Abe should not miss the chance to build bridges

But one of the members went so far as to say the war in the Asian theater was qualitatively different from that in Europe, insofar as there was no systematic attempt to exterminate a people. He called Japan's invasion "an imperialist war".

From the 1930s through 1940s Japan troops rampaged through many parts of Asia. In China alone, some 20 million people were killed.

What number of people killed would qualify as aggression for these historical revisionists?

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit Palau in April, to pay their respects to the war dead and pray for world peace. More than 46,000 Japanese soldiers died in the battle in the West Pacific islands.

In his New Year Statement, Japanese Emperor called on the Japanese people to take this year as an opportunity to study and learn from the history of the war, starting with the Manchurian Incident of 1931.

Japan needs to ask itself why its soldiers fought on the islands 3,215 kilometers away.

Abe has said he will uphold the general stance on history of successive prime ministers, including the Murayama Statement. Starting with prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa in 1993, successive Japanese leaders mentioned the wartime devastation inflicted on Asian countries by Japan in their speeches for the annual ceremony, and the Murayama Statement was an apology issued by then-prime minister Tomiichi Murayama in 1995, admitting that Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations, through its colonial rule and aggression.

Since Japan's aggression against other Asian nations is questioned by Abe and like-minded conservatives, which part of the Murayama Statement will he uphold?

Asked whether Abe will be present at China's ceremony to mark the anniversary of the end of the war, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga beat around the bush by talking of looking to the future and showing willingness to tackle common challenges.

Abe will miss a chance for Japan's reconciliation with other Asian nations if he shuns the ceremonies at the Lugou Bridge.

The author is China Daily's Tokyo bureau chief.

caihong@chinadaily.com.cn