June 12, 2013
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2013 June 12 - 18 TOP3 [HISTORY]
Abe’s view of past war blocks healthy diplomacy |
In his first term of office (2006 – 2007), the prime minister visited China and South Korea on his first foreign tour. In China, he pledged to build a “strategic partnership of mutual benefit” with the Chinese government. This time, however, Abe has not been able to visit either of the two nations.
“It is truly shameful for the prime minister to have not been able to meet a Chinese or South Korean leader yet. The presence of China in the international society is overwhelming. His failure to develop a friendly relation with China will undermine Japan’s national interests,” said former diplomat Koike Masayuki.
In the online journal “Foresight” published on January 23, former Cabinet Secretariat Yanagisawa Kyoji raised the prime minister’s denial of Japan’s responsibility for its past war of aggression as the reason for his failure to visit the two neighboring countries. He said, “The greatest weakness of the Abe Cabinet’s security policy is the prime minister himself.”
Abe has continuously avoided stating clearly that he will fully stand by the government’s official Murayama Statement, which expresses remorse for Japan’s “colonial rule and aggression.” Not only that, the prime minister argumentatively stated, “The definition of aggression has yet to be established,” at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting on April 23.
A former senior government official criticized this remark as presenting to the world the view that Japan justifies its war of aggression. “This could cause conflicts with not only neighboring countries but even with the United States,” he warned.
Related past articles:
> Abe should admit to the fact of Japan’s aggression & colonial rule: Shii (May 17, 2013)
> Abe’s take on ‘aggression’ runs contrary to international law (May 12, 2013)
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