Ishiba Open to Message Marking 80th Anniversary of War's End

Tokyo, Aug. 4 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday voiced willingness to release a message marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II that would include a reflection on the war.

"Regardless of the format (of the message), we should issue something to avoid memories being forgotten and never let a war happen again," Ishiba told the day's meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee.

There was no mention of when such a message might be announced.

Ishiba will avoid issuing it on Aug. 15, which is the anniversary of Japan's surrender in the war, or Sept. 2, the day on which Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender 80 years ago.

Ishiba's remark came in response to a request by Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, for the prime minister to release a comment.

"I have a firm idea of the kind of message our country should send to the rest of the world this year," Ishiba said. "We'll strive to release a better massage while taking into account various opinions."

In the past, an official statement marking the end of the war was issued by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama for the 50th anniversary, by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for the 60th anniversary and by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the 70th anniversary. All the statements were approved by the cabinet.

Ishiba indicated that he hopes to "value the accumulation" of such statements, adding that he will decide what to say in his message after "carefully reading through" the statements of his predecessors.

Saying that the Japanese government needs to assess what went wrong with the country in the war period, Ishiba said that the government needs to "think carefully about why the nation's political system could not prevent" the war.

Ishiba has already decided not to release an official statement with cabinet approval, taking into account strong opposition from conservatives within Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Recognizing the significance of issuing a message to mark the 80th anniversary, Ishiba plans to present his personal views on the matter, drawing in part on input from experts.
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