Abe presented a statement of 70th anniversary of the WWII

August 15^th is the day WWII ended. In 1945, Japan accepted Potsdam declaration to surrender itself to the allied powers.

On this day, several events are held in Japan, officially and unofficially. Especially, this year is the 70^th anniversary of ending of the WWII. So, Prime Minister was expected to publish a statement. And the contents and ways of describing the war by Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan was focused.

It is well known that Abe is eager to reinterpret the history of Japan. Thus, he is attempting to change the trend that Japan is continuously express the apology of having committed the war crime. According to the domestic media, Abe wanted to express his own opinion forthright at the stage of making the script of the speech.

However, Komeito Party, the coalitional partner of ruling Liberal Democratic Party, suggested remaining the previous stance of expressing an apology, not to stimulate China and South Korea adversely.

Accepting this advice, Abe decided to adopt the four key words that were repeatedly used in previous speeches; aggression, colonial rule, deep remorse, and heartfelt apology. In addition, he referred to the fact that the human rights of local women were violated. This description reminded us of comfort women.

On the other hand, Abe stated that "We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with the war, be predestined to apologize." This statement represents Abe's strong will to let Japanese overcome the trauma of the war. But it does not mean Japanese may forget the history. He continued, "Even so, we Japanese, across generations, must squarely face history. We have a responsibility to inherit the past, in all humbleness, and pass it on to the future."

In my opinion, Abe's speech is rather good. He suppressed his own desire to avoid the risk of worsening the international relationship with neighbor countries. I think he is right in the sense that our descendants need not make an apology about the WWII, as well as that I do not want young Americans to make an apology about having used atomic bombs against Japan.

China and South Korea expressed doubt against Japan's attitude. It is not surprising because they have a reason to challenge Japan. If Abe had not used the word "apology," they would have been much more aggressive.

BBC: The many ways to say sorry inJapanese

The Guardian: Japanese PM ShinzoAbe stops short of new apology in war anniversary speech

It is difficult to interpret the history accurately. Abe also said that the definition of aggression was to be left to historians. Anyway, it is no doubt that we should not make another war as a resolution of conflicts.

*Sequel