Rote words negate the intent

Anyone anticipating anything new from Tokyo on the 74th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender on Thursday, will have been disappointed as the message was the same as usual.

In a speech that was closely scrutinized in many parts of Asia, the newly enthroned Japanese Emperor Naruhito merely expressed the same sentiment his father did using the same phrase, "... bearing in mind the feeling of deep remorse, I earnestly hope that the devastation of war will never be repeated". Prime Minister Shinzo Abe too employed wording he's used in past addresses when pledging: "We will never again repeat the devastation of war."

Anyone on the Chrysanthemum Throne may have to be ultra prudent when choosing words for a speech meant to commemorate Japanese war dead. "Deep remorse" was the standard phrase in each of the former emperor's addresses since the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in 2015. The dawning of the new Reiwa era, named as one of harmony, may make no difference.