Protests erupt after Japan was accused of failing to apologise to China and South Korea, as Australians remembered WWII
PROTESTS erupted after Japan was accused of failing to apologise to China and South Korea, as Australians joined the world on the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.
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PROTESTS have broken out after Japan marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II under fire from China and South Korea, which said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe failed to properly apologise for Tokyo’s past aggression towards them.
In a move likely to further strain relations, a trio of cabinet ministers visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which neighbouring countries see as a symbol of Tokyo’s militarist past.
Memorial services on the day Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945 come after Abe delivered a closely watched speech that expressed regret — but also said future generations need not apologise for Japan’s war record.
His remarks were welcomed by the US but blasted by China as a non-apology, while Pyongyang derided it as “an unpardonable mockery of the Korean people”.
China’s foreign ministry voiced “strong dissatisfaction” over the visit by Japanese cabinet ministers to the shrine.
“Some Japanese politicians chose this day to visit the shrine, which honours ‘Class A’ war criminals and glorifies the aggressive war,” the ministry said.
“It demonstrates again Japan’s erroneous attitudes toward the historical issues,” it added.
“China lodges its resolute opposition and strong dissatisfaction.”
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said his remarks “left much to be desired” and stressed the need for Japan to resolve the long-simmering issue of Asian women forced to work as sex slaves in Japanese military brothels.
Outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul, protesters burned Abe’s portrait near a bronze statue representing one of the so-called “comfort women”.
However the Philippines, another wartime foe, said it had rebuilt a “strong friendship” with Tokyo.
Britain applauded the statement, while Australian leader Tony Abbott said Abe’s remarks “should make it easier for other countries to accept Japan’s commitment to a better future for all, and to strengthen their own friendships with Japan”.
In a speech for today’s war commemorations, Emperor Akihito said he felt “profound remorse” over a war Tokyo fought in the name of his father Hirohito.
Some Japanese media said it was the first time the 81-year-old had used those words at the annual memorial.
Earlier about 60 politicians, including Sanae Takaichi, minister for internal affairs and communications, entered the gates of Yasukuni.
The shrine is dedicated to millions of Japanese who died in conflicts — but also includes more than a dozen war criminals’ names on its honour list and a museum that portrays Japan as a victim of US aggression.
It makes scant reference to the brutality of invading Imperial troops when they stormed across Asia — especially China and Korea — in the 20th century.
QUEEN JOINS IN UK VP-DAY ANNIVERSARY
Veterans wearing medals, some in wheelchairs draped with the Union Jack, have paraded through central London to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Japan and the end of World War II.
The moving moment marked the end of a day of ceremony and remembrance. Queen Elizabeth II led the nation’s commemoration, attending a morning service at St Martin-in-the-Fields, near London’s Trafalgar Square.
Some in the audience wore medals earned by their fathers and grandfathers - a proud show of remembrance from some who feel the war in Asia was largely overlooked by a country that focused on the struggle against Nazi Germany.
“I think it’s very important to the veterans because they feel that they’ve been treated as the forgotten army,” said Pauline Simpson, one of the organisers.
“Their comrades that fought in Europe came home in May 1945 and they came back to a huge welcome and celebration.
“And for many people in the nation it was the end of the war. But in actual fact for all of the men still in the Far East in captivity, many of them didn’t even know that the war had ended. And they didn’t start returning home until three or four months later.”
Prince Charles and Prime Minister David Cameron also laid wreaths.
AUSTRALIA REMEMBERS END OF WWII
Seventy years ago today, a collective sigh of relief rose around the Pacific when Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s unconditional surrender to his nation over the crackly wireless.
National RSL president Ken Doolan has paid tribute to the Australian men and women who helped make that happen on August 15, 1945, at the main Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day service in Brisbane.
“There were many Australians, (both) here in Australia and particularly in prisoner of war camps, who undoubtedly heaved a great sigh of relief,” Rear Admiral Doolan said.
He said the dreadful conflict left Australia, its allies and Japan with an enduring legacy of peace and democratic freedom. “These are precious gifts bestowed upon us by those who fought, some of who are present here today, some of whom suffered mightily,” he said.
“These precious gifts are those things that we in the future would stand up to be counted for.” Commemorative events across the country on Saturday remembered the sacrifice of more than a million Australians who mobilised to serve in World War II.
But at some events crowd numbers were dismal, particularly in Brisbane, where many surviving veterans felt let down that they outnumbered the public.
“It was a bloody long time ago; it’s almost forgotten now,” 91-year-old veteran Rex “Darby” Munro told AAP.
Mr Munro, who was part of the force that occupied Japan from 1945 to 1952, put the lack of public interest down to veterans keeping their painful memories to themselves in the happier boom years after the war.
“You didn’t talk about it, you kept it to yourself,” he said. Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson said that generation now leaving us, who were being honoured on Saturday, was the greatest the nation has produced.
“Born in the aftermath of the war that was, growing up through the Great Depression and coming to adulthood under the shadows of the war that was coming, they mobilised to defend our nation, its values and vital interests,” he said in Canberra.
Dr Nelson said they would then undertake the economic and social reconstruction of Australia, laying the foundations for the prosperity enjoyed by subsequent generations.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott saluted all who won the war and built the peace afterwards.
“Every other one of us are your beneficiaries,” he told a service in Adelaide.
“You fought to defend our country against fascism, Nazism and militarism. You fought against evils that sought to destroy human decency and you fought to build a lasting peace.”
He later thanked more Australian veterans at an evening event in Brisbane.
“You never let the grim necessities of war harden your hearts or misshape your characters,” Mr Abbott said at a special gala dinner for veterans in Brisbane on Saturday night.
“You rose to the challenge of war and you rose again to the challenge of peace, and all of us are your beneficiaries.” Mr Abbott said the veterans and other volunteers had fulfilled King George VI’s call for his Commonwealth subjects “to restore what has been lost and establish peace”.
NSW Governor David Hurley also remembered the sacrifices and bravery of those who fought.
“Today we do what we have been asked to do every year, and that’s to remember,” he said in a commemorative address at Sydney’s Martin Place.
“To remember sacrifice, bravery, comradeship and all those qualities that define us as Australians.” In Tokyo, Emperor Akihito admitted feeling “profound remorse” about the conflict, which was fought in the name of his father Hirohito.
Some Japanese media, including Jiji Press news agency and the Mainichi newspaper, said it was the first time the 81-year-old used those words at an annual memorial on the day Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945.
More than 27,000 Australians were killed in the 1939-45 conflict between the Allies and Japan.
Originally published as Protests erupt after Japan was accused of failing to apologise to China and South Korea, as Australians remembered WWII
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