List of war apology statements issued by Japan

The list of war apology statements issued by Japan stretches across the decades after the end of World War II in Asia.

At the end of the Pacific War, the Japanese accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. In 1945, the unconditional surrender of Japan was formally confirmed aboard the USS Missouri. General Douglas MacArthur was named Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan.[1] When Gen. MacArthur first met Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese sovereign is reported to have said: "I come before you to offer myself to the judgment of the powers you represent, as one to bear sole responsibility for every political and military decision made and action taken by my people in the conduct of the war."[2]

According to historian Herbert Bix in Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, "MacArthur's truly extraordinary measures to save Hirohito from trial as a war criminal had a lasting and profoundly distorting impact on Japanese understanding of the lost war."[3] Among the consequences of MacArthur's decision-making are continuing controversies surrounding the issues of apology.

Demands for an apology and compensation have been a recurring topic in Korean, Taiwanese, and Chinese politics. Many people, including high-ranking officials, continue to assert that Japan has never apologized for its war crimes. In 2010, one comfort woman from Taiwan stated, "It’s unacceptable that the Japanese government still refuses to apologize for what it did." In response to the issue, President Ma Ying-jeou also declared, "It is the responsibility of the Japanese government to admit its mistakes and apologize... The battle is not over yet and it is regretful that the Japanese government still refuses to face its mistakes."[4]

As of 2010, 24% of South Koreans still feel that Japan has never apologized for its colonial rule, while another 58% believe Japan has not apologized sufficiently.[4]

Contents

Apology rebuffed

Toward the end of the Occupation of Japan, Emperor Hirohito let it be known to SCAP that he was prepared to apologize formally to Gen. MacArthur for Japan's actions during World War II—including an apology for the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.[5]

Patrick Lennox Tierney was an eye-witness on the day the Emperor came to SCAP headquarters to present this apology. When the emperor arrived, MacArthur refused to admit him or acknowledge him. When this happened, Tierney was in his office on the fifth floor of the Dai-Ichi Insurance Building in Tokyo. This was the same floor where MacArthur's suite was situated.[5]

The pivotal moment passed. Many years later, Tierney made an effort to explain his understanding of the significance of what he had personally witnessed: "Apology is a very important thing in Japan."[5] Issues which might have been addressed were allowed to remain open, and unanticipated consequences have unfolded across the decades since then.[6]

