AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies
IIPS

RIPSInstitute for International

The Japan Institute ofResearch Institute for

Policy Studies

International Affairs

Peace and Security

Editorial Advisory Board:

No. 217

Akio Watanabe (Chair)
Masashi Nishihara
Yoshiji Nogami
Taizo Yakushiji

31 August 2015

Editorial Committee:
Taizo Yakushiji
Hisayoshi Ina
Tsutomu Kikuchi
Shujiro Urata andToshiro Iijima
Editor & Online Publisher:

PRIME MINISTER ABE’S STATEMENT
ON THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
END OF WWII:THE CASE FOR JAPAN’S PUBLICDIPLOMACY
Akio Watanabe

Yoshji Nogami
President, JIIA

・ Underlying the Abe Statement is the hope for afuture in which the issues now confronting Asia
can be overcome in the spirit of conciliation andtolerance.
・ The Statement gained the acceptance of many
people for the profound remorse expressed
toward the number of innocent people who
helplessly suffered countless hardships due toJapan’s actions, and for the prime minister’sadherence to the sincerely apologetic stancetaken by his predecessors.
・ The ultimate assessment of the Abe Statement
will depend on whether it inspires positive
feedback.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and should
not be attributed to The Association of Japanese Institutes ofStrategic Studies.

AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

With the attention of the world on him, Prime Minister Abe presented astatement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. It is extremely
unusual for the remarks of a single politician to attract so many people’s notice.
From the perspective of public diplomacy, Prime Minister Abe was granted a rareand valuable opportunity. Did he ultimately make wise and effective use of thisoccasion?
The following are the impressions of one intellectual in Japan, organizedaround three key points:
1. An underlying theme of conciliation
2.

Continuity

3.

A new direction

Infusing the entire statement was a spirit of conciliation and tolerance.
Prime Minister Abe expressed deep remorse for Japan having taken the wrong
path and acted as a challenger to the new international order within the complex
interweave of interests and power that constituted the world of international
politics, and he looked back with gratitude at the spirit of conciliation andtolerance demonstrated by other countries over the past 70 years that afforded
Japan the opportunity to return to its place in the international community, and at
Japan’s positive use of this opportunity to attain its current peace and prosperity.
This was an expression of commitment to cooperating in the spirit ofconciliation and tolerance to overcome the issues now confronting the world, andespecially Asia. This hope for the future will shape our attitudes as we look backat the paths that Japan and the world have taken over the past 70 years.
Whether the call for such a future will reach the ears of its intended
audience will hinge first of all on Japan itself expressing profound remorse
toward the number of innocent people who helplessly suffered countless
hardships due to Japan’s actions and offering sincere and heart-felt apologies.
On this point, the Abe Statement stressed the continuity of Japan’s official stanceby referencing the Murayama Statement of 20 years ago and the Koizumi
Statement from 10 years ago. This was likely met with relief by those concerned
about Japan under the Abe administration veering off the road it has taken thus
far in search of a higher profile. However, critics both inside and outside Japan

http://www.jiia.or.jp/en/commentary2AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

have denounced the Abe Statement as little more than a repetition of earlier
statements and not the genuine sentiments of Prime Minister Abe himself. Thosevoicing this accusation seem to have lost sight of the overall gist of theStatement.
A look at the new direction set by the Abe Statement clearly illustrates thatsuch disparagement of the Statement as nothing more than a rehashing ofstatements made by previous prime ministers is quite off the mark. The
Statement concludes with a comment on “proactive contribution to peace.” At theroot of this concept is the recognition that, just as Japan cannot be an island ofprosperity in isolation, neither can it be an island of peace on its own.
An oft-heard criticism of Japanese diplomacy is that Japan does not knowwhat it seeks to achieve. In that context, the unambiguous direction for Japan’s
posture toward the rest of the world given in the Abe Statement is perhaps one ofits defining features.
For all these reasons, my initial appraisal is that Prime Minister Abe has
by no means wasted the “rare opportunity” mentioned above. Naturally, this all
depends on whether the realities of international politics move closer to solid
rapprochement. Hence, the ultimate assessment of the Abe Statement will be
determined by whether it inspires positive feedback.

Akio Watanabe is Vice-Chairman of the Research Institute for Peace and Security
and a Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo. He was a leading member of
the Former Prime Minister Hosokawa (1993.8-1994.4)’s Advisory Panel on
Defense Issues and a major contributor to the so-called 1994 Higuchi report.

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