Japan Press Weekly

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2020 August 12 - 18 [POLITICS]

PM Abe who refuses to face up to Japan’s wartime past not fit to talk about ‘positive pacifism’

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on August 17 at a press conference in the Diet building said that Prime Minister Abe, who refuses to face the history of Japanese colonialism and militarism squarely, is not fit to use the term “positive pacifism”.

Koike made this remark in his comment on PM Abe’s address to the government-hosted annual National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead which took place on August 15. Unlike the past speeches, PM Abe in this year’s address avoided using the phrase, “face up to Japan’s wartime past” and used the term “positive pacifism”.

Koike referred to the fact that PM Abe during his first administration used the wording, “deep remorse” in his address to the annual memorial event on August 15. Koike said that PM Abe should come face to face with issues pertaining to Japan’s past war of aggression and its colonial rule and take a stance to show sincere remorse.

Citing that PM Abe in this year’s address said Japan will play a role in the international community under the banner of “positive pacifism”, Koike pointed out that what PM Abe has done under this slogan is implement measures to create a nation fighting in U.S. wars abroad, including legalizing Japan’s use of the collective self-defense right and lifting the ban on Japan’s arms exports.

Koike stressed that the concept of “positive pacifism”, which was originally coined by Norwegian peace professor Johan Galtung, is to eliminate war throughout the world and eradicate structural violence, such as poverty, oppression, and environmental destruction, that lies at the root of war.

Koike said that PM Abe should stop abusing this term and instead promote diplomacy based on Article 9 by taking a position which truly embodies the “positive peace” concept.

Past related articles:
> Remember lessons of history on 74th anniversary of war’s end [August 15, 2019]
> Japan should repair relations with South Korea based on remorse over its colonial rule [January 3, 2019]