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Commentary: For Japan's national trustworthiness, Abe should abandon linguistic gimmickry

Xinhua, August 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would never earn his nation any respect should he play history-distorting word games in his upcoming statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II (WWII).

The draft of the much-anticipated statement, to be issued on Friday, would include such key words as "apology," "aggression," "deep remorse" and "colonial rule," Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday.

However, earlier NHK reports quoted anonymous sources close to the Abe government as saying that the draft would not mention the word "apology," which appeared in the landmark 1995 statement by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.

Japan's Kyodo News said that Abe is "making final adjustments as to whether he will express a fresh apology." Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also said the exact wording of the Aug. 14 statement is up to the prime minister.

The erratic signals smell of a scheme by Abe's government to test reactions both at home and abroad, which suggests that it is reluctant to face up to Japan's wartime past and intends to sneak away in the very year marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the WWII.

Japan, a major aggressor in the WWII, inflicted horrendous losses of lives and massive destruction on its Asian neighbors. Seven decades later, it still owes the countries subjected to its atrocious aggression a heart-felt apology.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday repeated her call on the Japanese prime minister to adopt in his upcoming statement the facts-based historical perspective of previous governments.

China has always urged Japan to look at its wartime past squarely, so that Tokyo could start to mend fences with its neighbors by dispelling their anxieties and suspicions over the alarming historical revisionism among Japanese politicians.

However, Abe, an apparent nationalist, has not only insisted on denying Japan's defeat and whitewashing its wartime barbarities, but also defied opposition from the majority of the Japanese public to force through a series of controversial security bills.

The Abe government's troublesome behavior on historical issues, alongside its stubborn attitude on military expansion, has chilled Japan's ties with its neighbors, and stirred up more uncertainties in regional security.

Abe should bear in mind that Japan's relationship with its neighboring countries will continue sinking if he attempts to play word games and refrain from seriously reflecting on and apologizing for Japanese wartime aggression.

If he really wants warmer ties with China and South Korea and higher respect for his country in the international community, he first needs to prove Tokyo's trustworthiness. A sincere apology in the Aug. 14 statement would be a good start. Endi