Redemption or self-deception

The attempts of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other politicians to change history, combined with his visit to Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 Class-A and hundreds of lesser war criminals, on Dec 26, has further soured relations between China and Japan. Especially nauseating has been the denial of "Nanjing Massacre" and trivialization of the "comfort women" issue by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) chief Katsuto Momii.

Abe says he visited Yasukuni to pray for the souls of the people who laid their lives for Japan. But if he is really keen on doing so, he can visit Tokyo's Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery, which houses the remains of unidentified Japanese who died during World War II.

What redemption is Abe seeking by praying to war criminals who were responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor and the massacre and rape of millions of people in countries neighboring Japan? Or is he trying to invoke the ghost of his grandfather, role model and former Japanese prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, who escaped conviction as a Class-A war criminal at the Tokyo Trials, to rebuild Japan into an aggressive military power?

The psychology of being victimized by the victors of World War II is permeating the Japanese political class. The historical narratives about World War II in the Yasukuni War Museum besides the Yasukuni Shrine compound glorifies Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and brutal invasion and colonization of Asian countries as contributing to "world peace".

Another noteworthy fact is that the Yasukuni War Museum has a memorial to Radhabinod Pal, the Indian judge who was the lone dissenting voice among the jurists at the Tokyo Trials. Pal is known to have argued that not all the Japanese defendants were guilty, and equated the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the worst atrocities of World War II. Abe has been promoting Pal's views, saying, "Pal is highly respected even today by many Japanese for the noble spirit of courage he exhibited during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (or Tokyo Trials)", to force Japanese people to believe that their country has been victimized by the victors.

Abe seems to be on a mission to change the post-war international order imposed by the "victorious powers". And to achieve his goal, he has been strengthening Japan's Self-Defense Forces and deploying them beyond the country's borders in contravention of Japan's "defense-only" policy, which could be seen as a revival of Japanese militarism.

But the self-deception that Abe and his hirelings like Momii are regaling in is not much different from a person "stuffing his ears while stealing a bell", for the Japanese prime minister miscalculated the impact of his visit to Yasukuni Shrine on neighboring countries that suffered the brutalities of Japanese invasion.

China, the Republic of Korea and other countries have repeatedly condemned Japanese politicians' visits to the controversial shrine. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea even termed Abe's visit to the shrine as "self-destruction". And the US embassy in Tokyo said, "the United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbors".

If indeed Abe wants redemption, he should pray for the souls of the victims of Japanese aggression, establish official compensation funds for them and return to the rightful owners the treasures and cultural relics looted from countries and people.

But Abe doesn't seem interested in reconciliation. And if he continues to ride roughshod over all sane advice, he will end up jeopardizing the Barack Obama administration's "pivot to Asia" policy and pose a serious threat to regional peace and prosperity.

Nevertheless, we still hope Abe will stop his game of self-deception and admit that there is a dispute with China over the Diaoyu Islands and hold talks to resolve it. As Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said, "all nations must honestly live up to their role in the horrible events of the 20th century. Only on the basis of this honest accounting is it possible to build a future with former foes".

Since Abe and his cohorts have started questioning the validity of the Tokyo Trials and are trying to revise Japan's wartime history, countries like China and the ROK should come together to oppose their evil designs. To begin with, China and the ROK should propose a memorial day for the victims of World War II in the Asia-Pacific region, because once such a memorial is built Abe can no longer stuff his ears to avoid listening to the true song of redemption.

The author, Yujing Shentu, is a lecturer at the University of Hawaii.