Emperor expresses ‘deep remorse’ for war

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This article was published 16/08/2015 (3942 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Japan’s emperor expressed “deep remorse” for his nation’s wartime actions Saturday on the 70th anniversary of Japan’s Second World War surrender.

“On this day to commemorate the war dead and pray for peace, my thoughts are with the people who lost their precious lives in the last war and their bereaved families,” Emperor Akihito, 81, said.

“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.”

The brief remarks made at a ceremony in Tokyo were nearly identical to those in previous years, with the exception of the phrase “deep remorse,” which he hadn’t used previously, Japanese media reported.

The event began at noon with a moment of silence to mark the exact date and time when emperor Hirohito — the father of Emperor Akihito — announced in a nationwide radio broadcast Japan had surrendered to the United States and Allied forces on Aug. 15, 1945.

Japan Today reported the emperor’s departure from his normal script could be seen as a subtle rebuke of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The ceremony came a day after Abe fell short of a full apology for his nation’s wartime atrocities, expressing only “utmost grief.” Instead, he endorsed past statements of government apologies and also indicated frustration at calls for Japan to continue to apologize for its past mistakes.

“I bow my head deeply before the souls of all those who perished both at home and abroad. I express my feelings of profound grief and my eternally, sincere condolences,” Abe said in a carefully worded, 25-minute speech broadcast live on national television Friday.

Abe drew fire in December 2013 when he visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine — where 14 wartime leaders convicted of war crimes are enshrined.

‘My thoughts are with the people who lost their precious lives in the last war and their bereaved families’

— Japanese Emperor Akihito

On Saturday, he stayed away, sending a ritual offering to the shrine for the war dead as he has done in previous years.

Instead, Abe laid flowers at a national cemetery where unidentified Japanese soldiers who died in the Second World War are buried.

— USA Today