WAR RESPONSIBILITY--delving into the past (6) / Foundations necessary to argue war responsibility

By Masayasu Hosaka / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

Japan's 1945 defeat in the Pacific War is regarded domestically as the starting point of the "postwar period."

In the same year, the Allied Powers, led by the United States, began their occupation of Japan.

But from the standpoint of the international community or from a historical perspective, Japan's surrender means the end of World War II.

The war finally destroyed the fascism regime in Japan, which in 1940 signed the Tripartite Treaty with Germany and Italy.

But few Japanese have given this much thought.

Japan's public discussions focus only on its defeat in the Pacific War and the resulting occupation by the Allies. But this approach leaves many war related issues unanswered and facts unestablished.

Over the past 60 years, an expanding movement in Japan has developed the study of contemporary history and focused on handing down war survivors' accounts to the next generation. As a result, some historical facts have come to light, and reflection on the war has taken root to some extent.

But one question remains--is there something missing?

Japanese perceptions lack foundations fundamental to a clear understanding of the war.

One of the seemingly missing foundations is, as mentioned above, an attempt to see the Pacific War within the framework of World War II. The other point to remember is the fact that the government has neglected to fulfill its responsibility to fully explain what led to the series of wars in the Showa era and what actually happened in them.

Indeed, the two points are inextricably linked. Successive postwar administrations have failed to give Japanese citizens or the international community an explanation of their investigation into the wars--nor have they used their initiative to summarize the results of these examinations.

This argument likely will spark some immediate criticism from people who say Japan already has fulfilled its responsibilities, using as supporting evidence the citation of the government's stance at the 1951 San Francisco Peace Conference, the government's decision to join the United Nations, for instance.

Others may say Japan settled its wartime accounts with documents created when its diplomatic ties with other countries were normalized. Some others may also point to the Diet resolution adopted in 1995 to reiterate Japan's dedication to world peace. On Aug. 2, 2005, the Diet passed a similar resolution marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the war.

However, these speeches, documents and resolutions only refer to the outcomes of a series of wars during the Showa era and do not provide explanations of the process that led to them. Postwar administrations should have written and published reports on the wars after conducting thorough research.

But no administration has done so.

In my opinion, citizens, including war veterans, will only be able to satisfy themselves when the government explains why the wars started, what laws allowed it to send soldiers to the front, what kind of military strategies were used in battle, what the consequences were for the nation, and how the then government took responsibility for the surrender.

Naturally, the public will be divided over whether the government's explanations are sufficient enough. But this approach to address the wars can be constructive if the government sticks to providing objective explanations without emotive statements.

Because it has neglected this area of study, Japan has yet to establish a basic position on addressing the wars. Under the circumstances, reflection on and apologies for what Japan did without explanations are meaningless and eventually will become mere formalities.

In past decades of intense domestic political strife, it might have been difficult for administrations to create such postwar reports. Historically speaking, however, they missed more important things by shying away from the possible pain caused by making such reports.

The 60 years after World War II have been a period of transition for Japan, as it moved from a contemporary to a historical perspective of the war. Despite the fact that the war ended more than half a century ago, Japan should start working on the war reports.

The Diet has a bipartisan group of lawmakers calling for permanent peace. The league, chaired by former Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama, reportedly is aiming at setting up a peace research bureau in the National Diet Library to lead a research on damages caused by the past wars through establishment of new legislation based on their draft.

Using such legislation, Japan might be able to find a way to settle its historical disputes.

Hosaka is a writer specializing in Japan's war history.