On August 15, 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced in a radio address that the country would surrender to the Allies, marking the end of World War Two and China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and of World War Two.
BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- To mark the 69th anniversary of its defeat in the World War II, the Japanese government has, as usual, duly advised its citizens to observe one minute of silence in honor of the deceased.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, has a separate agenda. Despite the cancellation of a planned visit, he sent an offering Friday to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, which honors top war criminals, through his aide Kouichi Hagiuda.
Such a show of "compromise and sincerity," as some put it, is hardly acceptable, particularly given the recent barrage of remarks and moves by Japan's rightist politicians which lay bare their unrepentant attitude toward the WWII.
One who forgets and denies history does not deserve a future. It has become a matter of urgency for the current Japanese leaders to truly reflect upon the lessons of history so as to avert a risky future.
During the WWII, a militaristic Japan ruthlessly trampled over its Asian neighbors and slaughtered tens of millions of people there. Yet, Japan was also considered a victim of the war as countless innocent civilians in the country were killed by U.S. nuclear retaliation.
The unconditional surrender of Japan in 1945 put an end to the bloody war in the Asia-Pacific and ushered in a new era of peace and development for the whole region, including Japan, which has since kept its extreme right-wing forces in check and tugged itself out of the quagmire of war.
Remarkably, Japan has created an enduring economic miracle which saw it once grow into the world's second largest economy.
It is reasonable to say that Japan's post-war success has testified the fact that peace, not war, is the cornerstone for development.
Sadly, a new generation of rightists in the country have chosen to ignore that. With Prime Minister Abe at the helm, Japan, bent on shaking off its war-renouncing pacifist reins, has once again embarked on a precarious path and blatantly challenged the post-war international order of peace.
By doing this, Japan is sowing the seed of another war.
Notably, the Abe administration has sugarcoated its military ambitions with rhetoric touting "peace" and "security," while former Japanese militaristic rulers had used similar tactic to disguise their unquenchable thirst for aggression.
What has also sounded the alarm is that Japan has been deliberately flexing its muscles against China. From the purchase and naming farce of China's islands, to the constant hyping up of China's "military buildup," Japan's increasingly provocative actions are not only tearing the two nations further apart, but also putting the hard-won peace and security in the whole region at stake.
Some might say history always repeats itself, yet it is unwise for Japan to reckon that China, along with other WWII victims as well as those peace-loving people on its own land, would stand idle in face of the brewing threats of war.
It is highly advisable for those who did wrong in the past to stop playing with fire and avoid leading their country further down the dangerous road.
By Lili Xinhua
Hard to warm up frozen ties with Tokyo
As the 69th anniversary of Japan's surrender in WWII, August 15 has become the perfect time for Japanese nationalists to put on a farce to draw world attention. Will Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visit the notorious Yasukuni Shrine? This has become the most disconcerting mystery in the geopolitics of Northeast Asia.
Abe released some messages, saying he wouldn't visit the Shrine. But media outlets guessed he might offer tribute instead. This could be called a positive signal sent to China from a Japanese perspective. It was also reported that he is looking forward to having a bilateral meeting with Chinese leaders at the forum of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Beijing in November.
Bitter confrontations over historical issues have dragged both China and Japan into a tug-of-war. With years of friendliness buried, China and Japan seem to be locked into a blood feud.
The conflicts over historical issues are no longer limited to different understandings of history. They have become a major manifestation of the geopolitical rivalry between both sides. A sober mind can tell that such a conflict can only result in a lose-lose situation: Japan is losing its upper hand in the international community due to its irresponsible attitude toward history, and China has spent too many unnecessary resources and attention on it.
But now, it could be anticipated that warming Sino-Japanese ties are still impossible, even though Abe acted mildly on the Yasukuni Shrine issue this year and Chinese leaders might meet him at the APEC forum.
On historical issues, both sides are just speaking to themselves. These issues have become a battle of public opinion in the international community. In this case, only national strength matters.
Japan was the side which took the initiative in the historical issues, as it was in full authority of whether to visit the Shrine and revise history books. But China has established a system to penalize provocative Japanese government officials. China has got back part of the initiative. The fact that China is getting used to the political deadlock and carries forward economic cooperation also requires full attention. The unfolding tensions between both nations have not inflicted many losses on China, which is able to sustain a long-term standoff with Japan.
China's rise has changed many foundations of the former Sino-Japanese ties, and we must accept and get adapted to the fundamental changes.
The biggest force that can transform Sino-Japanese relations is the rise of China. It probably won't make Japan and China regain rapport, but it will drive Japan to assess the outcome of a full confrontation with China.
In the past 20 or 30 years, China has not been engaged in such tense relationship with a major power as it does with Japan. There are so many uncertainties ahead, and Japan is destined to offer unavoidable and significant challenges to China's confidence and patience when the latter is rising.
Source: Global Times Published: 2014-8-15 0:23:01
69 years later, Japan still unrepentant after nuclear attacks from US
Sixty-nine years ago, mushroom clouds rose over major population centers for the first (and fortunately, only) time in the history of warfare. At approximately 8:16 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, the Army Air Force dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki.
Nagasaki mayor questions policy on A-bomb day
TOKYO - The mayor of Nagasaki criticized Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe's push toward Japan's more assertive defense policy, as the
city marked the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing.
