日本天皇為何與安倍分道揚鑣

日本天皇為何與安倍分道揚鑣




【文匯網訊】據環球網援引外媒報道，在日本首相安倍晉三8月14日發表日本二戰戰敗70周年紀念談話之後，明仁天皇於15日發表年度講話。據美國《華盛頓郵報》8月15日報道，當日中午——70年前的這一天，明仁天皇的父親裕仁天皇宣佈日本投降——明仁天皇和皇后美智子，連同首相安倍出席了東京的紀念儀式，悼念戰爭死者。同時明仁天皇對日本在二戰期間的暴行表示「深深的懺悔」，悔過之意較以往的週年道歉聲明有所強化。

據報道，日本天皇在每年周年紀念日之際都會宣讀一份相同的聲明，但今年明仁天皇卻說了一些與通常措辭不同的話。這位81歲的元首選擇了不同以往的「深深悲傷」，轉而使用了一個更強烈的詞眼——懊悔。他表示，「反思過去並且牢記戰爭的悔恨，我誠摯地希望戰爭的蹂躪不再上演」。對此，美國《華盛頓郵報》用「日本天皇在和平主義爭論上與安倍開始分道揚鑣」這樣的標題進行解讀。

一名報道日本皇室已有數十年之久的資深記者久野靖(Yasushi Kuno)表示，「天皇告誡我們要學習歷史，他正努力盡可能地多說」。此外，他還稱明仁天皇此次的講話「前所未有」。

報道稱，1989年裕仁天皇崩御，明仁繼承菊花皇朝皇位，成為唯一一位在日本現憲法下宣誓即位的天皇。雖然憲法對他有諸多限制，但他正日益努力地尋找辦法繞開憲法對其角色的限制，以其典型的微妙措辭表達他對安倍晉三首相引導日本走向軍事化道路的不滿，同時天皇講話發生的細微變化也會鼓勵那些批評安倍的人士。

然而，這位天皇也在東京儀式上表示，「現在距離戰爭結束已有七十年，如今我們的國家享有和平與繁榮，這多虧了日本人民對和平的渴望以及對從戰爭陰影中恢復的努力與發展。」他表達了對日本戰爭行為的後悔但也嘗試為過去的歷史劃上一個句號。




Japan’s emperor appears to part ways with Abe on pacifism debate

Anna Fifield is The Post’s bureau chief in Tokyo, focusing on Japan and the Koreas. She previously reported for the Financial Times from Washington DC, Seoul, Sydney, London and from across the Middle East.

TOKYO — Japan’s emperor expressed his “deep remorse” Saturday over his country’s actions during World War II, strengthening his usual statement of regret on the anniversary of the end of a particularly ignominious period in Japanese history.
At noon — 70 years to the minute since his father, Hirohito, surrendered to the allies — Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, attended a ceremony in Tokyo to remember the war dead.

“Reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse over the last war, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated,” the emperor said.

Every year the emperor has read the same statement on the anniversary, but this year he deviated from the usual wording. The 81-year-old figurehead has previously used a Japanese word that means “deep sorrow,” but this year he used a much stronger word: remorse.

“He’s saying we should learn from history,” said Yasushi Kuno, a veteran journalist who has covered the imperial family for decades and called Akihito’s comments “unprecedented.”

 “That’s the maximum he can say as an emperor to express his feelings. But it means a lot that he’s said this during this milestone year,” Kuno said.

The emperor’s short remarks were noticeably more contrite than Abe’s long statement the day before, in which the prime minister expressed “feelings of profound grief” for Japan’s wartime actions but also tried to put Japan’s history behind it.

When the United States occupied Japan after the war, Hirohito was allowed to remain as emperor, but the American-drafted pacifist constitution turned him into a figurehead who hovered above the political fray, constraining the statements he was able to make.

Akihito, who took over the Chrysanthemum Throne when Hirohito died in 1989, has been careful to stay within those limits, even while using subtle language to suggest that Japan should stick to its war-renouncing ways.

In previous addresses, Akihito has appeared to voice his displeasure with Abe’s efforts to reinterpret Japan’s constitution and put the country on what he calls a more “normal” military footing by allowing Japanese troops to fight abroad in certain circumstances.

