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2015 September 2 - 8 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

VJ Day should be reminder to Japan of what it did to Asian countries in WWII

Akahata ‘current’ column

On September 2, 1945, a number of warships lined up in Tokyo Bay to awe the viewers. The Japanese plenipotentiaries aboard the U.S. warship Missouri signed the Instrument of Surrender in order to show Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration.

September 2 is also known as the Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day). Many countries commemorate the day as the end of World War II. China, which suffered extensively from Japan’s invasion, on September 3 celebrates the victory in the anti-Japanese war. From this year, the Chinese government made the day a national holiday.

Today, the Chinese government will hold a ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression and international fascism. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will take part in the ceremony. At the meeting with Ban Ki-moon, Speaker of the Japanese Lower House Oshima Tadamori said that the Japanese government and people feel anxiety over the UN Secretary General’s attending the ceremony.

Oshima seemed to mean that Ban’s act would damage the political neutrality of the United Nations, but how many Japanese people are actually upset by this? Stating that the UN is trying to learn lessons from the past and the way to apply them in the future, Ban stressed that his participation in China’s ceremony is unexceptional. He also cited the fact that the UN has sent high-ranking officials to other war memorial events, including ones held in Hiroshima.

Leaders or senior government officials of thirty countries will take part in the ceremony. The United States said that it is proper for the UN Secretary General to participate in the event to pay respect to the war victims. Although the planned military parade following the ceremony is unnecessary, why did the Japanese government decline to participate in such an event if it has “feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for its actions during the war” as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said in his speech commemorating the war’s end?

As this year marks the 70th year of the end of WWII, Germany once again clearly admitted its responsibility for the acts of the Nazi regime in the war and expressed apology for past deeds on various occasions. If Japan keeps refusing to express remorse over its aggression over Asian countries and disregards the outcome of post-war international politics, it will bring about unease to people in Japan and around the world.