In his "peace declaration" speech at the ceremony in Nagasaki's Peace
Park, Mayor Tomihisa Taue urged Abe's government to listen to growing
public concerns over Japan's commitment to its pacifist pledge.
Thousands of attendants, including US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and a record number of representatives from 51 countries, offered a minute of silence and prayed for the victims at 11:02 a.m., the moment the bomb was dropped over Nagasaki on Aug 9, 1945, as bells rang. They also laid wreaths of white and yellow chrysanthemums at the Statue of Peace.
The US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, prompting Tokyo's World War II surrender. The first on Hiroshima killed 140,000 people and the Nagasaki bomb killed another 70,000.
The anniversary comes as Japan is divided over the government's decision to allow its military to defend foreign countries and play greater roles overseas by exercising what is referred to as collective self-defense. To achieve that goal, Abe's Cabinet revised its interpretation of Japan's war-renouncing constitution.
Pacifism, enshrined in the constitution, is the "founding principle" of postwar Japan and Nagasaki, Taue said.
"However, the rushed debate over collective self-defense has prompted concern that this principle is shaking," he said. "I strongly request that the Japanese government take note of the situation and carefully listen to the voices of distress and concerns."
Polls show more than half of respondents are opposed to the decision, mainly because of sensitivity over Japan's wartime past and devastation at home.
Representing the Nagasaki survivors, Miyako Jodai, 75, said that Abe's government was not living up to expectations.
Jodai, a retired teacher who was exposed to radiation just 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) from ground zero, said that the defense policy that puts more weight on military power was "outrageous'' and a shift away from pacifism.
"Please stand by our commitment to peace. Please do not forget the sufferings of the atomic bombing survivors," Jodai said at the ceremony.
The number of surviving victims, known as "hibakusha," was just more than 190,000 this year across Japan. Their average age is 79. In Nagasaki, 3,355 survivors died over the past year, while 5,507 passed away in Hiroshima.
Abe kept his eyes closed and sat motionless as he listened to the outright criticism, rare at a solemn ceremony.
In his speech, he did not mention his defense policy or the pacifist constitution. He repeated his sympathy to the victims and said Japan as the sole victim of nuclear attacks has the duty to take leadership in achieving a nuclear-free society, while telling the world of the inhumane side of nuclear weapons.
The speech had minor tweaks from last year's, after Abe faced criticism that the speech he delivered in Hiroshima was almost identical to the one from the previous year, Kyodo News reported.
 |
Nagasaki
Mayor Tomihisa Taue reads out the Peace Declaration at the Peace Park
in the city on Aug. 9, 2014, during a ceremony marking the 69th
anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city. [Photo/IC]
|
Thousands of attendants, including US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and a record number of representatives from 51 countries, offered a minute of silence and prayed for the victims at 11:02 a.m., the moment the bomb was dropped over Nagasaki on Aug 9, 1945, as bells rang. They also laid wreaths of white and yellow chrysanthemums at the Statue of Peace.
The US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, prompting Tokyo's World War II surrender. The first on Hiroshima killed 140,000 people and the Nagasaki bomb killed another 70,000.
The anniversary comes as Japan is divided over the government's decision to allow its military to defend foreign countries and play greater roles overseas by exercising what is referred to as collective self-defense. To achieve that goal, Abe's Cabinet revised its interpretation of Japan's war-renouncing constitution.
Pacifism, enshrined in the constitution, is the "founding principle" of postwar Japan and Nagasaki, Taue said.
"However, the rushed debate over collective self-defense has prompted concern that this principle is shaking," he said. "I strongly request that the Japanese government take note of the situation and carefully listen to the voices of distress and concerns."
Polls show more than half of respondents are opposed to the decision, mainly because of sensitivity over Japan's wartime past and devastation at home.
Representing the Nagasaki survivors, Miyako Jodai, 75, said that Abe's government was not living up to expectations.
Jodai, a retired teacher who was exposed to radiation just 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) from ground zero, said that the defense policy that puts more weight on military power was "outrageous'' and a shift away from pacifism.
"Please stand by our commitment to peace. Please do not forget the sufferings of the atomic bombing survivors," Jodai said at the ceremony.
The number of surviving victims, known as "hibakusha," was just more than 190,000 this year across Japan. Their average age is 79. In Nagasaki, 3,355 survivors died over the past year, while 5,507 passed away in Hiroshima.
Abe kept his eyes closed and sat motionless as he listened to the outright criticism, rare at a solemn ceremony.
In his speech, he did not mention his defense policy or the pacifist constitution. He repeated his sympathy to the victims and said Japan as the sole victim of nuclear attacks has the duty to take leadership in achieving a nuclear-free society, while telling the world of the inhumane side of nuclear weapons.
The speech had minor tweaks from last year's, after Abe faced criticism that the speech he delivered in Hiroshima was almost identical to the one from the previous year, Kyodo News reported.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe (2nd from L) offers a moment of silent prayer at 11:02 am on Aug 9,
2014, the exact time the US atomic bomb was dropped 69 years ago, during
the ceremony at the Peace Park in Japan's southwestern city of
Nagasaki.[Photo/IC]
Nagasaki residents pray and place lanterns on Motoyasu river to commemorate the victims of the bombing 69 years ago.[Photo/IC]
- China Daily/Asia News Network
Hiroshima nuclear bombing, 69th anniversary: 8:15am, the moment Japan will never forget, until ..
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