Japan marks end of World War II; Shinzo Abe draws criticism from China, South Korea
Updated yesterday at 4:07pm
PHOTO: Japan has marked the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, with hundreds visiting the controversial Yasukuni shrine to pay their respects to the war dead. (Reuters: Thomas Peter)
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MAP: Japan Abe on Friday delivered a closely watched war anniversary speech that expressed regret but also said future generations need not apologise for Japan's war record.
His remarks were welcomed by the United States but blasted by China as a non-apology, while South Korea derided it as "an unpardonable mockery of the Korean people".
China urged Japan to "take concrete actions to gain the trust of its Asian neighbours and the global community".
South Korean president Park Geun-Hye Mr Abe's speech "left much to be desired" and contained "regrettable elements", but did not elaborate on what those elements were.
North Korea, with which Japan has no diplomatic ties, condemned what it called "an attempt of the Japanese rightist conservatives to conceal its crime-woven past".
Senior politicians visit Yasukuni shrine
PHOTO: Former internal affairs minister Yoshitaka Shindo (2nd R), was among a group of politicians who visited Yasukuni to commemorate the anniversary. (Reuters: Issei Kato)
Japan's ministers in charge of women's empowerment and internal affairs and communications were among those who visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine.
The visits to Yasukuni every August 15 enrage neighbouring nations, which view them as an insult and a painful reminder of Tokyo's aggression in the first half of the 20th century, including a brutal 35-year occupation of the Korean peninsula.
China and South Korea suffered badly from Japan's imperial march across Asia in the 20th century and want Mr Abe to uphold previous explicit prime-ministerial apologies for Tokyo's actions.
Japan's emperor Akihito expressed deep remorse over the conflict at a memorial service on Saturday, in a departure from his usual annual script.
"Looking back at the past, together with deep remorse over the war, I pray that this tragedy of war will not be repeated and together with the people, express my deep condolences for those who fell in battle and in the ravages of war, and pray for world peace and the further prosperity of our country," Akihito, the son of wartime emperor Hirohito, said.
The soft-spoken Akihito has often urged Japan not to forget the suffering of the war and tried to promote reconciliation with Asian countries.
His comments have attracted increased attention at a time when Mr Abe appears to be pushing for a less apologetic tone towards Japan's past.
Japan's wartime history under renewed focus under Shinzo Abe
Founded in 1869, the Shinto shrine honours some 2.5 million citizens who died in World War II and other conflicts,
along with 14 indicted war criminals including General Hideki Tojo, who authorised the attack on Pearl Harbor.
They were secretly added to the Yasukuni honour list in 1978. This only became public knowledge the following year.
Japan's wartime history came under a renewed focus after Mr Abe swept into power in late 2012, his second stint as prime minister.
Much speculation focused on whether he would follow a landmark 1995 statement issued by then-premier Tomiichi Murayama.
The so-called Murayama Statement, which became a benchmark for subsequent apologies, expressed "deep remorse" and a "heartfelt apology" for the "tremendous damage" inflicted, particularly in Asia.
Many ordinary people go to Yasukuni pay their respects to relatives and friends who died in combat, while senior politicians who visit insist they are doing what their counterparts in most other countries do when honouring fallen soldiers.
Japanese nationalists, including Mr Abe, argue Yasukuni is no different than the US National Cemetery at Arlington.
But unlike Arlington, Yasukuni promotes a view of history that many find unpalatable.
The attached museum portrays Japan more as a victim of US aggression in WWII and makes scant reference to the extreme brutality of invading Imperial troops when they stormed through Asia — especially China and Korea — in the 20th century.
Only 15 premiers since WWII — about half — have paid respects at the shrine and just a half dozen have gone since the war criminals were added to the list in the late 1970s.
Prior to Mr Abe, the last sitting premier to visit was Junichiro Koizumi in 2006.
Emperor Akihito has never visited.
Japan marks end of World War II; Shinzo Abe draws criticism from China, South Korea - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)