Emperor Akihito serves as a subtle voice of war-time remorse

Emperor Akihito is a man of few words. Japan’s American-written constitution designed it that way.

But the 81-year-old figurehead has increasingly found ways to skirt around the constitutional limits on his role and has, in characteristically subtle language, appeared to voice his displeasure with the path that prime minister Shinzo Abe is leading Japan down.

That thickly veiled criticism appeared to have been repeated yesterday,  as Japan marked the 70th anniversary of its defeat in the second world war.

It came less than 24 hours after Abe issued a statement on Friday expressing “utmost grief” over the conflict, but said future generations should not have to keep apologising for the mistakes of the past. Controversially, he offered no fresh apology of his own, sparking criticism from China and South Korea.

READ MORE: Support for Shinzo Abe bounces after he said Japan should not have to keep apologising for past war mistakes 

There had been a great deal of anticipation, both in Japan and in neighbouring countries, about the level of remorse the conservative prime minister was willing to show for Japan’s brutality during the war and Tokyo’s imperial march across Asia. Given that he is trying to reinterpret Japan’s pacifist constitution and put the country on a more “normal” military footing, there were fears he would seek to water down previous apologies.