Refusing to reflect: Abe fails to face Japan's past

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With no mention of "reflection" on Japan's wartime atrocities, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statement during a commemorative ceremony on the 72nd anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II on Tuesday once again upset its neighbors and victims who suffered barbaric treatment and aggression in the hands of Japanese invaders.

Ahead of the ceremony, Abe also sent a monetary offering to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead, including 14 Class-A convicted war criminals. It was the fifth consecutive ritual offering made by Abe, who said he "feels sorry for not being able to visit the shrine."

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (front) walks past Emperor Akihito (L) and Empress Michiko during a memorial ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan, August 15, 2017. /Reuters Photo

While failing to acknowledge the true nature of Japan's dark history this year, Abe’s hawkish behavior is further pulling Japan away from its neighboring countries.

Hua Chunying, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, resolutely opposed Abe's "wrong actions" over the shrine, saying that Japan must face up to and reflect on its history of invasion, and draw a line under its militarism.

South Korea's foreign ministry also expressed "deep concerns" over Japan's government and parliament paying tribute at the controversial shrine.

Abe's wartime revisionism

Until 2015, the Japanese cabinets had upheld former Prime Minister Murayama's statement of "heartfelt apology" made during the 50th anniversary of World War II, in which he admitted that Japan had "through its colonial rule and invasion, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations."

Former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama delivers a speech before civic group members during an anti-government rally outside the National Diet in Tokyo on July 23, 2015 to protest against the controversial security bills which would expand the remit of the country's armed forces. /AFP Photo

However, Abe reversed the trend by stopping issuing frank apologies in 2015, saying that Japan's future generations should not be “predestined” to apologize themselves.

Abe asserted: “The peace we enjoy today exists only upon such precious sacrifices. And therein lies the origin of postwar Japan.” He implied the peace that Japanese enjoys today comes from Japanese aggression during the 1930s and 1940s, a move that has seen Abe accused of trying to legitimize Japan's wartime misdeeds.

Abe's statement elevated a "myopic and exonerating" revisionist narrative of history to Japan’s official policy, Japan's news outlet Japan Times commented back in 2015.

What's more, the Japanese cabinet's denial of the forced recruitment of "comfort women" and failure to acknowledge legal responsibility over the issue has repeatedly sparked outrage in China and South Korea.

While this was the fifth consecutive year that Abe's cabinet had failed to reflect upon the past, peace-lovers in Japan have their own methods of looking back on the country's past.

A documentary named "The Truth of Unit 731", unveiling recordings of confessions by members of Unit 731 who participated in notorious germ weapon research and vivisection, was aired by Japanese public broadcaster NHK two days ahead of the anniversary.

The Japanese government has long refused to admit war crimes committed by Unit 731 near Harbin in northeast China, citing the lack of historical materials as its excuse.

In the meantime, rallies against Abe's long-held ambition to revise Japan's pacifist Constitution were held across the country, as people also marched against Abe over recent scandals that have seen Abe's approval rating plunge.

On Tuesday morning, a number of scholars and lawmakers gathered at the Japan Education Center in downtown Tokyo, protesting against the Abe administration's attempts to revise the pacifist constitution.

The way to constitutional revision

Japan's constitution, which came into effect two years after Japan's surrender in 1945, has survived unchanged for 70 years. Japan renounces its right to wage war in the constitution and promises that "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained."

After more than seventy years, the specter of militarism is still haunting the country and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Shinzo Abe delivered his policy speech during a plenary session at the lower house of the parliament in Tokyo on January 20, 2017, vowing to revise the postwar constitution./ VCG Photo.

Since taking office in 2012, Abe has continuously increased Japan's defense budget and pushed through with a number of controversial laws, worrying many that Japan is moving closer and closer towards involvement in conflict.

Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have long pushed for constitutional revision. In 2015, the LDP and its allies rammed legislation through parliament, enabling Japan to engage in "collective security", a move to recognize the country's self-defense forces as a military and clarifying Japan's right to defend itself – a violation of article 9 of the constitution.

Abe originally planned to submit a draft of the revised constitution in the Diet session in autumn this year. The rapid drop in the cabinet's approval rating might lead to the submission being delayed until next year, however, many believe that Abe's long-held plan to revise the constitution remains on the horizon.

As Abe continues to provide a voice to Japanese conservatism and nationalism by glossing over historical truths, his actions are only causing more and more harm to ties between Japan and its neighboring countries. Only by facing up to the past can Japan obtain a long-term peaceful future with its neighbors.