Government must face up to past on occasion of 66th anniversary of Pacific War

Akahata editorial

   December 8 marks the 66th anniversary of the opening of the Pacific War in which Japan fought against the United States, Britain, and other countries in parallel with its war of aggression in China.

   This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the Lugouqiao Incident (July 7) which paved the way for Japan’s full-scale war against China and the Nanjing Massacre (December 13) in which Japan carried out an attack on China’s capital at the time Nanjing that killed countless soldiers and civilians.

Root out aberrant adverse current

   In the 15-year war of aggression that started with the Manchurian Incident in 1931 and ended with the Pacific War, Japan inflicted death and destruction on Asian and Pacific nations, killing 20 million people overseas and sacrificing 3.1 million Japanese as well.

   After the war, Japan made a fresh start with a pledge that “never again shall we be visited with the horrors of war through the action of government” (Preamble of the Constitution). Successive Liberal Democratic Party-governments, however, have refused even to recognize the established fact that the 15-year war was a war of aggression. The government, therefore, is pressed from all over the world to accept responsibility for the war even into the 21st century. It is more important than ever for Japan to have a critical reflection on its past war of aggression and colonial rule in order to play its role for peace in the world.

   The government, first of all, must squarely face up to the historical facts without evading its responsibility. Because of his insistence on visiting Yasukuni Shrine that justifies the war of aggression, former Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiro while in office was locked in a diplomatic stalemate so he could not even meet with Chinese and South Korean leaders. Former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who denied the Japanese Imperial Army’s coercion in forcing foreign women into sex slavery, drew severe criticism not only from other Asian countries but also from the U.S. and European countries. The collapse of the Abe government dealt a serious blow to the “pro-Yasukuni forces” that has been attempting to encourage Japanese people to justify and glorify the war of aggression.

   Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo hinted that he will not visit Yasukuni Shrine while in office. The Fukuda government, however, is still faced with problems inherited from the Abe government such as the wartime sex slavery issue and the textbook screening policy denying the Japanese Imperial Army’s coercion in Okinawans’ mass suicides during WWII. We also should not make light of the pro-Yasukuni forces’ move to roll back time. Therefore, it is still important to tackle the task to root out the aberrant adverse current of distorting history from Japan’s politics.

   Following the U.S. House of Representatives and the Dutch Lower House, the Canadian House of Commons recently adopted a unanimous resolution calling on the Japanese government to make a sincere apology for the wartime sex slavery issue. The government must strictly adhere to Chief Cabinet Kono Yohei’s Statement of 1993 recognizing that the Japanese military coerced women into wartime sex slavery, apologise to the victims, and implement measures to restore their honor.

   Concerning the controversial textbook screening policy of deleting an account that the Japanese Imperial Army forced Okinawans to commit “mass suicide” during the Battle of Okinawa, it is now clear that the Education Ministry order lacks any factual grounds. Okinawans expressed their determination to demand the withdrawal of the Education Ministry order in a recent assembly in which more than 110,000 people took part, the largest demonstration since Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972. The government must rescind the ministry order and restore the description.

Those who close eyes to the past

   “Those who close their eyes to the past will be blind to the present,” stated former German President Richard von Weizsacker in his speech in 1985 that expressed remorse for Germany’s war of aggression. Without facing up to historical facts, no one can learn from history.

   As the only party in Japan that fought against the war of aggression at the risk of its members’ lives, the Japanese Communist Party is determined to make utmost efforts to repel any adverse current justifying the war of aggression and to help create true peace.
- Akahata, December 8, 2007