Japan’s Ishiba Issues Statement on World War II to Mark 80th Anniversary

The Yomiuri Shimbun

19:04 JST, October 10, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba explicitly affirmed his commitment to the historical understanding of World War II expressed by successive cabinets, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s statement marking the 70th anniversary of the war’s end.

In his statement marking the 80th anniversary, he noted, “Past statements by former prime ministers have not sufficiently addressed the question of why that war could not be avoided,” and called for reflection on the problems within the domestic political system at the time.

“On this milestone, I wish to contemplate this together with the people,” he added.

He pointed out five specific problems: The Constitution of the Empire of Japan, which lacked the principle of civilian control over the military; the government losing control over the military; the failure of parliament to provide oversight; media that actively supported the war; and inadequate intelligence gathering and analysis that failed to accurately grasp the international situation.

He expressed his view that “there was no mechanism to appropriately integrate politics and the military, and the military went out of control in the name of ensuring the independence of its supreme command.”

While saying that there are institutional measures now in place to prevent these problems, Ishiba emphasized that “irresponsible populism” and “narrow-minded nationalism” must be never allowed, in order that the political system continues to be operated as it should be.

“We must always be humble before history and inscribe the lessons from it on our heart,” he said.