--As each year passes, the number of people who have firsthand knowledge of World War II declines. Pledges for peace must be passed down to future generations.
On the 75th end-of-war day, the government-sponsored national memorial ceremony for the war dead was held in Tokyo with the attendance of the Emperor and Empress.
In his address, the Emperor used the same expression as in last year's address, "reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse," adding to it, "I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never again be repeated."
The expression "deep remorse" was first used by the Emperor Emeritus in his address for the ceremony marking the 70th anniversary. The Emperor, born after the war ended, apparently thinks of following in the footsteps of the Emperor Emeritus, who knows about wartime and has dealt with the horrors of war.
In his address, the Emperor touched on the spread of novel coronavirus infections and emphasized that he truly hopes people join hands to work together to overcome the difficult situation
Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, official events for the Emperor and Empress such as the National Tree Planting Festival have been postponed and visits to areas affected by the torrential rains have been difficult. The Emperor obviously put his thoughts into words that the Imperial family is always with the people in such hardships.
In order to prevent infections, the scale of the memorial ceremony was reduced and 20 prefectures did not have bereaved families attend. Although these people were not able to attend the ceremony, many of them must have renewed their feeling of mourning through live television and livestreaming.
The first government-sponsored ceremony to mark the end of the war was held in 1963, 18 years after the war ended.
At the time, the evaluation of the war was not yet fixed. Then Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda had no choice but to mention "whatever criticism of the war is" in his address.
This perception of history has sometimes been at odds with neighboring countries and has long been a focus of political debate domestically. It is significant that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe explicitly expressed "remorse and apology" in his statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, leading to building broad public consensus.
At this year's ceremony, the prime minister said that "the peace and prosperity we enjoy today was built atop the precious sacrifices of the war dead." This reflects the views expressed by many prime ministers in the past and one that the people of Japan apparently deeply sympathize with.
During the period from the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 to the postwar internment in Siberia, 2.3 million servicemen and civilians employed by the military as well as 800,000 ordinary civilians lost their lives. Think of the lives of each and every one of them and tirelessly continue efforts for peace.
Survivors of the war and families of the war dead continue to age. To prevent the war experience from fading, it is increasingly necessary to preserve the records of the horrors of the war and pass them down to future generations.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on Aug. 16, 2020.
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