Prince Naruhito's reminder for forgetful Japan
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It is important that we never forget people who died in the war [and we must] deepen our appreciation for our past so as not to repeat the horrors of war and to foster a love of peace."
The remark was made by Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito during a press conference to mark his 55th birthday on Monday. In a very carefully prepared public appearance, the prince gently but at the same time vigorously touched a nerve for the Japanese nation, which has been struggling to honestly acknowledge its wartime history, 70 years after it conceded defeat in World War II on August 15, 1945.
“I think that it is important today, when memories of the war are fading, to look back humbly on the past and correctly pass on the tragic experiences and history Japan pursued from the generation which experienced the war to those without direct knowledge,” said Naruhito in a rare statement on political issues.
The next-in-line to the Japanese imperial throne was apparently urging his nation’s people to look at themselves in the mirror and stop pretending that nothing wrong happened when Japanese forces invaded Asian countries, including China, Korea and Indonesia.
The nation has already stalled too long on making peace with its past and moving forward. Japanese people should now steel themselves to completely overcome their own fears of confronting reality.
Prime minister Shinzo Abe is preparing his government’s official version of the war, including the sex-slave controversies. Critics in countries that endured Japanese occupation, including Indonesia, cannot understand why Japan does not follow in Germany’s footsteps in comprehensively confronting the problems caused by its past leaders.
As long as Abe fails to express an unconditional mea culpa, the nation will never be able to fully recover from its own trauma. The nation needs the courage to heal itself. Self-denial and half-hearted confessions are among the most critical parts of Japan’s “ailment”.
The world has learned and will continue to learn from Japan on how it advanced through technological innovation, the samurai spirit and an ability to rebound from devastating natural disasters.
The nation has and will maintain its decisive role in global development. But Japan’s readiness to confront a dark past will enable it to play a bigger part in creating world peace.
Hopefully, Crown Prince Naruhito’s appeal will not fall on deaf ears.
