Japan PM Abe vows not to repeat the ‘tragedy of war’

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking on the 75th anniversary of Japan's World War Two surrender, pledged never to repeat the tragedy of war and Emperor Naruhito expressed "deep remorse" over the wartime past, which still haunts East Asia.

"Never to repeat the tragedy of war. We will continue to remain committed to this resolute pledge," said Abe, wearing a face mask at an official ceremony for war dead yesterday that was scaled back because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Abe, who did not echo Naruhito's reference to remorse, sent a ritual offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead. But he avoided a personal visit that would anger China and South Korea.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose ties with Japan have been chilled by the legacy of the past, said in a speech Seoul was always ready to discuss history disputes with Tokyo.

At least four Japanese cabinet ministers paid their respects in person at Yasukuni, which honours 14 Japanese wartime leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal, as well as Japan's war dead. The shrine is seen by Beijing and Seoul as a symbol of Japan's past military aggression.

The United States and Japan have become staunch security allies in the decades since the war's end but its legacy still haunts East Asia.

Koreans, who mark the date as National Liberation Day, resent Japan's 1910-1945 colonisation of the peninsula.

China has bitter memories of imperial troops' invasion and occupation of parts of the country from 1931 to 1945.

"We must learn from history, let history be a warning for the future, and show that we are prepared to fight in the event of a war", said a commentary by the official newspaper of China's military, the People's Liberation Army.