China and Japan must put second world war behind them, says Singaporean PM
Lee Hsien Loong tells US think tank that neighbours must end arguments over past atrocities to ensure peace in Asia
Singapore’s prime minister on Tuesday urged Japan and its neighbours to put the second world war behind them, saying that if they kept reopening issues dating back to the conflict it would be a “continuing sore” in their relations.
“One of the reasons Japan’s difficulties are not just with China, but with also Korea is because of reopening of issues that go back to the second world war and before, which have never been properly put to rest the way they were put to rest in Europe after the war,” Lee Hsien Loong told a think tank during a visit to Washington.
“So it’s really a sovereign choice for the Japanese to make,” Lee said, adding that he was sure the United States would be urging Japan to “act cautiously and circumspectly and try to develop its relationship with its near neighbourhood.”
The legacy of the war was also a matter for Korea and China, Lee said.
“[Japan] can’t do it themselves. It takes two hands to clap, so you need the Chinese and Koreans as well,” he said.
“Unless you can put the second world war behind you, and not keep on reopening issues of comfort women, of aggression, of whether or not bad things were done during the war, I think this is going to be a continuing sore.”