The proposed changes, likely to be ratified next year by the upper house of Japan’s parliament, have sparked vehement protests here, and the emperor’s remarks have been seized upon by Abe’s opponents.

Akihito reiterated his views at Saturday’s ceremony in Tokyo.

 “Seventy years have passed since the end of the war, and our country today enjoys peace and prosperity, thanks to the ceaseless efforts made by the people of Japan toward recovery from the devastation of the war and toward development, always backed by their earnest desire for the continuation of peace,” he said.

Kuno, the journalist, said that the emperor was trying to remind the Japanese that their present-day country was built on peace and sacrifice.

“Survivors are dying, and the lawmakers who are discussing the bills now, including the prime minister, are all born after the war,” Kuno said.

Takeshi Hara, a political scientist at Meiji Gakuin University who has written several books on the imperial system, said that even more surprising than the use of the word “remorse” was the way the emperor explained how Japan established peace.
“He said clearly it was thanks to people’s conscious efforts. This is an expression not heard before,” Hara said. “I think it’s criticism of the more aggressive form of pacifism” that Abe is promoting.

Hara said the emperor appeared to be disagreeing with the logic of Abe and his advisers — that the deterrent effect of Japan’s alliance with the United States had kept it safe, and that the constitutional changes were needed to keep the alliance strong.

“The emperor is saying that’s not so, that the Japanese people themselves have consistently aspired for peace and that has reinforced the peace we have now,” Hara said. “I think this is a poignant criticism against the current administration.”



Emperor offers a regal critique of Japan’s drift away from pacifism

Anna Fifield is The Post’s bureau chief in Tokyo, focusing on Japan and the Koreas. She previously reported for the Financial Times from Washington DC, Seoul, Sydney, London and from across the Middle East.

TOKYO — Emperor Akihito is a man of few words. Japan’s American-written constitution designed it that way.

But the 81-year-old figurehead has increasingly found ways to skirt the constitutional limits on his role and has, in characteristically subtle language, appeared to voice his displeasure with the path that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is leading Japan down.

That thickly veiled criticism could be repeated this weekend, as Japan marks the 70th anniversary of its defeat in World War II.

Abe will issue a statement on Friday, and there is a great deal of anticipation, both here and in neighboring countries, about the level of remorse the conservative prime minister will show for Japan’s brutality during the war. Given that he is trying to reinterpret Japan’s pacifist constitution and put the country on a more “normal” military footing, there have been fears that he will seek to water down previous official apologies.

But Emperor Akihito will deliver his annual statement on Saturday, the actual anniversary of the day his father, Hirohito, announced Japan’s surrender. Given his recent statements and his advancing age, some analysts think the emperor may again obliquely criticize Abe’s attempts at constitutional revision.

[Japan’s cabinet approves bills to loosen post-war military restrictions]

“I feel he’s trying to say as much as possible,” said Yasushi Kuno, a veteran journalist who covered the imperial family for decades. “The emperor is telling everyone to remember the war and the people who were killed one more time, because people’s memories of the war are fading fast.”

Takeshi Hara, a political scientist at Meiji Gakuin University who has written several books on the imperial system, agrees. “The emperor and the empress might not see the 80th anniversary,” he said. “I feel it’s possible that the emperor might say something that’s different from the usual phrases as his last message, something like a will.”

Akihito occupies a unique place in Japan.

His father, Hirohito, was the wartime emperor who surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, but was allowed to remain in place as the Americans installed a new order in Japan. That order involved a new constitution that turned the emperor into a figurehead who should hover above the political fray.

Akihito took over the Chrysanthemum Throne when Hirohito died in 1989, making him the only emperor to have been sworn in under Japan’s constitution. For that reason, he probably feels a particularly strong attachment to it, analysts say.


As the anniversary approaches, Akihito has appeared to register his concern about the prime minister and his goals — albeit in the most oblique way.

“It is most important for us to take this opportunity to study and learn from the history of this war, starting with the Manchurian Incident of 1931, as we consider the future direction of our country,” Akihito said in his New Year’s address, referring to Japan’s invasion of northern China.

[Mitsubishi apologizes for using American POWs as slaves during WWII]

Then in June, at a state banquet for Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, the emperor said, “We Japanese must long remember with a profound sense of remorse” the fierce battles between Japan and the United States in the Philippines during World War II.

