Japan's Shinzo Abe omits expression of remorse for wartime aggression
The Japanese prime minister's omission of apologies in annual speech, and visit to war shrine by lawmakers, draw flak from China and South Korea
Japan's conservative prime minister broke with two decades of tradition yesterday by omitting any expression of remorse for the nation's past aggression in Asia in his speech on the anniversary of its second world war surrender.
Shinzo Abe avoided phrases such as "profound remorse" and "sincere mourning", used by his predecessors to acknowledge the suffering caused by the Imperial Japanese Army as it stormed across East Asia - an omission sure to anger China and South Korea.
The hawkish premier has previously expressed unease over Japan's apologies for wartime aggression. The country's neighbours have also bristled at Abe's talk of overhauling the pacifist constitution.
However, Abe stayed away from the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo yesterday, sending a ritual offering via an aide. Xinhua, quoting an assistant to Abe, reported that Abe felt regretful that he could not visit the shrine, which is seen overseas as a glorification of Japan's imperialist past, including a brutal 35-year occupation of the Korean peninsula.
Nearly 100 Japanese lawmakers, including three cabinet ministers, did go to the shrine, prompting sharp responses from Beijing and Seoul. China summoned Japan's envoy, and said it was "strongly opposed to and strictly condemned" the shrine visits. It warned relations had no future unless Tokyo owned up to its past.