional contention.

Abe, the nationalist grandson of imprisoned Nobosuke Kishi, a suspected “Class A” war criminal, had briefly served as prime minister before without much controversy.

But by courting contempt this time in trying to rewrite history and defiantly visiting Yasukuni War Shrine honouring war criminals to proclaim that Japan did nothing wrong in World War II, Abe got the trouble he risked getting.

Aso himself is a “veteran” in provoking controversy. As foreign minister before, he was even more defiant and unapologetic than Abe, and has lately called on Japan to learn from Nazi Germany.

Their appointees such as chairman Katsuto Momii and governor Naoki Hyakuta of public broadcaster NHK have likewise made outrageous comments about Imperial Japan’s atrocities.

Momii said the sex slaves that Japanese troops made of Korean women was a common occurrence of any country at war, earning a rebuke from the United States.

Hyakuta championed Imperial Japan, denying that the Nanjing Massacre ever happened.

Abe’s choice of other controversies at the same time included efforts to rewrite the post-war Constitution to make it less conciliatory, revising past apologies for the war, and hardening Japan’s claims to disputed maritime territories.

The result: aggravating relations with South Korea and China. Although China-Japan relations are often said to be fraught because of Japan’s horrific wartime incursions, Tokyo’s relations with Seoul are even worse.

Even at the height of activism against US imperialism decades ago, Japan remained the biggest sore point for Koreans.

Now Abe is even less popular among South Koreans than North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, with two successive Presidents – and conservative ones at that – underscoring this position.

In a Korean press commentary on Thursday, Abe was described as having “become by far the most hated Japanese head of government for Koreans in recent decades”.

With 82% of Koreans convinced that Japan has not atoned for its sordid past, others have called Abe by worse names.

But have Abe and his inner circle learned anything from all this? They have offered retractions and apologies when pressed, but remained firmly set in their views.

Yet it need not be so. It was not like that for many years before.

In the 1990s, NHK invited me to give a seminar to regional news correspondents at its headquarters in Tokyo.

I was then holding a fellowship at a Japanese policy research institute to examine the prospects for regional cooperation, which happened to be a time of some regional ferment.

I introduced South-East Asia’s history and cultures without mentioning the atrocities committed by Imperial Japan, because there was no need to. Yet a young newsman later approached me to say he knew of Japanese war crimes despite all the denials.

A senior NHK staff who shared the taxi with me later explained that the common image of a constantly apologetic Japanese people was a misleading stereotype. Wherever these NHK people have gone today, they do not seem to be represented in its board.

Around that time, “maverick” Japanese historian Saburo Ienaga was entangled with the Japanese government in several court cases over an accurate depiction of Japan’s role during the war.

In Tokyo’s clumsy attempts to whitewash its wartime atrocities, the Education Ministry rejected Ienaga’s school textbooks. As he arrived at the courthouse to take on the authorities, he was cheered by a supportive Japanese public.

The Japanese public has repeatedly been more enlightened and liberal than any nationalistic government or self-proclaimed “liberal” party.

Commentators put this difference down to a flawed and dysfunctional political system, despite a mantle of democracy.

A recent commentary excused Japan in otherwise unfavourable comparisons with a contrite Germany because of “cultural” differences. However, while Germany assists in the international pursuit and prosecution of Nazi war criminals, Japan has the Yasukuni Shrine glorifying such criminals instead.

The commentary added that Germany was different in being offered full membership of a European community.

Actually, Japan was offered both membership and leadership of an East Asian Economic Grouping, when its economy was stronger and China’s ascendancy was still in its infancy, but Tokyo rejected it outright.

It was further said that like Germany, full atonement is best done in groups. But very much unlike Germany, there are groups in Japan that continue to deny wartime atrocities and – like Hyakuta and his ilk – insist that Imperial Japan had done Asia a favour with invasion and occupation.

Hardly anyone who has suffered Japanese wartime occupation would believe that tale. Japanese forces had never invaded North-East or South-East Asia only to grant independence to the countries there.

Among these reactionary and revisionist groups was a far-right party that had organised an international conference in Tokyo to argue these points some two decades ago.

As I entered the hall as an observer, I was swiftly introduced to a war veteran who had proudly published a book to “prove” that the Nanjing Massacre was a myth.

When former Malaysian foreign minister Tun Ghazali Shafie spotted me in the hall, he came over to assure me that everything was under control and that the Malaysian embassy had a staff present to take notes.

I looked around and saw a young Malaysian diplomat trying to make sense of the proceedings.

The organisers had invited foreign speakers like Ghazali to endorse their views, to which he hastened to reply that all he meant was that the region should look to the future together rather than dwell on the problems of the past. They did not seem to take note of the nuances.

Such extremist groups remain active in Japan, and have become even more vocal and visible than before. Observers note that they have lately moved from the margins to the mainstream of Japan’s body politic.

What is the sum total of their impact on Japanese officialdom? How far has their influence strayed beyond Tokyo?

Earlier this month, a Japanese diplomat based in Kuala Lumpur reviewed some of these issues with me in a private discussion.

He was a youngish, liberal-minded officer about the same age as the NHK news correspondent who confided in me in the 1990s.

In the course of our discussion I mentioned that although South Korea and China are often cited as griping about Japan’s militarist past, people in South-East Asia who had also suffered Japanese imperialism feel the same without necessarily announcing it to the world.

He expressed surprise, not knowing before that anyone in this region had suffered anything under Japan during the war.

Tokyo’s history deniers and revisionists seem to have scored some success after all.

Contributed by Behind The Headlines Bunn Nagara, The Star/ANN

• Bunn Nagara is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia.
• The views expressed are entirely the writer's own 

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