Murayama: Face history, maintain peace
- By Tomiichi Murayama
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 27, 2015
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Tomiichi Murayama, then Japanese prime minister visited the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggressionon in the suburb of Beijing on May 3, 1995. [Xinhua photo] |
On August 15, 1995, Tomiichi Murayama, then Japanese prime minister delivered the famous 'Murayama Statement' on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.
This August, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will give a major speech to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war. Will Abe's statement inherit the spirit of the 'Murayama Statement'? What kind of impact did the 'Murayama Statement' have in Japan?
Murayama introduced his statement recently during an exclusive interview with People's China, a Japanese language magazine from China, and expressed his strong will to maintain peace and hold fast to Japan's Peace Constitution while answering questions regarding Abe's New Security Bill.
People's China: Could you give us a brief introduction to why you issued the 'Murayama Statement?' What obstructions did you face when delivering such a statement?
Tomiichi Murayama: Japan is a part of Asia, both historically and culturally speaking. In my opinion, Japan could not survive if we were isolated from Asia, especially from neighbors like China and South Korea.
The communication between Japan and its neighbors in history had decisive impact on the development of Japanese culture. Therefore, my greatest wish is to build a kind of international relations which will gain multilateral trust from South Korea, China, and other Asian countries.
Since I took office in 1994, I visited all the Asian countries. At that time, Japan had already become one of the top economic giants, and our achievements had been recognized by the entire world.
However, people from other Asian countries were still worried about or disliked Japan. In their eyes, the Japanese have not reflected on the war seriously, and Japan would probably become a military giant again and would continue on a dangerous path.
Considering that, the Liberal Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake submitted a bill called the 'Determination for Peace' to the parliament when we were forming the coalition government.
The bill was changed a lot while being deliberated in the lower house, and there were still many members who voted against it or refused to vote. What's worse, the bill was not even discussed as an issue among the upper house councillors.
In order to clarify the government's standpoint towards war, I decided to release my statement in a conversation style. I had also been prepared for a resignation of my cabinet in case the statement could not be approved at the cabinet meeting.
People's China: What kind of impact did the 'Murayama Statement' have in Japan after it was delivered? What comments have other Asian neighbors made on your statement?
Tomiichi Murayama: In Japan, there were pros and cons. I myself was blamed strongly. But in China and South Korea, they spoke highly of the statement. Since then, every time I visited China, Chinese leaders would mention the statement, and praise me for doing something good for China-Japan relations.
In addition, all the subsequent cabinets have promised to take on the spirit of the 'Murayama Statement.' Even when several prime ministers worshipped at the Yasukuni Shrine, thanks to the inhibitive effect of the statement, the worshipping issue did not evolve into a historical problem. Therefore, I believe it was right for me to deliver such a statement.
However, in Japan, I was blamed a lot. Some of the Japanese leaders thought that 'Japan has already apologized for the war of aggression, why do we need to apologize again and again.' Some others even don't agree with making an apology. They thought 'the war of aggression was a kind of defense against the European countries' invasion.'
I don't think we have to apologize only for the sake of making an apology. The core content of the statement is to envisage the historical reality, reflect on our mistake, and promise we won't go down that disastrous road again, that is the bright future for our country.
To be honest, the statement did not get a favorable response at that time in Japan. The majority Japanese people don't care about it. Even nowadays, some people are still asking what the 'Murayama Statement' is about.
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