This article first published by Ohmynews on 2006-10-07 16:15 (KST)
Speaking at a parliamentary session on Friday, Shinzo Abe, the new prime minister of Japan, dismissed the idea that Japanese leaders during World War II were "war criminals."
AFP, the French News agency, quoted him as saying, "The people who are said to be so-called Class-A criminals were tried and convicted as war criminals at the Tokyo tribunal, but they were not war criminals under domestic laws. That also was the case for my relative."
The relative in question was Nobusuke Kishi, his grandfather, who supervised the industrialization of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in northeastern China.
After the war, Kishi was labeled a war criminal and jailed by U.S. forces, although he was not tried in the Tokyo tribunal. He became Japanese Prime Minister in 1957.
According to Abe's view, Japan gained independence by committing not to free anyone imprisoned for war crimes without the allies' permission, even though they should have been freed under international law as soon as a peace treaty was signed. The U.S., allied countries, and Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951.
Moreover, he noted that those people had not been tried under Japanese laws and as a prime minister, he must not decide whether they are war criminals or not.
Abe has been seen as more hawkish than his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, on foreign policy. He advocates strong measures over North Korea and supported Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine. He has been strongly criticized for his hard-line view on historical matters.
However, since being elected as prime minister, he has expressed a softer view, always avoiding comment on historical issues, which he said is the work of historians. He also promised to improve relations with China and South Korea. This is the first time he made such a comment on the issue.
The announcement came on the eve of his fence-mending trip to South Korea and China -- victims of Japanese imperialism during WWII -- so it could possibly spoil his effort to improve relations with the two important neighbors.
It also contradicts Abe's own words. Just one day earlier, in an interview with the Xinhua News Agency, Abe said, "As a result of starting the war, Japan led many of its people to die or lose family members while causing damage to many people in Asia...
National leaders of that time, including my grandfather, were responsible for a significant degree."
Abe also committed to abide by the 1995 apology made by Socialist Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.
Japan's relations with China and South Korea have been tense over the last few years due to different views on historical matters. China and South Korea accuse Japan of distorting history by dismissing its atrocities during WWII in its history textbooks. China and South Korea also expressed anger at Kozumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni, a Shrine in Tokyo that honors 2.4 million war dead, including 14 World War II Class-A war criminals.
Abe was scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Saturday to have talks with top Chinese officials. On Sunday, he will fly to Seoul to have talk with South Korean President Roh. In his first oversea trip to important neighbors, Abe hopes to talk about a wide range of issues, from historical matters to bilateral relations. However, the issue on the highest agenda would be how to react to North Korean announcement to test nuclear weapons. There has been speculation that North Korea might carry out the test this weekend to mark the 9th anniversary of Kim Jong-il's being named the head of the Workers' Party.
Speaking at a parliamentary session on Friday, Shinzo Abe, the new prime minister of Japan, dismissed the idea that Japanese leaders during World War II were "war criminals."
AFP, the French News agency, quoted him as saying, "The people who are said to be so-called Class-A criminals were tried and convicted as war criminals at the Tokyo tribunal, but they were not war criminals under domestic laws. That also was the case for my relative."
The relative in question was Nobusuke Kishi, his grandfather, who supervised the industrialization of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in northeastern China.
After the war, Kishi was labeled a war criminal and jailed by U.S. forces, although he was not tried in the Tokyo tribunal. He became Japanese Prime Minister in 1957.
According to Abe's view, Japan gained independence by committing not to free anyone imprisoned for war crimes without the allies' permission, even though they should have been freed under international law as soon as a peace treaty was signed. The U.S., allied countries, and Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951.
Moreover, he noted that those people had not been tried under Japanese laws and as a prime minister, he must not decide whether they are war criminals or not.
Abe has been seen as more hawkish than his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, on foreign policy. He advocates strong measures over North Korea and supported Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine. He has been strongly criticized for his hard-line view on historical matters.
However, since being elected as prime minister, he has expressed a softer view, always avoiding comment on historical issues, which he said is the work of historians. He also promised to improve relations with China and South Korea. This is the first time he made such a comment on the issue.
The announcement came on the eve of his fence-mending trip to South Korea and China -- victims of Japanese imperialism during WWII -- so it could possibly spoil his effort to improve relations with the two important neighbors.
It also contradicts Abe's own words. Just one day earlier, in an interview with the Xinhua News Agency, Abe said, "As a result of starting the war, Japan led many of its people to die or lose family members while causing damage to many people in Asia...
National leaders of that time, including my grandfather, were responsible for a significant degree."
Abe also committed to abide by the 1995 apology made by Socialist Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.
Japan's relations with China and South Korea have been tense over the last few years due to different views on historical matters. China and South Korea accuse Japan of distorting history by dismissing its atrocities during WWII in its history textbooks. China and South Korea also expressed anger at Kozumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni, a Shrine in Tokyo that honors 2.4 million war dead, including 14 World War II Class-A war criminals.
Abe was scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Saturday to have talks with top Chinese officials. On Sunday, he will fly to Seoul to have talk with South Korean President Roh. In his first oversea trip to important neighbors, Abe hopes to talk about a wide range of issues, from historical matters to bilateral relations. However, the issue on the highest agenda would be how to react to North Korean announcement to test nuclear weapons. There has been speculation that North Korea might carry out the test this weekend to mark the 9th anniversary of Kim Jong-il's being named the head of the Workers' Party.
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