Ex-PM Murayama slams Abe's war anniversary statement

In his Aug. 14 war anniversary statement, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared that the "position articulated by the previous cabinets will remain unshakable into the future," referring to past prime ministerial statements that offered apologies for Japan's wartime aggression and colonial rule. However, Abe's statement failed to demonstrate his own ideas and thoughts.

While some favorably view Abe's statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, approved by his Cabinet earlier the same day, others raised doubts, saying, "The statement fails to carry his true intentions," and "It is such a bureaucratic text."

Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama -- who authored the Murayama Statement marking the 50th anniversary of the war's end -- lambasted Abe's statement during a press conference in the city of Oita later on Aug. 14.

"For what purpose did he use the word 'apology'? The use of the term was trivialized and its meaning became ambiguous. The statement diluted the weight of such words as colonial rule and aggression."

Asked if he thinks the Abe statement continues the spirit of Murayama's own statement, he answered flatly, "No."

"The first impression that I got was that the lengthy text was laboriously devised by giving consideration to each word and term. However, the statement's focus becomes blurred toward its end and the message doesn't come across clearly," Murayama said.

As to the Abe statement's reference to colonial rule by the Western powers, Murayama said, "The statement generalizes colonial rule, just as if it wants to say, 'See, everyone else was doing the same thing.' The text fails to offer an open apology for what was done wrong (by Japan)."

Murayama had particularly harsh words for the part of the Abe statement that said, "We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize."

"Ever since I released the Murayama statement, I have never apologized over past historical issues," Murayama said, suggesting the epoch-making 1995 statement served to mark a certain closure on historical issues.

"If (Prime Minister Abe) had said from the beginning that he would continue the content of the Murayama statement, he wouldn't have had to do anything. The international community only grew suspicious because Abe said he would release a new statement," Murayama said.

Murayama's 1995 statement was the first by a Japanese prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II on Aug. 15 and made global headlines, including the BBC's top morning news. The then coalition government was comprised of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Japan Socialist Party and the New Party Sakigake, and there was a significant gap in historical perceptions among the three parties. A senior LDP member even expressed displeasure with the Murayama statement. Prime Minister Abe was then in his third year as an LDP legislator.

The Abe statement also drew criticism and caused disappointment among those who lived through the hardships during and after the war.

Chieko Nozato, a 79-year-old war survivor in Okinawa -- ravaged by a fierce ground battle in 1945 and now host to 74 percent of all U.S. military bases in Japan, lashed out at the part of the statement that said, "We shall abandon colonial rule forever and respect the right of self-determination of all peoples throughout the world."

"I wanted the prime minister to turn his eyes to the realities faced by Okinawa, which is still in a state resembling colonial rule. The prime minister's words lacked depth and are untrustworthy."

Koichi Kawano, a 75-year-old survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, said, "The fact that the prime minister referred to Japan apologizing and its remorse only by echoing the position of past cabinets tells me that, deep down, he himself no longer wants to apologize."

Regarding the part of the statement declaring, "We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize," Kawano said, "He apparently doesn't want to drag the last war into the future as a negative legacy."

Akira Momochi, a conservative constitutional scholar, raved about the Abe statement, saying, "At first I thought it was too long, but when I actually read it, the statement gives detailed explanations point by point."

"I had been worried that the prime minister would back down on his claims after coordination with (the LDP's coalition partner) Komeito, but I needn't have worried. The statement is designed so that no new reparation problems will arise. The statement sticks with the position that Japan will continue to reflect on its past but will keep future generations free of blame."