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

See also

Notes

  1. ^ U.S. National Archives and Records Administration: Japanese surrender document. September 2, 1945.
  2. ^ "Honesty, not apology," The Economist (US). August 21, 1993.
  3. ^ Bix, Herbert P. (2000). Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, p. 545.
  4. ^ a b http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/12/27/2003491990/1
  5. ^ a b c "MacArthur aide: U.S. must learn from errors," Salt Lake Tribune. December 7, 2006.
  6. ^ Lind, Jennifer. "The Perils of Apology: What Japan Shouldn't Learn from Germany," Foreign Affairs. May/June 2009; Ayako Doi, Letter to the editor: "It's Never too Late to Say You're Sorry," Foreign Affairs. September/October 2009.
  7. ^ Fujita Yukihisa. "Prime Minister Kishi's Diplomacy of Reconciliation," Japan Echo. August 2006.
  8. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,893786,00.html
  9. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA): "Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China," September 29, 1972.
  10. ^ qtd. in Tahara, Soichiro (田原総一朗). Nihon no Senso (日本の戦争). Shogakkan, 2000: Tokyo, Japan. p. 161.
  11. ^ MOFA: "Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Kiichi Miyazawa on History Textbooks," August 26, 1982.
  12. ^ "Japan: Ritual of Reconciliation," Time. September 17, 1984.
  13. ^ The Economist, September 15, 1984
  14. ^ qtd. in Kenichi Takagi, Rethinking Japan's Postwar Compensation: Voices of Victims. tr. by Makiko Nakano. Retrieved from http://home.att.ne.jp/sun/RUR55/E/epage16.htm
  15. ^ Nakano Bukno (English) (Nakano Library): 宮中晩餐会での今上天皇の盧泰愚大統領歓迎の勅語 ("Your words of welcome dinner President Roh Tae Woo, South Korea" (English)). May 24, 1990.
  16. ^ 大韓民国大統領盧泰愚閣下ご夫妻歓迎晩餐会での海部内閣総理大臣の挨拶. 海部演説集 pp. 326–328. qtd in The World and Japan Database Project website, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. Retrieved from http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~worldjpn/documents/texts/JPKR/19900525.S1J.html
  17. ^ 大韓民国大統領盧泰愚閣下ご夫妻主催晩餐会での宮澤内閣総理大臣のスピーチ. 宮澤演説集 pp. 89–91. qtd in The World and Japan Database Project website, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. Retrieved from http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~worldjpn/documents/texts/JPKR/19920116.S1J.html
  18. ^ 宮澤喜一内閣総理大臣の大韓民国訪問における政策演説(アジアのなか、世界のなかの日韓関係). 外交青書36号,383–388. qtd in The World and Japan Database Project website, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. Retrieved from http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~worldjpn/documents/texts/exdpm/19920117.S1J.html
  19. ^ MOFA: "Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Kato on the Issue of the so-called 'Wartime Comfort Women' from the Korean Peninsula," July 6, 1992.
  20. ^ MOFA: "Statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the result of the study on the issue of 'Ccomfort Women'," August 4, 1993.
  21. ^ qtd. in Margot S. Strom, Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior. p. 488).
  22. ^ 第127回国会(特別会)細川護熙内閣総理大臣 所信表明演説. (The World and Japan Database Project website, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo). Retrieved from http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~worldjpn/documents/texts/pm/19930823.SWJ.html
  23. ^ 第128回国会. (国会会議録検索システム (National Diet Conference Minutes Search system)). Retrieved from http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp
  24. ^ MOFA: "Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on the 'Peace, Friendship, and Exchange Initiative," August 31, 1994.
  25. ^ MOFA: "Prime Minister's Address to the Diet: 'Resolution to Renew the Determination for Peace on the Basis of Lessons Learned from History'," June 9, 1995.
  26. ^ MOFA: "Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on the occasion of the establishment of the 'Asian Women's Fund'," July 1995.
  27. ^ MOFA: "Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama 'On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end'," August 15, 1995.
  28. ^ Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet (PM/Kantei): 日韓共同記者会見(橋本総理大臣・金泳三大統領共同記者会見, June 23, 1996.
  29. ^ Nakano Library: 宮中晩餐会での今上天皇の金大中大統領歓迎の勅語 ("Court banquet speech welcoming South Korea President Kim Dae" (English)). October 8, 1996.
  30. ^ MOFA: "Speech by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto – Seeking a New Foreign Policy Toward China," August 28, 1997.
  31. ^ MOFA: "Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Conference on Visit of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to the People's Republic of China," September 6, 1997.
  32. ^ MOFA: "Press Conference by the Press Secretary, Statement by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on World War II Prisoners of War," January 13, 1998.
  33. ^ MOFA: "Press Conference by the Press Secretary, Apology to Prisoners of War," January 16, 1998.
  34. ^ MOFA: "The Contents of the Letter of the then-Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto Sent to the Netherlands Prime Minister Willem Kok," July 15, 1998.
  35. ^ MOFA: "Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration, A New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership towards the Twenty-first Century," October 8, 1998.
  36. ^ MOFA: "Japan-China Joint Declaration On Building a Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development," November 26, 1998.
  37. ^ MOFA: Itaru Umezu. "Japan Has Faced Its Past," Far Eastern Economic Review. August 10, 2000.
  38. ^ MOFA: Ryuichiro Yamazaki. "Letter written in response to the article 'Miffed Chinese Sue Japan Companies' in New York Times on August 7, 2000"; Smith, Craig S. "Miffed Chinese Sue Japan Companies," New York Times. August 7, 2000; Ryuichiro Yamazaki. Letter to the editor: "Japan's Apology," New York Times. August 17, 2000.
  39. ^ MOFA: "Address by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yōhei Kōno During His Visit to the People's Republic of China Seeking a True Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation," August 30, 2000.
  40. ^ MOFA: "Comments by the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda on the history textbooks to be used in junior high schools from 2002," April 3, 2001.
  41. ^ MOFA: "Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Makiko Tanaka at the Ceremony in Commemoration of 50th anniversary of the Signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty," September 8, 2001.
  42. ^ PM/Kantei: "Prime Minister Koizumi Presents Flowers at the Commemorative Monument in Sodaemun Independence Park," October 15, 2001.
  43. ^ MOFA: "Letter from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the former comfort women," 2001.
  44. ^ MOFA: "Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration," September 17, 2002.
  45. ^ PM/Kantei: "Address by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the 58th Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead," August 15, 2003.
  46. ^ PM/Kantei: "Speech by H.E. Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan," April 22, 2005.
  47. ^ PM/Kantei: "Statement by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, On the 60th Anniversary of the End of the War," August 15, 2005
  48. ^ Nakamae, Hiroshi. "Japan Apologizes To American POWs Who Suffered In Bataan Death March," Nikkei Weekly Online. May 10, 2009.
  49. ^ "Japanese FM Offers Apology for Colonial Rule," The Korea Times. February 11, 2010.
  50. ^ "Japan apologizes again for colonizing Korea" Hangul CNN News. August 10, 2010.
  51. ^ Thủ tướng Nhật xin lỗi thuộc địa cũ (Vietnamese)
  52. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jY6EsXG4QM6RldO9IEOc8_9-QvAwD9HLKUJO0
  53. ^ Associated Press via the Los Angeles Times
  54. ^ http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/08/11/2010081101050.html
  55. ^ http://www.news.com.au/world/japan-apologises-to-aussie-pows/story-e6frfl00-1226015883320

References

External links