Letters | What Japanese leader’s choices on war surrender anniversary reveal

Japan’s National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead took place on August 15, which marked the 80th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender. “The remorse and lessons from that war should once again be engraved deeply in our hearts,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in his speech.

This is the first time a prime minister has used the phrase “remorse” since then prime minister Yoshihiko Noda of the Democratic Party of Japan used it at the 67th anniversary in 2012. Shinzo Abe, when he was prime minister, used the phrase “remorse” in his speech in 2007 during his first term but not during other terms. Ishiba deviated from his Liberal Democratic Party predecessors in using the phrase.

Despite expressing remorse in his speech, Ishiba did not use the terms “invasion” and “aggression” to refer to Japan’s actions. Also, he chose not to issue a cabinet-endorsed statement, which could have included the phrase “remorse”, unlike past leaders who released such a statement for the 50th, 60th and 70th anniversaries.

The agriculture minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, as well as a former economic security minister and right-wing lawmakers, prayed at the Yasukuni Shrine, which has been seen as a symbol of militarism by Japan’s Asian neighbours. Koizumi’s visit, the first by a minister since Ishiba took office, has been criticised by the Chinese and South Korean governments. On the other hand, Ishiba himself chose not to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine but to send an offering.

Ishiba’s choices during the 80th anniversary reflected a strategic attempt to convey his personal views on the war (by using the phrase “remorse”) and appease the LDP’s conservative members and support base (by not issuing a cabinet-endorsed statement and sending a ritual offering to the Shinto shrine), and at the same time, avoid more serious diplomatic frictions with Asian neighbours (by staying away from the Yasukuni Shrine).