Justin McCurry: Japan's emperor calls for young to be taught about horrors of war
Japan’s emperor has
marked his last birthday before his abdication next year by calling for his
country’s younger generations to be taught accurately about the horrors of war
and expressing relief that his reign has been a peaceful one for Japan. A record 82,850 people
cheered and waved Japanese hinomaru flags as Emperor Akihito,
who turned 85 on Sunday, appeared on the balcony of the imperial palace in
Tokyo with Empress Michiko, his eldest son and heir Crown Prince Naruhito and
other members of his family.
Naruhito, 58, will
ascend to the Chrysanthemum throne on 1 May, the day after his father, who has
had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, becomes the
first Japanese emperor to abdicate in 200 years. The last was Emperor
Kōkaku in 1817. Akihito returned to
the legacy of the second world war in his pre-recorded speech, a subject that
has helped define his 30-year reign, known as heisei, or achieving
peace. “It is important not
to forget that countless lives were lost in the second world war and that the
peace and prosperity of postwar Japan was built upon the numerous sacrifices
and tireless efforts made by the Japanese people, and to pass on this history
accurately to those born after the war,” he said. Referring to the “end
of my journey as emperor”, Akihito, whose voice appeared to tremble with
emotion, added: “It gives me deep comfort that the heisei era
is coming to an end, free of war in Japan.”
Akihito has become an
enormously popular figure since succeeding his father, Hirohito, Japan’s
wartime emperor, in January 1989. He has used his reign to call for an honest
appraisal of history, including comments that some have interpreted as a gentle
swipe at the country’s conservative prime minister, Shinzō
Abe. Japan’s postwar
constitution prohibits the emperor from wielding political influence, but the
imperial couple have promoted reconciliation with former victims of Japanese
wartime aggression. In 1992, Akihito
became the first Japanese emperor to visit China, telling his hosts he “deeply
deplored” an “unfortunate period in which my country inflicted great suffering
on the people of China” during a war fought in the name of his father.
In his birthday
address, he also noted the sacrifice made by the people of the southern
Japanese island of Okinawa, the scene of a fierce
battle during the war and home to tens
of thousands of US troops.
“Okinawa has
experienced a long history of hardships, including what happened there during
the war,” he said. “We are committed to continue to care for the sacrifices
that the people of Okinawa have endured over the years, and that commitment
will remain unchanged in the future.”
He and Michiko, a
non-royal whom he met while playing tennis, have also played a prominent role
in helping the victims of natural disasters, making several visits to the
region devastated by the March
2011 earthquake and tsunami. He referred in his
address to earthquakes, floods, landslides and a heatwave that killed hundreds
of people over the past year. “My thoughts go out to those who have lost family
members or those close to them, or have suffered damage and whose lives are
currently impaired,” he said. Speaking soon after
parliament passed a law to bring
in hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers to address Japan’s
labour shortage, he said he hoped the country's people would “be able to warmly
welcome as members of our society those who come to Japan to work”.
see also
Eyewitness Account of Hiroshima by John Siemes, Professor of Philosophy at Tokyo's Catholic University
1993 speech on nuclear weapons and nuclear power by Narayan Desai
