Coronavirus fears meant only a limited audience could attend the ceremony marking Japan's World War II surrender. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged never to repeat the tragedy of war, but stopped short of an apology.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kumagai
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday his country would never "repeat the tragedy of war" as he paid tribute to the sacrifices of the fallen on the 75th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
"We will remain committed to this pledge," Abe said, wearing a face mask at an official ceremony in Tokyo. He referred to the damage inflicted on Japan and its people, but did not mention the suffering of Japan's neighbors.
Fewer than 600 people were at the event — which was scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic — compared to the 6,000 who attended last year. Masks were mandatory, and there was no singing of the national anthem.
Striking a more apologetic tone than Abe, Emperor Naruhito told the crowd he felt deep regret over his country's military actions, including its invasion of China and South Korea.
"Reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated," said 60-year-old Naruhito, who has sought to make amends for the period of military aggression overseen by his grandfather, Hirohito.
Social distancing and masks were mandatory at the scaled-back memorial ceremonyImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Kyodo News
Ministers visit controversial Yasukuni Shrine
Since entering office in 2012, Abe has steered clear of acknowledging Japan's wartime hostilities in his August 15 speeches, instead saying future generations should not be held responsible for past mistakes.
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On Saturday, he sent a ritual offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead but did not visit the site in person. The highly controversial shrine honors 2.46 million war dead, as well as 14 Japanese military leaders who were convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal. For that reason, China and South Korea see Yasukuni as a symbol of past Japanese aggression. Abe's last visit there, in December 2013, sparked an international outcry.
While Abe stayed away, at least four of his Cabinet ministers paid their respects — the first ministerial visit in four years.
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South Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed "deep disappointment and concern" over the ministers' visit and said Japan's leaders must show their "deep remorse through action."
Japanese Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi, one of the ministers who offered prayers at the shrine, told reporters: "We decide how we want to pay respects to the war dead. This should not be a diplomatic problem."
In a speech on Saturday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Seoul was willing to talk to Tokyo to resolve longstanding disputes related to the war. Ties between the two countries have been strained over a row about compensation for Koreans forced to work in Japan's wartime factories and mines.
"Our government is ready to sit face to face with the Japanese government at any time," the Yonhap news agency quoted Moon as saying.
Japan's revered war criminals
The souls of 14 convicted war criminals are worshiped as martyrs in Japan's Yasukuni Shrine. DW takes a look at the perpetrators and what they were accused of.
Image: Keystone/Getty Images
Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo was Japan's prime minister from 1941 to 1944 and Chief of Staff of the Japanese Imperial Army. He was accused of being responsible for the killing of 4 million Chinese as well as conducting biological experiments on prisoners of war. Following his country's surrender in 1945 he tried to kill himself with a pistol. However, he survived, confessed to the crimes and was hanged in 1948.
Image: Keystone/Getty Images
Kenji Doihara
The "China expert" began his career in 1912 as a secret agent in Beijing. Doihara, who spoke Mandarin and several Chinese dialects fluently, founded the "Manchurian Empire" together with China's last emperor, Puyi. It was a puppet regime under Japanese control. In 1940, Doihara backed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was hanged eight years later.
Image: Gemeinfrei/Unbekannt
Iwane Matsui
Matsui was accused of being involved in the 1937 Nanjing massacre in which an estimated 300,000 people were killed within a week. Nowadays, historians believe that the decision for the carnage was taken by the imperial family. The family, however, was never charged. A tribunal convicted Matsui of being a "Class B" war criminal. He was executed in 1948.
Image: Gemeinfrei
Heitaro Kimura
In 1939, Kimura waged a brutal war against the armed forces of China's Communist Party in the eastern part of the country. He set up concentration camps in which thousands died. In 1944, he was sent to Burma where he became army commander. He used prisoners of war to build a 415-kilometer-long railway connecting Thailand to Burma. Some 13,000 allied soldiers died. He was hanged in 1948.
Image: Gemeinfrei
Koki Hirota
Hirota was Japan's prime minister until February 1937 and later became foreign minister. He was charged with sanctioning the Nanjing massacre. Hirota (seen here in the middle) was the only civilian politician to be hanged in 1948.
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Seishiro Itagaki
On September 18, 1931, Itagaki orchestrated a bomb attack on a railway in the northeastern region of Manchuria. Japan used this as a pretext to declare war on China. Itagaki later fought in North Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia until he surrendered in 1945. He was found guilty of escalating the war and was hanged in 1948.
Image: Gemeinfrei
Akira Muto
Ever since the outbreak of the war, Muto fought in China and was later found guilty of taking part in several atrocities, including the Nanjing massacre. According to the judges, Muto not only let prisoners of war starve but also "tortured and murdered" them.
Image: Gemeinfrei
Yosuke Matsuoka
Under his leadership, Japan left the League of Nations after some member states accused Japan of starting the war against China. Matsuoka was foreign minister between 1940 and 1941 and was one of the co-signers of the Tripartite Pact between Japan, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. In 1946, he died of tuberculosis before being sentenced.
Image: Gemeinfrei/Japanese book Ningen Matsuoka no Zenbo
Osami Nagano
Marshal Admiral Osami Nagano, a supporter of the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, ordered the attack on December 7, 1941. Twelve US warships either sunk or were badly damaged and more than 2,400 American soldiers were killed. Nagano died of pneumonia in 1946 before he could be tried in the Tokyo war crimes trials.
Image: Gemeinfrei
Toshio Shiratori
He was the head of Japanese propaganda. Shiratori was Japan's ambassador to Italy and pushed for an alliance between his country, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. As an advisor to the foreign minister, he disseminated his fascist ideals both "on and off the stage." Toshio was sentenced to life in prison where he died in 1949.
Image: Gemeinfrei
Kiichiro Hiranuma
Hiranuma was Japan's prime minister from January to August 1939. During this time Japan strengthened its ties with Germany and Italy. Kiichiro was later considered to be one of Emperor Hirohito's closest advisors. He was sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 1952. He died that same year.
Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Kuniaki Koiso
Koiso was Japan's prime minister between July 1944 and April 1945, and served in China and North Korea. He was sentenced to life in prison although the tribunal was of the view he didn't take direct part in the atrocities committed by the military. The judges, however, ruled that he had been in a position to put a stop to them. Koiso died of cancer in 1950 while serving his jail sentence.
Image: Keystone/Getty Images
Yoshijiro Umezu
From 1939 to 1945, Umezu was in command of the 700,000-strong Guandong Army based in northeastern China. Although he opposed a Japanese surrender shortly before the end of the war, Umezu (seen here in uniform in the first row) was ordered by the emperor to sign the document of unconditional surrender on September 2, 1945. He was sentenced to life in prison and died in jail in 1949.
Image: AP
Shigenori Togo
Togo was an expert on Germany. He spoke German, studied German philology, married a German and was appointed Japan's ambassador to Germany in 1937. He was appointed foreign minister in 1941 and again in 1945, when he advised the Japanese government to surrender. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and died in 1950 while in jail.
