49% of Japanese People Say "Kishida Should Mention Aggression and Reflection on August 15"

About half of Japanese people believe that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should mention Japan's aggression and express remorse on August 15, Korea's Liberation Day and Japan's defeat anniversary, according to a survey.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Tokyo Shimbun on the 30th, in a mail survey conducted by the Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Opinion Research Association from the 13th of last month to the 24th of this month, asking Japanese voters about their perception of "peace," 49% of the 1,758 valid respondents said that Prime Minister Kishida should mention aggression and remorse at this year's defeat anniversary memorial service. The view that there is no need to mention aggression and remorse was 46%.

The Japan Opinion Research Association explained that former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama revealed Japan's aggression and apologized at the defeat anniversary memorial service, but since 2013, former Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe, Yoshihide Suga, and Prime Minister Kishida have not mentioned aggression and remorse at the memorial service, and asked whether it is necessary to mention it.

Former Prime Minister Murayama expressed in a statement released in 1995, "Colonial rule and aggression caused great damage and suffering to the people of Asian countries," and expressed "deep remorse and heartfelt apology."

Prime Minister Kishida, after holding a summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol in Korea on May 7, said at a press conference, "I myself am heartbroken that many people suffered very painful and sad experiences under harsh conditions at that time," expressing regret as an individual regarding the forced labor of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period, but did not mention "remorse."