Ishiba’s World War II Memorial Address Reflects His Distinctiveness as He Mulls Timing of Personal Remarks

By Akihisa Ota and Wataru Hayashi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

1:00 JST, August 17, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s use of the word “remorse” in his address about World War II at the annual government-organized national memorial service for the war dead reflected his distinctiveness.

The word had been a common fixture of prime ministerial memorial addresses but was last used 13 years ago.

Ishiba made the decision not to issue an official statement on World War II requiring Cabinet approval on Aug. 15, the 80th anniversary of its end, in his capacity as prime minister. However, he is still keen to release a message that includes his own assessment of the war.

Choice of words explained

“I believe lessons are learned from remorse,” Ishiba told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office after the memorial service, when explaining his use of the word “remorse.”

“We must once again deeply inscribe the remorse and lessons from that war into our hearts,” Ishiba said in the address. He had been repeatedly revising his speech until shortly before the event.

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had used the term “lessons” in his addresses from 2013. Therefore, Ishiba concluded that using both “lessons” and “remorse” would allow him to maintain a sense of consistency.

“Remorse” had been a fixture of prime ministerial addresses since former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama used the word in 1994, as part of an address aimed at victims of the war in Asia. It was last used in that context in 2012 by then Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

In his address on Friday, Ishiba used the word “remorse” after saying the following: “We must never again repeat the horrors of war. We must never again lose our way.”

A close aide of Ishiba said that the prime minister had used “remorse” in its broader meaning, not just as an apology to victims in Asia but also as a call to reflect on such things as how civilian control of the military was lost.

Ishiba has frequently maintained that it is important to learn why the country went to war in order never to repeat it. He has also encouraged those around him to read “Showa 16-nen Natsu no Haisen” (Defeat in the summer of 1941) by Naoki Inose, saying that it helps understand how Japan progressed toward war and learn the lessons from it. The work describes how Japan started the Pacific War despite a conclusion being made by the government’s Total War Research Institute that Japan would be defeated if it entered into a war with the United States.

Ishiba is also influenced by former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, whom he regarded as a political mentor and who said: “It will be OK as long as those who have experienced the war are in the center of the country. It will be dangerous once that comes to an end.”

Party’s understanding needed

For Ishiba to be able to issue his own remarks about the war, the key will be obtaining understanding within the Liberal Democratic Party.

Takayuki Kobayashi, a former minister in charge of economic security, on Friday issued a warning to the prime minister not to release his message on the war.

“The statement issued on the 70th anniversary is everything,” he said. “We must not burden future generations by having them continue to make apologies.”

House of Councillors member Shigeharu Aoyama criticized Ishiba’s memorial address on Friday, saying, “I feel an intention to once again destabilize the domestic and international community that has existed since the Abe administration.”

Ishiba was unable to release his message in time for the memorial ceremony due to such factors as the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations. Sept. 2, the 80th anniversary of Japan signing the official instrument of surrender, is among the alternative dates being floated.

“I will make an appropriate decision, also taking into consideration past statements,” Ishiba said.

Abe’s address on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II is highly regarded within the party, as it is considered as having put an end to so-called “apology diplomacy.” Behind Ishiba’s decision not to issue an official statement on the 80th anniversary was the strong feeling within the party that Abe’s statement should not be modified.

Amid intensifying moves within the LDP to oust Ishiba as prime minister, he is expected to take a wait-and-see approach.