It is a shame that speculation on the wording of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's speech, due to be delivered on Friday, one day before the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender, is still heaping up.
Japan must face its wartime history by upholding the Murayama Statement unambiguously in order to move forward, Kazuhiko Togo, a professor of international politics at Kyoto Sangyo University, writes.
Truly following the world-recognized "Murayama Statement" has become a tough test for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Administration as the prime minister had increasingly resorted to play of words on the key issue of Japan's attitude toward its wartime wrongdoings.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama said Thursday that his landmark 1995 apology for the nation's wartime atrocities and the 1993 Kono statement admitting culpability and apologizing for Japan's forcible wartime conscription of sex slaves should not be re-examined.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama has urged Japanese politicians to be clearer about the history of Japanese colonial rule and aggression towards its Asian neighbors, cautioning against repeating mistakes.
简体中文
