Japanese War Apology

The Times’ Aug. 16 editorial, “Japan’s Apology: Late and Too Little,” seriously misrepresents several key points.

Marking 50 years since the end of the war, Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama’s Aug. 15 statement is, in fact, only the most recent of numerous apologies issued by the government of Japan. For instance, in 1993, Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa explicitly, and more than once, expressed the government’s “ . . . profound remorse and apologies for the fact that past Japanese actions, including aggression and colonial rule, caused unbearable suffering and sorrow . . . “ In his recent statement, Prime Minister Murayama echoes these long-held official sentiments.

Contrary to The Times’ diminution of this most recent apology as a “personal” statement by Murayama, every word was in fact reviewed and approved by the Cabinet, and it most assuredly represents the official government position.

The editorial also implies reluctance on the part of the emperor and Parliament to join in this latest apology. In accordance with Japan’s postwar Constitution, the emperor is not vested with powers related to the governing of the nation, and is not in a position to approve or endorse statements from the prime minister. But on separate occasions, the emperor has expressed his deep remorse and regrets over the suffering and tragedies visited upon many nations during the war. And for its part, the Japanese Parliament drafted yet another separate official statement, which was delivered in May of this year.

The leaders of Japan are indeed expressing the feelings of the nation through successive expressions of deep remorse, regret, contrition and apology; augmented by Japan’s dedication to work diligently toward world peace, international cooperation and nuclear disarmament. In making another statement of apology on the 50th anniversary of the war’s end, Prime Minister Murayama only emphasized the depth of this commitment on the part of the people of Japan and their government, and it was welcomed and appreciated as a constructive and significant gesture in many nations which suffered directly through Japanese military actions.

SEIICHIRO NOBORU

Consul General of Japan

Los Angeles