TOKYO—Emperor Akihito expressed rare “deep remorse” over his country’s wartime actions in an address Saturday marking the 70th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender, a day after the prime minister fell short of apologizing in his own words to the victims of Japanese aggression.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meanwhile, stayed away from a contentious Yasukuni shrine that honors war criminals among other war dead. He instead prayed and laid flowers at a nearby national cemetery for unnamed fallen soldiers ahead of the annual ceremony at Tokyo’s Budokan hall.
That ceremony started with a moment of silence at noon to mark the radio announcement by Emperor Hirohito, Akihito’s father, of Japan’s surrender on Aug. 15, 1945.
“Reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse over the last war, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated,” Akihito said in his speech. Japanese media said it was the first time he had used the words “deep remorse” in reference to the war in his annual war-end anniversary speech.
Akihito also emphasized that Japan’s peace and prosperity stand on “the people’s tireless endeavors and their earnest desire for peace,” and renewed his war-renouncing pledge.
Even though they are subtle and still rather neutral, remarks by the emperor on Japan’s wartime past in recent years have caught attention, often portrayed in the media to contrast Abe’s nationalist and hawkish image, especially as he pushes to give Japan’s military an expanded role and change Japan’s pacifist constitution.
Abe, who also spoke at the memorial service, avoided any reference to the damage caused by Japan’s aggression for the third year in a row since he took office in December 2012.
Instead, as if talking to the spirits of the war dead, Abe thanked them for the sacrifice on which he said Japan’s peace and prosperity are built.
Abe did promise, however, to “face the past” and “never to repeat the calamity of the war.”
