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With the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaching, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba intends to establish an expert panel tasked with examining why Japan pushed ahead with a reckless war that caused catastrophic damage, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The panel could start its discussions as soon as April and is expected to release its findings in August.
A cabinet-approved statement by the prime minister to mark the anniversary of the war’s end likely will not be issued, due to concerns that it could stir up controversy over issues of historical perception in Japan and abroad.
According to multiple government sources, the panel aims to show that Japan has learned the tragic lessons of the war and is resolved to steadily chart a path forward as a nation committed to peace. “We want to squarely face up to that war to ensure mistakes of the past are never repeated,” a senior government official said.
The panel is scheduled to hold exchanges of opinions mainly among academic experts and focus on the events that occurred from the time the Sino-Japanese War began in 1937. Main topics will include systemic issues that left the government unable to stop the military from running rampant, and factors behind the failure to prevent the expanding suffering and deaths among civilians, such as the Great Tokyo Air Raid that claimed 100,000 lives in one night in March 1945. The panel will also likely examine the “gyokusai” strategy that increased the number of casualties by glorifying operations in which every soldier sought to die in combat, and the trend of public opinion that at times was filled with a victorious mood.
How the panel’s findings will be released is yet to be finalized, according to the sources. Among the options being floated is having Ishiba explain the findings, along with his own opinion, at a press conference on Aug. 15, the anniversary of the war’s end.
The panel’s examination of issues is not expected to delve into historical perceptions that could lead to political wrangling. In August 2015, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a statement, approved by the Cabinet, to mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s end. Ishiba, who has adopted a position of following in Abe’s footsteps on issues of historical perception, has decided there is no need to issue a similar statement on the milestone of the 80th anniversary.
Abe’s statement largely kept a cap on conservative-leaning viewpoints, and repeated key elements of statements by previous cabinets including the expression of “feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology” over Japan’s “aggression” and “colonial rule.” The statement also included a comment that aimed to bring an end to the nation’s apologies for the war. This was welcomed as closing the book on some issues of historical perception.
Among government and Liberal Democratic Party officials, there were growing concerns that issuing a similar statement this year would invite its content, or omissions of content, to “come under the microscope domestically and overseas.” These officials also feared that a statement by Ishiba could “reignite” historical perception issues that have calmed down.
Then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued a statement on the 50th anniversary of the war’s end, and then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi did so on the 60th anniversary. Both were issued with cabinet approval.
