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Reuters

China has criticised Shinzo Abe’s statement on the second world war as “evasive”, after the Japanese prime minister refrained from making his own apology even as he reaffirmed past Japanese apologies in his official statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website on Saturday morning that “Japan should have made an explicit statement on the nature of the war … rather than being evasive”.
The legacy of the war still haunts relations with China and South Korea, which suffered under Japan’s sometimes brutal occupation and colonial rule before Tokyo’s defeat in 1945.
China said that Japan should apologise sincerely to countries that suffered from its military aggression and urged Japan to “take concrete actions to gain the trust of its Asian neighbours and the global community”.
READ MORE: Japanese PM Shinzo Abe makes guarded statement on wartime aggression; China and South Korea remain sceptical
Abe on Friday expressed “utmost grief”, but said future generations should not have to keep apologising for the mistakes of the past.
Abe also said Japan should “never forget that there were women behind the battlefields whose honour and dignity were severely injured”. But he made no direct reference to “comfort women”, a euphemism for the girls and women forced into prostitution at Japanese military brothels.
On Saturday, Abe sent a ritual cash offering to Yasukuni Shrine for war dead but did not visit the shrine, seen in China and South Korea as a symbol of Tokyo’s wartime militarism. Two of his cabinet ministers did along with the Liberal Democratic Party’s policy chief, Tomomi Inada, and scores of other conservative lawmakers.
Visits to Yasukuni by Japanese top politicians outrage China and South Korea because the shrine honours 14 Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal, along with war dead. Abe has not visited in person since December 2013.
Meanwhile, Japanese Emperor Akihito marked the anniversary with an expression of “deep remorse” over the conflict on Saturday, a departure from his annual script which could be seen as a subtle rebuke of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“Reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse over the last war, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated,” Akihito, 81, said at a memorial service on the anniversary of the day his father, Hirohito, announced Japan’s defeat.
“Together with all of our people, I now pay my heartfelt tribute to all those who lost their lives in the war, both on the battlefields and elsewhere, and pray for world peace and for the continuing development of our country.”
The soft-spoken Akihito has often urged Japan not to forget the suffering of the war and tried to promote reconciliation with Asian countries. His comments have attracted increased attention at a time when Abe appears to be pushing for a less apologetic tone towards Japan’s past.
Akihito had expressed remorse before, but not at the annual service. The constitution bans the emperor from any political role, so his remarks need to be carefully nuanced.
Abe’s remarks, however, received mixed reviews abroad. Tokyo’s close ally the United States welcomed Abe’s commitment to uphold apologies made in the past.
The United States approves of Abe’s plans to play a greater security role in Asia in the face of a rising China, but also wants a lessening of tensions over history.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Seoul was focused on Abe’s decision to uphold previous cabinets’ understanding of history, but added that the speech contained “regrettable elements”. She said she hoped Japan “soon and properly” resolved issues regarding women’s “honour and dignity”.
North Korea condemned what it called an attempt by Japanese “rightist conservatives to conceal its crime-woven past”.


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Legacy of war in Asia

China slams Abe for ‘evasive’ WW2 anniversary remarks; Japan's emperor goes off-script to express war remorse

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (cente) attends a memorial service ceremony at at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, marking the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in the second world war. Photo: Reuters

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrive at the same memorial service. Photo: Reuters

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe makes guarded statement on wartime aggression; China and South Korea remain sceptical

Abe delivers his war anniversary statement in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reads out his statement at a press conference in Tokyo today. Photo: Kyodo

Shinzo Abe expressed “profound grief” over the loss of life in the second world war. Photo: Kyodo

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reads out his statement at a press conference in Tokyo today. Photo: Kyodo: 

Hilaria Bustamante, 89, a Filipino 'comfort woman' during the war holds a cane as she joins a rally outside the Japanese Embassy in Manila ahead of the statement. Photo: AP

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie pay respects to a grave of his father and former Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe earlier today. Photo: Reuters 

People hold placards during an anti-government rally near the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (centre) is led by a Shinto priest as he visits Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo in this December 26, 2013 file photo. Photo: Reuters

'History is harsh' - Abe's comments

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows after concluding his address. Photo: EPA

Host of 70th anniversary events in Hong Kong mark Japanese surrender in second world war

Around 20 members of the Hong Kong Reparation Association display wartime banknotes during a protest outside the Japanese consulate in Central yesterday.Photo: Sam Tsang