Japan needs Murayama spirit

Only through profound reflection on the aggression it launched against China can Japan possibly regain the trust of the Chinese people and enjoy a bright future in its ties with its neighbor.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the world's victory against fascism. There have been calls by victimized Asian countries, including China, for Tokyo to take a responsible attitude toward this part of its history. Some US officials have joined them in expressing the hope that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government will follow the example of former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama and show genuine repentance for the suffering it inflicted on its neighbors.

Despite the peaceful development road Japan embarked on after World War II, there have always been political forces within Japan who stubbornly refuse to even admit its wartime crimes. Japan's enormous economic achievements in the postwar decades fueled attempts by its conservative political forces to overturn its wartime history.