Japanese proposal to shift military outlook
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-03 05:47

Ten years ago, Japan passed a resolution that showed remorse for the country's colonial rule and aggression, and the tremendous damage and suffering wrought on the people of many countries, those of Asian nations in particular.

Ten years later, the references to colonial rule and aggression are gone. The wartime aggressor is planning to play the "only victim of atomic arms."

The rhetoric focuses on how the war was brutal to Japan, rather than Japan's imperial behaviour.

Since the 1970s, Japanese prime ministers and even emperors have expressed varying degrees of regret and remorse albeit sometimes in vague, nuanced wording over the suffering caused by the war.

The depth of Japan's remorse is in doubt because in the end the country itself has not yet decided how it feels about the war.

Without a guilty conscience, Japan is attempting to turn itself into a regional military bully.