Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statement to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II is full of euphemism, but fails to address for what Japan apologized for, said former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on Friday. [Special coverage]
In a press conference immediately after Abe's statement, Murayama, 91, said in Oita Prefecture that he did not feel Abe uphold the 1995 landmark statement released by Murayama, according to local reports.
It was unnecessary for Abe to issue such a new statement since he "deliberately make ambiguity on key issues," which made it difficult to get what Abe intends to say in the statement, said Murayama, adding that Abe also missed the point of what will Japan do in the future.
Murayama issued a world-recognized statement in 1995 and clearly stated that "following a mistaken national policy," Japan, "through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations."
In his statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Abe mentioned previous governments' apology for Japan's wartime past, but refrained from offering his own apology.
Abe said that aggression and war should never be the means to resolve international disputes and Japan will abandon colonial rule forever, but he stopped short of mentioning directly Japan's past aggression and colonial rule before and during WWII.
