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On the evening of August 14, DPJ President Katsuya Okada spoke to reporters following the Cabinet decision approving the Prime Minister’s “Statement on the 70th anniversary of WWII’s end” and the subsequent press conference by Prime Minister Abe.
Okada commented on the Prime Minister’s Statement, saying, “It clearly expresses a different view of history than that demonstrated by Shinzo Abe as a politician up until now. If the Prime Minister has really undergone such a shift in his way of thinking, this is probably due to the influence of the debate and remarks that have been made both inside and outside Japan.”
Specifically, Okada said that (1) expressions such as “colonial rule”, “aggression”, “deep remorse” and “heartfelt apology” are included in the Statement in the form of quotations [repeating the position of previous Cabinets]. Rather than quoting the commonly accepted view, the Prime Minister should have stated his thoughts about Japan’s actions in his own words. (2) In the Statement, the Prime Minister says that “We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come…be predestined to apologize,” but this is something that is demanded of Japan as a nation, and our political leadership must take proper responsibility to ensure that we are not left in a position where it will always be impossible for us to achieve reconciliation. It is rather Prime Minister Abe who has been responsible for heightening tensions with neighboring nations, and I would like him to show the appropriate remorse for this.
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