[Prime Minister] Abe has affirmed that he wants to ... lift existing constraints on Japan’s military forces. This is related to the new Japan-U.S. defense guidelines, which are aimed at expanding Japan’s military role in the two nations’ alliance. [This] is opposed by a majority of the public because they are anxious that Japan will be dragged into some conflict at Washington’s behest, and few believe Abe’s reassurances that Japan is only signing on to a regional security role precisely because there is no such restriction in the draft guidelines. … In this context, the Emperor pointedly referred to the horrific suffering Japan both endured and inflicted from 1931-45, an anti-war message that endorses Japan’s pacifist Constitution and rejects efforts to rewrite and burnish the history of Japanese aggression. The Emperor said: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, which cost many people their lives. Those who died on the battlefields, those who died in the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, those who died in the air raids on Tokyo and other cities — so many people lost their lives in this war. I think it is most important for us to take this opportunity to study and learn from the history of this war, starting with the Manchurian Incident of 1931, as we consider the future direction of our country. The Emperor’s reference to the Manchurian Incident is a rebuke to revisionists who maintain that Japan was fighting a defensive war of Pan-Asian liberation against Western colonial powers. Instead, the Emperor’s comment implies that the wider war was ignited by Japanese aggression against China, and that on the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat it is important to learn the lessons of this tragedy. It is hard to ignore the explicit warning about the dangers of militarism, especially when considering the Emperor’s record. The Emperor has continued his father’s boycott of Yasukuni Shrine that began when 14 Class-A war criminals were secretly enshrined there in 1978. Emperor Hirohito, who is posthumously called Emperor Showa, confided to an aide that he refrained from visiting the shrine thereafter due to their presence. … The Emperor also stirred controversy in 2001 when he publicly acknowledged that Japan’s Imperial line descends from Korean ancestors in the hope that it would enable these “frenemies” to overcome animosities and cooperate in hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Apparently the anti-Korean hate speech groups that have grown emboldened under Abe did not get that memo. In his new year statement, the Emperor also voiced his concerns about nuclear energy. While Abe is eager to restart Japan’s idled reactors, the Emperor poignantly reminded everyone about the abject fate of Japan’s nuclear refugees.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:22:16 +0000
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