A flicker of hope... for Korea－Japan relations.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could include key words used by his predecessors on Tokyo′s wartime past... in his upcoming World War Two statement set to be released on Friday.
Hwang Sung－hee has the details.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could use terms like ″apology″ and ″aggression″ in his statement to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
Citing an unnamed senior government official， NHK reported Monday that Abe may repeat key words used in the Murayama statement released in 1995.
That year， former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama had expressed ″feelings of deep remorse″ and offered a ″heartfelt apology″ to mark the 50th anniversary of Japan′s surrender.
Murayama also acknowledged that Tokyo had inflicted ″tremendous damage and suffering″ in Asia through its ″colonial rule and aggression.″
Monday′s NHK report is a bit more optimistic than previous reports by Japanese media outlets.
The Asahi Shimbun reported last week that while Abe reiterated that he would ″inherit as a whole″ the statements by his predecessors， the draft of his version did not include words ″apology″ to Asian countries for Japan′s role in the war nor the phrases ″colonial rule″ and ″aggression.″
Whatever is in the Abe statement will have a huge influence on Korea－Japan relations.
Seoul and Beijing the major victims of Japan′s wartime aggression are closely watching the statement， which will be released Friday.
But some say the content will largely depend on the primary audience that Abe has in mind.
If his statement is targeted toward Japan′s Asian neighbors and the victims of its wartime aggression， the Japanese leader will uphold the Murayama statement.
But if he is planning to direct the address to his domestic audience， he may choose to focus on Japan′s postwar recovery rather than apologizing for the country′s wartime past.
Hwang Sung－hee， Arirang News.
