Japanese Emperor Akihito, marking his 85th birthday — his last before his upcoming abdication — said he feels relieved that his reign is coming to an end without having seen his country at war and that it is important to keep telling younger people about his nation’s wartime history.
“It gives my deep comfort that the Heisei era is coming to an end, free of war in Japan,” Akihito said at a news conference at the palace that was recorded last week and released on Sunday.
“It is important not to forget that countless lives were lost in World War II and that the peace and prosperity of postwar Japan was built upon the numerous sacrifices and tireless efforts made by the Japanese people, and to pass on this history accurately to those born after the war,” he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Akihito’s 30-year reign is the only era without war in Japan’s modern history. Praying for peace and making amends for a war fought in the name of his father, the late Japanese emperor Hirohito, has become a career mission for Akihito, who succeeded the throne in 1989.
Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30, to be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, on May 1. Sunday’s birthday celebration was to be Akihito’s last in his reign.
As emperor, Akihito has made unprecedented visits to the Philippines, and other Pacific islands conquered by Japan early in World War II and devastated in fierce fighting as the US-led allies took them back.
Although Akihito has avoided a direct apology, he has subtly stepped up his expressions of regret over the past few years in carefully scripted statements on the war.
Akihito said that he would not forget those trips with his wife, Empress Michiko, and thanked those counties for welcoming them, despite their bitter memories of the war.
“I am grateful to each of those countries for welcoming us with warm hospitality,” he said.
Akihito’s pacifist image and his compassion for disaster victims, the handicapped and the minorities have gained public support for him and his family.
Experts have said that Akihito’s pacifist views might have come from his childhood wartime experiences.
Akihito was 11 years old when he heard his father’s voice announcing Japan’s World War II surrender on the radio on Aug. 15, 1945.
During the subsequent US occupation of Japan, he was tutored in English by Elizabeth Vining, a Quaker, an experience that experts have said gave Akihito his pacifist and democratic outlook.
Akihito, in his birthday message, fondly recalled receiving many dignitaries visiting Japan after its return to international society with the signing of the 1952 San Francisco peace treaty.
Akihito is the first emperor enthroned under Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution, as a “symbol” with no political power, unlike his father, who was revered as a god until the end of the war.
Akihito reiterated his respect and adherence to the war-renouncing charter and his role as a symbol.
“I intend to carry out my duties in that capacity and shall continue to contemplate this question as I perform my day-to-day duties until the day of my abdication,” he said.
BEIJING FORUM: ‘So-called freedom of navigation advocated by certain countries outside the region challenges the norms of international relations,’ the minister said Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) yesterday denounced “hegemonic logic and acts of bullying” during remarks at a Beijing forum that were full of thinly veiled references to the US. Organizers said that about 1,800 representatives from 100 countries, including political, military and academic leaders, were in Beijing for the Xiangshan Forum. The three-day event comes as China presents itself as a mediator of fraught global issues including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Addressing attendees at the opening ceremony, Dong warned of “new threats and challenges” now facing world peace. “While the themes of the times — peace and development —
Decked out with fake crystal chandeliers and velvet sofas, cosmetic surgery clinics in Afghanistan’s capital are a world away from the austerity of Taliban rule, where Botox, lip filler and hair transplants reign. Despite the Taliban authorities’ strict theocratic rule, and prevailing conservatism and poverty in Afghanistan, the 20 or so clinics in Kabul have flourished since the end of decades of war in the country. Foreign doctors, especially from Turkey, travel to Kabul to train Afghans, who equally undertake internships in Istanbul, while equipment is imported from Asia or Europe. In the waiting rooms, the clientele is often well-off and includes men
BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS: A prosecutor said they considered the risk of Hak-ja Han tampering with evidence to be very high, which led them to seek the warrant South Korean prosecutors yesterday requested an arrest warrant for the leader of the Unification Church, Hak-ja Han, on allegations of bribery linked to the country’s former first lady and incitement to destroy evidence. The move came a day after the 82-year-old was questioned over her alleged role in bribing former first lady Kim Keon-hee and a lawmaker. Founded in 1954 by her late husband, Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church has long been the subject of controversy and criticism, with its teachings centered on Moon’s role as the “second coming” and its mass weddings. Followers are derisively referred to as “Moonies.” However, the church’s
Venezuela on Saturday organized a day of military training for civilians in response to the US deployment in the Caribbean, and amid new threats from US President Donald Trump. About a month ago, Washington deployed warships to international waters off Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 jets sent to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-drug and anti-terrorism operation. Venezuelan Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino Lopez has accused Washington of waging “undeclared war” in the Caribbean, after US strikes killed over a dozen alleged drug traffickers off his country’s coast. Caracas also accused the US of seeking regime change, and
RSS