South Korea expresses deep regret as Japan officials visit war shrine
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SOUTH Korea expressed deep regret and China’s Xinhua news agency called on Tokyo to repent its wartime past yesterday after dozens of Japanese lawmakers visited a shrine for war dead, which is seen as a symbol of Tokyo’s wartime militarism, on the anniversary of Japan’s World War II defeat.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering but did not go to the Yasukuni Shrine. Visits to the shrine outrage Beijing and Seoul because it honors 14 Japanese leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as war criminals, along with war dead.
“(We) express deep concern and regret that responsible political leaders ... are again paying tribute to the Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies the history of the war of aggression,” South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Xinhua news agency urged Japan to repent its wartime past or risk steering the country down a dangerous path.
“It’s in the interests of both Japan and its neighboring countries for the former military power to truly reflect upon its past wrongs,” Xinhua said in a commentary.
Abe has not visited the shrine in person since December 2013, sending ritual offerings instead.
New Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, who has been accused by China of recklessly misrepresenting history after she declined to say whether Japanese troops massacred civilians in China during World War II, was visiting troops in Djibouti and unable to go to the shrine as she has in the past.
Emperor Akihito, at a ceremony honoring victims of the war, expressed “deep remorse” over the conflict fought in the name of his father, Hirohito. He first used the phrase at the memorial service last year — the 70th anniversary of the war’s end — in what some saw it as a subtle rebuke to Abe, who favors a less apologetic tone.
“Reflecting on our past with a feeling of deep remorse, I earnestly hope the ravages of war will never be repeated,” said Akihito, 82. The emperor hinted in a rare video address last week at wanting to abdicate in a few years. Abe vowed at the same ceremony that Japan would work for world peace.
“Going forward, and sticking to this firm pledge while facing history with humility, we will make every effort to contribute to world peace and prosperity and the realization of a world where everyone can live without fear,” he said.
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