Never forget sacrifices after end of WWII

As each year passes, the number of people who have firsthand knowledge of World War II declines. Pledges for peace must be passed down to future generations.

On the 75th anniversary of the end of the war, the government-sponsored national memorial ceremony for the war dead was held in Tokyo with the attendance of the Emperor and Empress.

In his address, the Emperor used the same expression as in last year’s address, “reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse,” adding to it, “I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never again be repeated.”

The expression “deep remorse” was first used by the Emperor Emeritus in his address for the ceremony marking the 70th anniversary. The Emperor, born after the war ended, apparently thinks of following in the footsteps of the Emperor Emeritus, who knows about wartime and has dealt with the horrors of war.

In his address, the Emperor touched on the spread of novel coronavirus infections and emphasized that he truly hopes people join hands to work together to overcome the difficult situation

The first government-sponsored ceremony to mark the end of the war was held in 1963, 18 years after the war ended.

At the time, the evaluation of the war was not yet fixed. Then Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda had no choice but to mention “criticism of the war notwithstanding” in his address.

This perception of history has sometimes been at odds with neighboring countries and has long been a focus of political debate domestically. It is significant that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe explicitly expressed “remorse and apology” in his statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, leading to building broad public consensus.

At this year’s ceremony, the prime minister said that “the peace and prosperity we enjoy today was built atop the precious sacrifices of the war dead.” This reflects the views expressed by many prime ministers in the past and one that the people of Japan apparently deeply sympathize with.

During the period from the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 to the postwar internment in Siberia, 2.3 million servicemen and civilians employed by the military as well as 800,000 ordinary civilians lost their lives. Think of the lives of each and every one of them and tirelessly continue efforts for peace.