Abe's Yasukuni visit shows Japan has no remorse over wartime aggression
Song Zhe says Japan's relations with China and the rest of Asia cannot start afresh unless and until its leaders show true remorse for - and accurate understanding of - its wartime acts
Hong Kong, known as the "Pearl of the East", is a world city of prosperity. One could hardly imagine what happened here 70 years ago, when the city was ravaged by war. Hong Kong was under Japanese invasion and occupation for three years and eight months, during Japan's war on the region.
In those years, the suffering caused by Japan's invasion and expansion went far beyond a few cities. In the war against Japanese aggression, tens of millions of people lost their lives in China; the casualties and loss of property were countless. The cruelty of Japanese invaders covered almost the whole of Asia, and the suffering inflicted on the people of victim countries was beyond estimation.
Nearly 70 years have passed since the end of that war. But Asia will not be able to turn this page of history if the aggressor does not have an accurate understanding of this wartime aggression and has no feelings of remorse.
How to understand history is always a major political issue in Japan's relations with China, South Korea and other war victims in Asia.
In Japan, the consensus regarding remorse for past aggressions is not as broad as in Germany. But Japan's leader, as an embodiment of the will of the state, cannot say it is a matter of "internal affairs" and use this as an excuse to explain his behaviour with regard to understanding history. Because of this, the decision whether or not to visit the Yasukuni shrine, where convicted second world war criminals are honoured and worshipped, is not only a sensitive issue in Japan; it is also an issue of major importance watched closely by the people in the victim countries in Asia, and by the international community.
The rolling back of history by Japanese right-wingers offends the whole world’s conscience
One year after Shinzo Abe became prime minister of Japan for the second time, he visited the Yasukuni shrine, with no regard for the strong opposition from the Chinese government, bringing to the fore this major political issue after seven years of rest. Abe claimed afterwards that he made the visit out of remorse for the past and for "continued peace".