Japan welcomes Abe’s US embrace
Prime minister’s visit to Pearl Harbour wins favour with a public uncertain what lies ahead in Donald Trump presidency
TOKYO // Japan yesterday hailed a historic visit by prime minister Shinzo Abe to Pearl Harbour in Hawaii, praising his message of reconciliation with the United States.
But the country remains wary of what will happen once Donald Trump takes office.
Interest in Mr Abe’s visit to the site of Japan’s December 7, 1941 attack that drew the US into the Second World War has been high, with many favourably comparing it with president Barack Obama’s journey this year to Hiroshima.
Both visits were highly choreographed, and neither Mr Obama in Hiroshima nor Mr Abe in Hawaii apologised or even explicitly said their countries carried out the respective attacks.
But despite the careful words, the symbolism of the men standing together again on Tuesday was clear to most people in Japan. National broadcaster NHK provided live coverage of their joint address about 7am Japan time.
It was delivered after the men visited the memorial to the battleship USS Arizona, which was sunk in the surprise Japanese attack. Kuniyoshi Takimoto, 95, a former navy aircraft mechanic on a carrier that took part in the raid, the Hiryu, praised Mr Abe’s words.
“It was a beautiful message that deeply reflected the sentiment of both American and Japanese people,” he said. But Mr Takimoto was also critical of prime minister Abe’s hawkish policy to expand the role of Japan’s constitutionally constrained military, including enabling combat missions abroad.
“The beautiful message has a catch,” he said.
Mr Abe’s visit to Pearl Harbor was slightly overshadowed by one of his own ministers, who visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo hours later.
Masahiro Imamura, the minister in charge of the reconstruction of northern Japan following the 2011 tsunami, was quoted by public broadcaster NHK as saying the timing of his visit was “a coincidence”.
But Haruko Satou, professor of international politics at Osaka University, suggested that while Mr Imamura’s true intention was unknown the timing was suspicious.
“It’s natural to think that he chose the same day when prime minister Abe visited Pearl Harbour,” Mr Satou said.
Mr Imamura’s action is “likely to have a negative impact on Japan’s diplomacy and offset the positive image of Abe’s historic visit”, she said.
Mr Abe’s visit was closely watched in China, where it was noted that he stressed ties with the US rather than Asia.
“If Japan really wants to reconcile over historical issues, Abe chose the wrong place,” the nationalist Global Times newspaper commented, saying he should visit Nanjing, the site of a 1937 Japanese massacre, or elsewhere in China.
China’s foreign ministry also weighed in, with spokeswoman Hua Chunying calling for a “sincere apology” to Asian countries that suffered from decades of Japanese militarism.
Mr Abe aimed to highlight the significance of the close military and economic relations with the US as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to assume power next month amid major questions about his policies, several Japanese media outlets said. During his election campaign, Mr Trump accused Japan of not paying its fair share in supporting the military alliance, and suggested Tokyo could even develop its own nuclear deterrent. Mr Abe’s speech also expressed Japan’s appreciation for US reconstruction aid after the Second World War. Commentator Takashi Ryuzaki said the remark was designed to engage those members of the US public who support Mr Trump. “Rather than offering an apology, the message of gratitude for what America did after the war was expressed,” Mr Ryuzaki said.
The desire for a continued solid Japan-US relationship is what most Japanese, including Tokyoite Kazuko Masuda, 57, said they wanted.
“Mr Trump utters all those strong words ... but I really hope he as an individual is the kind of person who walks an honourable path,” she said.