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This Week in AsiaPolitics

Why Japan is worried about Ishiba giving a WWII speech at the UN

Members of the ruling LDP fear Ishiba’s planned UN speech will offer a more sweeping WWII apology than any previous Japanese leader

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Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba lays a wreath during the annual memorial ceremony for victims of the WWII atomic bombing of Nagasaki last month. Photo: AFP
Julian Ryall
Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly later this month when he is expected to share his views on the causes of World War II, prompting concerns among conservatives that he may offer a more sweeping apology than any previous Liberal Democratic Party leader.
Ishiba announced on Sunday that he would step down, with an election to replace him as party president and prime minister of the nation expected to take place in early October.

Analysts say he now feels freer to express his personal opinions on the origins of the war in the Pacific theatre, even though his views may clash with those of his fellow LDP members.

Ishiba seems to be walking a fine line
Stephen Nagy, international-relations professor

“I am deeply concerned about the statement that Ishiba is planning to make,” said Yoichi Shimada, a former LDP supporter who won a seat for the nationalist Conservative Party of Japan in last October’s lower house election, noting Ishiba’s past comments on Japan’s actions before and during the war.

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Japan “made some very bad decisions” in the early decades of the last century, Shimada told This Week in Asia, but it was not alone in making significant geopolitical errors of judgment.

“I do not think that Ishiba has a good or full understanding of history, and I also believe that he has given in to China’s efforts to promote a mentality of ‘war guilt’ among Japanese people,” he added.

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There were discussions within the government over Ishiba releasing a statement on August 15 to coincide with the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender, in the same way that previous Japanese leaders have done on past significant anniversaries, most recently Shinzo Abe in August 2015.
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