Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 15, 1995 TAG: 9508150112
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
DATELINE: TOKYO LENGTH: Medium
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama of Japan on Tuesday did what no other Japanese leader has dared to do: he extended his ``heartfelt apology'' for atrocities his country committed in World War II.
``In the hope that no such mistake be made in the future, I regard, in a spirit of humility, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology,'' Murayama said.
His speech is sure to provoke strident debate throughout the nation, for his words were clearer than those of any other Japanese official trying to address Japan's role in the war. And yet his striking words may not necessarily appease the anger and hatred that permeates this region over the war.
From China to South Korea to the Philippines, in countries where the Japanese practiced torture, killings and gruesome experiments, victims and their relatives have recently been bringing their suffering to the fore. As a result, Asian countries have repeatedly plied Japan with hints, and sometimes even with outright demands, for apologies.
For Murayama, the speech fulfills a personal mission to apologize for Japanese aggression during the war, one that he and his Socialist Party have fought for fiercely throughout the years. In a nationally televised speech from his modest residence, Murayama spoke solemnly, almost determinedly.
``During a certain period in the not too distant past,'' he said, ``Japan, following a mistaken national policy, advanced along the road to war, only to ensnare the Japanese people in a fateful crisis, and through its colonial rule and aggression caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations.''
``Allow me also to express my feelings of profound mourning for all victims, both at home and abroad, of that history,'' Murayama added. ``Our task is to convey to the younger generations the horrors of war, so that we never repeat the errors in our history.''
Murayama gave his speech shortly before attending a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. It is the separation of the apology from the official ceremony that raised the question of whether he was diminishing the power and impact of his apology.
Some Japanese say that the ceremony was meant only to be a commemoration for the Japanese, a rather ritualistic occasion in which Emperor Akihito extended his sympathies to the Japanese victims of the war. By separating the speech from the ceremony, these people say, Murayama gave his words much more of the force of the state.
It was Akihito's father, Emperor Hirohito, who ultimately surrended on Aug. 15, 1945, nine days after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing nearly 140,000 people. Three days later, a second bomb, dropped on Nagasaki, killed 70,000, and many Americans argue that the two bombs finally persuaded the Japanese to surrender.
Because Japan has long considered itself a victim of the war, not an aggressor, it has been extremely reluctant to offer any sort of apology. Earlier this year, Japan's Parliament refused to approve a resolution that expressed true remorse.
After weeks of debate and a series of curt exchanges among members of the various coalitions in Japan, Parliament finally passed a weaker version of an apology. The resolution used the term ``hansei,'' meaning reflection or remorse, but not apology.
by CNB