This month, the Imperial Household Agency released a new audio recording of Hirohito’s radio address in which Japan unconditionally surrendered, as well as photos of the original records. Japanese newspapers reported that the emperor wanted the address to be shared with the public.

Akihito has something of a history of making remarks that are at odds with popular antagonism toward Japan’s neighbors. Shortly after taking the throne, he made apologetic remarks about Japan’s actions in China and later said that he felt close to Koreans, noting an ancestral link between the Japanese and Korean royalties.

Throughout his 26-year tenure, he has visited countries where fierce battles were fought during the war, most recently going to the Micronesian islands of Palau.

“It’s true that his journeys to commemorate the war dead in places like Palau, and his recent addresses, have made him appear as if he was criticizing the security bills Abe has been pushing,” said Hidehiko Kasahara, an imperial law expert at Keio University. “But simply talking about the importance of abiding by the constitution doesn’t violate the law, so he might modify his address [on Saturday] to stress that point.”

A spokesman for the Imperial Household Agency declined to comment.

As with central bank statements, even slight changes in wording can have an outsized impact, and a nuanced change in the emperor’s message could encourage Abe’s critics. Although he has no power, the emperor is widely respected in Japan, especially among older generations.


The Japanese press has been abuzz with conjecture about how repentant Abe will be in his statement. NHK, the public broadcaster that often presents the government line, reported this week that the prime minister will include the words “apology” and “aggression” in his statement.

Those words — along with “colonial rule” — were included in then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama’s statement in 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the surrender, a document that is considered Japan’s strongest reckoning with its history.

There had been widespread speculation that Abe, the grandson of a postwar prime minister who thinks Japan has done enough apologizing, would try to distance the government from that statement. But recent events seem to have altered this course.

[Japan’s premier says he will uphold apology for its wartime aggression]

Abe’s attempts to reinterpret the war-renouncing part of the constitution have sparked vehement protests from Japanese who think pacifism has served Japan well, and some of the government’s own experts have declared the changes unconstitutional.

On the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the past week, Abe’s approach was sternly criticized by locals. And polls show Abe’s job approval rating has plummeted in recent months.

That has weighed on the prime minister, one aide said on the condition of anonymity because the statement is still being drafted. Abe will issue an apology “within a range that we feel comfortable with,” the aide said.

The Yomiuri Shimbun this week reported that “the statement will use expressions that can be perceived by neighbors that Japan apologizes.”

Still, the issue remains so sensitive that China and South Korea will not be placated by a half-hearted apology.

Urging Abe to uphold previous statements, a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman this week said: “We hope that the Seoul-Tokyo ties will develop a virtuous circle and Japan can become a responsible member of the global community.”


Japan’s leader stops short of WWII apology

Anna Fifield is The Post’s bureau chief in Tokyo, focusing on Japan and the Koreas. She previously reported for the Financial Times from Washington DC, Seoul, Sydney, London and from across the Middle East.

TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered his remorse for all those who died as a result of Japan’s World War II actions on Friday — the eve of the 70th anniversary of his country’s surrender — but avoided explicitly repeating the apologies of his predecessors.

In a carefully phrased statement that Abe read to reporters and that was broadcast live on television, the prime minister talked about Japan's past repentance for its actions but determinedly tried to look to the "peace and prosperity" of Japan's future.

“On the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, I bow my head deeply before the souls of all those who perished both at home and abroad. I express my feelings of profound grief and my eternal, sincere condolences,” Abe said, even as he tried to draw a line with history.

“We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize,” he added.

Abe’s words will be closely scrutinized in South Korea and China, in particular, which suffered the worst of Japan’s early 20th century imperialism.

[Full text of Abe’s statement]

Beijing and Seoul had made it clear to Tokyo that they expected Abe to adhere to the 1995 statement, widely considered the Japanese government’s official apology for its wartime actions, in which then-prime minister Tomiichi Murayama offered a “heartfelt apology” for Japan’s “colonial rule and aggression.” Junichiro Koizumi used identical wording a decade later, on the 60th anniversary of Japan’s surrender.

