Time for Abe to clarify his views about World War II war criminals

Asahi Shimbun Editorial

Time for Abe to clarify his views about World War II, war criminals

   

August 29, 2014

In April, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a written message of mourning to an annual Buddhist memorial service to honor Japanese World War II soldiers who were executed after the war as Class-A, Class-B and Class-C war criminals. The message was offered in the name of Abe as the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

"I offer my deepest condolences on the death of these martyrs in the Showa Era (1926-1989) who staked their souls to become the foundation of their nation for the sake of its peace and prosperity today," Abe said in the message.

The Abe administration has played down the significance of the act, saying it was a message sent as a private individual. But that is a totally unacceptable excuse.

The message was sent to the Buddhist service held in front of "Showa junnansha homushi tsuitohi" (a monument to the memory of the Showa victims of the execution [by the Allied powers]), located at the Okunoin ofKoyasan Shingon Buddhism in Wakayama Prefecture.

The monument describes the military tribunal conducted by the Allies to punish Japan's war criminals as a "harsh and retaliatory trial unparalleled in world history." It was set up 20 years ago to restore the honor of war criminals and mourn their deaths.

Those whose names are inscribed on the monument include Hideki Tojo (1884-1948), the army general and the prime minister during the war, and 13 additional Class-A war criminals.

It has been found that Abe also sent a similar message to the annual memorial service held last year and in 2004 as the LDP president and the LDP secretary-general, respectively.

In a news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Abe sent the message not as the prime minister, but as a private citizen.

But Suga acknowledged the fact that the Class-A war criminals were found guilty of crimes against peace at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. He also said Japan accepted the rulings handed down by the Tokyo tribunal when it signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty with the Allied powers in 1951.

It is shameful that 69 years after the end of hostilities, Japan still needs to announce afresh its official positions on these clear historical facts to audiences both at home and abroad.

Japan regained its sovereignty and returned to the fold of the international community by accepting the rulings delivered by the tribunal. At the same time, Japan internally started its postwar history by placing the responsibility for the war on the Class-A war criminals, who led the nation into the war.

Abe sent a sympathetic message to a service that is based on the views about the war that regard the tribunal convened by the Allied powers as an act of "retaliation" and see all the executed war criminals as "Showa victims." He should not complain if what he did is considered to be an attempt to ignore Japan's promises to the international community concerning the war.

We, as Japanese, cannot accept the view that the executed war leaders were "victims."

Abe should be aware of how seriously his act has damaged the things this nation has achieved through steady efforts in the postwar era.

We are eager to hear him answer in his own words the questions raised by his act.

What did he mean when he said the war leaders who were responsible for the huge loss of human life in the war and for the immense devastation this nation suffered became the "foundation of their nation?"

Who does he think should have taken the blame for the war and in what way?

He should stop obscuring issues by using words such as "eirei" (the spirits of the war dead) and "mitama" (departed souls). He should start speaking about his views concerning the war in a dignified and above-board manner from the bottom of his heart, without using the excuse of acting as a "private individual."

Abe has the responsibility to do so.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 29