WW2-ANNIVERSARY/JAPAN-ABE STATEMENT Japan PM expresses "utmost grief" over war but no fresh apology

Record ID: 142881

  • Title: WW2-ANNIVERSARY/JAPAN-ABE STATEMENT Japan PM expresses "utmost grief" over war but no fresh apology
  • Date: 14th August 2015
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (AUGUST 14, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE JAPANESE FLAG FLYING OVER THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE MORE OF THE PM'S OFFICE
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAWMYCYZB5XB4U64PD9ETY1LV4
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS NOTE, PLEASE REFER TO 0078-WW2-ANNIVERSARY/FILE-PART ONE AND 0079-WW2-ANNIVERSARY/FILE-PART TWO SENT ON AUGUST 9 FOR FILE MATERIAL
    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a statement marking the 70th anniversary of World War Two's end on Friday (August 14), acknowledged Japan had inflicted "immeasurable damage and suffering" on innocent people but said future generations of Japanese should not have to keep apologising for the mistakes of the past.
    "Upon the innocent people did our country inflict immeasurable damage and suffering. History is harsh. What is done cannot be undone," Abe said in a prepared speech that was broadcast live nationwide.
    "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," he added.
    Abe in his statement vowed that Japan renounces all future colonial rule.
    "We must never again repeat the devastation of war. Incident, aggression, war - we shall never again resort to any form of the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes. We shall abandon colonial rule forever and respect the right of self-determination of all peoples throughout the world," Abe said.
    "We must never forget that there were women behind the battlefields whose honour and dignity were severely injured," Abe said in reference to "comfort women", girls and women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War Two.
    Abe also acknowledged the wartime sufferings of the Chinese in his statement.
    "How much emotional struggle must have existed and what great efforts must have been necessary for the Chinese people who underwent all the sufferings of the war and for the former POWs who experienced unbearable sufferings caused by the Japanese military in order for them to be so tolerant nevertheless?" Abe said.
    Abe's statement comes as he pushes for a more robust defence policy through measures domestic critics say violate Japan's pacifist constitution. Public doubts about the bills have triggered a slide in Abe's ratings to below 40 percent.
    Abe's remarks are being closely watched abroad for whether the conservative leader is watering down past apologies.
    The legacy of the war still haunts relations with China and South Korea, which suffered under Japan's sometimes brutal occupation and colonial rule before Tokyo's defeat in 1945.
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