But Abe’s statement — delivered in Japanese but also released in English — did not repeat those phrases.

Abe spoke warmly about China during questioning by reporters, saying he hoped for a summit with President Xi Jinping. Yet his reference to “comfort women” — the mainly Chinese, Korean and Southeast Asian women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial army — will fall far short of expectations.

[How Germany revisited its wartime past]

“We will engrave in our hearts the past, when the dignity and honor of many women were severely injured during wars in the 20th century,” he said, without specifically mentioning Japan’s role. “Upon this reflection, Japan wishes to be a country always at the side of such women’s injured hearts.”


Abe particularly stressed Japan's emergence from the war as a wealthy democracy, noting the "goodwill and assistance extended to us that transcended hatred by a truly large number of countries, such as the United States, Australia, and European nations, which Japan had fiercely fought against as enemies."

His words underline the careful balancing act Abe must perform. He is trying to appease his nationalist supporters at home, while seeking to avoid further angering China as he tries to improve relations. He also was cautious not to displease the United States, Japan's closest ally.

[A drift away from pacifism?]

The statement comes at a pivotal moment for Japan and for Abe as prime minister.

Abe is the grandson of Nobusuke Kishi, a wartime cabinet minister who later spent three years in American detention on suspicion of war crimes, although he was never charged. He went on to become prime minister between 1957 and 1960.

An oft-told tale describes a young Abe sitting on his grandfather’s knee as they listened to protesters outside demonstrating against Kishi’s efforts to rebuild Japan’s military. In the face of vehement protests, Kishi rammed through legislation to strengthen the alliance with the United States.

Fast forward almost six decades, and Abe is following in his beloved grandfather’s footsteps.

With Washington’s support, Abe is trying to reinterpret the American-drafted pacifist constitution, imposed on Japan after its 1945 surrender, which states that “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation.” For seven decades, that has been read to mean that Japanese troops can take up arms only if the country is under direct attack.

Under the new reading, the constitution would allow for the right of “collective self-defense,” enabling Japanese troops to fight overseas with their U.S. allies, although only in highly specific circumstances.

The legislation is critical for new defense cooperation guidelines agreed with the United States and will also help Japan take on a more assertive role in the face of a rising China.


The moves have been hugely controversial here, sparking the most heated citizen activism seen in decades. Protests have drawn participants ranging from high school students to pensioners.

Yoshimasa Suenobu, a veteran journalist who has known Abe and his family since childhood, said Abe was taking up the challenge to make Japan a more independent country.

“That’s why he decided to tackle security bills, although it was clear it would damage his approval ratings,” Suenobu said. “For him, security is one of the major themes as a politician, and he’s working to turn Japan into a country that can play a proactive role more. He’s a politician with ideals.”

A slew of recent polls put Abe’s approval rating below 40 percent, a far cry from the high 60s he was racking up when he took office at the end of 2012. A survey by public broadcaster NHK last week put his approval rating at 37 percent, down four points from July. The same poll found that two-thirds of respondents disapproved of Abe’s security-related bills.

Even the government’s own supporters have criticized the proposed changes. At a parliamentary hearing in June, Yasuo Hasebe, a law professor at Waseda University recommended by the ruling party, said Abe’s proposed changes were unconstitutional.

“It is improper to allow for the exercise of the right to collective self-defense, because [Article 9] permits only the right to individual self-defense,” Hasebe told the panel.

There were uncharacteristically chaotic scenes in the lower house during the debate, but it eventually passed the package of bills. They have now gone to the upper house, which the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition also controls, and are expected to be passed next month.

Among the government’s supporters is Yoshiko Sakurai, a conservative journalist who leads the newly formed National Forum to Demand the Early Enactment of the Peace Security Bills. She said this week said that Japanese needed to make the kind of “major change” envisaged in the bills. “We are facing a crisis that threatens our country’s existence unless Japan we take measures now,” she said.


While going against popular opinion by ramming the changes through could mean Abe faces more resistance in the future, there is little alternative to him.

Abe is expected to easily retain the LDP leadership in elections to be held next month, and the main opposition Democratic Party is weak. That means he is likely to remain in office, unlike during his first tenure, when a series of scandals and missteps forced him to resign in 2007 after only a year as prime minister.