On the evening of October 10 local time, outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his "personal opinions" over the 80 years after the war.
The two-month-long document did not follow the custom to be released in the form of official talks, but instead chose to focus on the deep institutional reasons why Japan was heading to war in the name of "personal", which has caused widespread controversy in Japan.
Thousands of words of "personal opinions"
The full "personal insight" of 7 pages A4 paper, about 6,000 words, from the government and parliamentary system, in-depth analysis of the reasons Japan went to the reckless war of the year.
Shigeru Ishiba stated at the beginning that he "inherited the historical cognitive position of previous prime ministers".
He further pointed out that the past talks released in the post-war 50s, 60s, 70s have little to do with "why the war was not avoided" and his central concern this time is "why the domestic political system failed to contain the war".
He analyzed the systemic defects in Japan's constitution, government, parliament, media, information collection and analysis before the war, and pointed out: "Before the war, Japan lacked the mechanism to properly integrate politics and military affairs", and the "command-in-chief power" was gradually expanded and interpreted, while "the parliament, which should have assumed the function of controlling the army, gradually lost its function".
He emphasized that politicians must have the dignity and sense of responsibility not to surrender to irresponsible populism or follow the trend, and pointed out that parliament and the media should play a check and balance role to prevent the government from misjudging. "We must always remain humble in the face of history and keep the lessons deeply in mind."
Since the then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama published the "Murayama Talk" in 1995, successive Japanese governments have a common practice of making speeches on the 10th anniversary of their defeat.
However, on August 15 this year, the day 80 years after Japan's defeat, Shigeru Ishiba did not make a statement, but waited until October 10 to express his "personal opinions."
Disgrace is different
The statement of Mr. Shikoku has sparked remarkable reactions in Japanese politics and society.
In the opposition party, the leader of the national democracy party, Yūku Yūku, affirmed this, pointing out that the insight into the institutional problems that led to the war is new and meaningful. "
Previously, the 80-year talk finalized by the cabinet in writing was blocked, so Shigeru Ishiba turned to express his "personal opinion".
According to public opinion, it was the first time among Japanese prime ministers after the war that he insisted on making a speech and thoroughly explained the internal mechanism of Japan's war and the failure of power checks and balances, showing certain political courage.
In addition, this conversation was in part a response to domestic historical revisionist thinking and could also be seen as a compelling warning to the right-wing conservative forces represented by the leader of the self-government party, Cao市早苗.But this warning has a limited practical effect and cannot fundamentally change the distorted Japanese society’s historical view and revisionist thought.
On the other hand, there is strong opposition within the Liberal Democratic Party to his statement. Takashi Saami clearly expressed his opposition, saying,"The 70-year post-war talks are the best version, and there is no need for a new statement."
It has been commented that this position highlights the line divergence within the Democratic Party over historical cognitive issues under the trend of "conservative return".
However, the media didn't buy Shigeru Ishiba's vague statement on key information.
When talking about the issue of historical cognition, Shigeru Ishiba only indicated that he "inherited the position of previous cabinets", while Japanese TBS TV station said that he "avoided directly mentioning the responsibility for war".
Left-wing Communist Party Chairman田村智子, however, believes that Shilpao “no reflection on aggression war and colonial rule has been expressed at all.”
It is worth noting that the time of the "personal insight" was just shortly after the Communist Party withdrew from the ruling coalition. The Chief Executive Officer of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, questioned, saying that "the qualification of the ruling party is questionable."
Wenwu Fujita, co-leader of the Japan Restoration Association, also raised questions about Shigeru Ishiba's practice of "publishing documents in a formal or informal form without being finalized by a cabinet meeting" during the transition period of prime ministers.
Some analysts say that although the speech of Sharpomo has a certain positive meaning, he actually avoided Japan's accelerating responsibility and aggressive nature, and lacked a thorough reflection on historical issues, which is also destined to make it difficult for Japan to gain full confidence in its neighbors on historical issues.
(Editor's email: ylq@jfdaily.com)