New | Shinzo Abe expresses remorse but stops short of apology for Japan’s wartime aggression
But statement seen as weaker than the contrition shown by past Japanese premiers
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today expressed “deep remorse” for Japan’s second world war aggression at a summit attended by Asian leaders, but stopped short of repeating previous premiers' apologies.
The speech by Abe, a strident nationalist, at the Asia-Africa Summit in Jakarta was being closely watched for clues about a statement he is due to make later this year marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.
Referring to principles of peace laid down at the original conference, Abe told delegates: “And Japan, with feelings of deep remorse over the past war, made a pledge to remain a nation always adhering to those very principles throughout, no matter what the circumstances.”
The statement was weaker than remarks made by previous Japanese leaders, particularly Junichiro Koizumi, who during his time as premier offered a “heartfelt apology” and referred to “colonial rule and aggression” at an Asia-Africa summit in Jakarta in 2005.
Koizumi’s language echoed that of then-prime minister Tomiichi Murayama in a landmark 1995 statement marking the 50th anniversary of the war. Murayama said Japanese colonial rule and aggression had caused “tremendous damage and suffering” and expressed “deep remorse” and “heartfelt apology”.
For China and South Korea, which suffered under the yoke of Japan’s imperial ambition, Abe’s language is a crucial marker of Tokyo’s acceptance of guilt for its march across Asia in the 1930s and 1940s, which left millions dead.