Seventy-Two Years Later, Japan Remembers the End of a Devastating War
“Reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse (I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never be repeated).” Japanese Emperor Akihito, with Empress Michiko, addresses Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead on August 15, 2017. Screencap from ANN official YouTube channel.
August 15 marked the 72nd anniversary of the end of the Second World War. On the occasion, Japan remembered the 2.3 million Japanese military personnel and military employees and 800,000 Japanese civilians who died between the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and the end of World War II in 1945.
Japan's annual commemoration of the end of the war shows that, seven decades on, there is no clear political consensus in Japan about how to remember the war. Some remember the 3.1 million dead while seeming to avoid the context of the war in which they died, while others are committed to preserving the memory of how destructive war can be, and the need for Japan to continue to embrace pacifism.
More than 6,200 people attended a memorial service at the Nippon Budokan sports arena in Tokyo, which featured remarks by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Japanese Emperor Akihito. Abe's words were notable in that he did not express Japan's guilt for starting the war, while the emperor expressed feelings of “deep remorse” for the war, for the third year in a row.
Neither made direct reference to the war dead in other countries.
全国戦没者追悼式 天皇陛下のお言葉・全文です。https://t.co/cjPpgMs6Ho #終戦記念日 #終戦の日 pic.twitter.com/cHF4JRysZl
— 産経ニュース (@Sankei_news) August 15, 2017
Full remarks made by the Emperor at the Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead: http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/page/okotoba/detailEn/14#92
Meanwhile, thousands of people traveled to Yasukuni Shrine and neighboring Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo to pay their respects to the war dead. Yasukuni Shrine is controversial for many people across East Asia since the shrine memorializes, among others, convicted Japanese war criminals. As well, swords forged at Yasukuni were used in the battlefields across Asia between 1933 and 1945.
BuzzFeed Japan reporter Kota Hatachi reported from the scene:
72年目の終戦の日。取材のため、靖国神社と千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑に。
小雨が降り、蒸し暑い靖国神社の境内には、参拝のための大行列ができています。 #終戦記念日 pic.twitter.com/o12E3GlKrC
— はたちこうた Kota Hatachi (@togemaru_k) August 15, 2017
The 72nd anniversary of the end of the war. On assignment, I traveled to Yasukuni Shrine and Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery. As a light rain fell, a long line of visitors stretched through the muggy precincts of Yasukuni Shrine.
Meanwhile, protesters and other groups congregated outside of Yasukuni. According to Sankei Shimbun newspaper, the groups were demonstrating against attempts to revise Japan's “peace Constitution” as well raising awareness about a variety of issues, such as Taiwanese independence.
Due to the crush of Yasukuni visitors and the sheer number of protesters and other groups nearby, Tokyo police erected barricades to control the crowds.
【終戦の日】靖国神社周辺では多くの団体が集結 警視庁が警戒強めるhttps://t.co/DJ7yDU9tla pic.twitter.com/p3e5LAKMox
— 産経ニュース (@Sankei_news) August 15, 2017
End-of-War Memorial Day: Many groups assembled around Yasukuni Shrine. Tokyo Metropolitan Police issued warnings [to maintain order]
Sankei Shimbun also reported that right-wing and conservative counter-demonstrators appeared in response to Yasukuni demonstrators, prompting police to separate the two groups.
Elsewhere in Tokyo, other groups marked the day by coming out in support of Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, in which Japan renounces war and which the Abe government is seeking to revise or even abolish.
8月15日 #終戦記念日
17:00～雑色駅で宣伝を行います。みなさんぜひ、お越し下さい！雑色 #九条の会 pic.twitter.com/ea8X4aX3pG
— 藤田りょうこ (@ryokofujitajcp) August 14, 2017
August 15, #EndOfTheWarDay
At 5 p.m. we will met at Zōshiki Station to reaffirm our vow [to support Article 9].
A main theme of the day was that memories of the hardship of war appear to be disappearing as the wartime generation ages:
戦没軍人の妻の平均年齢は94歳を超えました。記憶の継承が年々難しくなっています。 #終戦記念日 #太平洋戦争https://t.co/XtX9FRb2XS
— 毎日新聞 (@mainichi) August 15, 2017
The average age of surviving spouses of soldiers killed in the war has now increased to 94. Passing on the memory [of war] from generation to generation is becoming more difficult.
終戦時に8歳だった人はもう80歳。徴兵検査を受けていた人は92歳。戦争を生々しい体験として知る人はわずかになった。今の政治家も経営者も学者も所詮戦争を知らないのだ。それを自覚し、意識して生きた歴史を学ぶ姿勢を保たなければならない。https://t.co/d9xPh2bofP
— 鮫島浩 (@SamejimaH) August 15, 2017
At person who was 8 years old at the end of the war is now 80. A young man who was eligible for conscription then is now 92. There are just a few people left who know the experience of living through war. Today's politicians and business people and students know nothing of war. We must preserve the desire to study the experiences and awareness of those who lived the history of war.
Article: “Japan's Pattern of Defeat”—According to historian Isoda Michifumi, it's important for Japanese people to “think deeply.”
The significance of the day wasn't lost on this Japanese Twitter user, however:
平和を #終戦記念日 #あたしンち pic.twitter.com/djYRDX4B2g
— あたしンち／けらえいこ公式 (@atashinchi_new) August 15, 2017
To continue to live in peace.
