Asia commemorated the 60th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender yesterday by honoring the dead and searching for reconciliation, while Japan's leader tried to salve wounds by apologizing for the "great damages and pain" it inflicted on its neighbors.
With ceremonies and protests, the region memorialized the end to a conflict that killed millions of soldiers and civilians from the jungles of Burma to the glistening beaches of the Pacific and the sprawling cities of Japan and Korea.
Anger mixed with sorrow amid rekindled tension between Tokyo and the countries its Imperial Army invaded decades ago.
PHOTO: AP
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed "deep reflections and heartfelt apology" for Tokyo's wartime colonization and pledged that his country would never forget the "terrible lessons" of the war, which ended Aug. 15, 1945.
"Our country has caused great damage and pain to people in many countries, especially our Asian neighbors, through colonization and invasion," Koizumi said in a statement. At a ceremony shortly thereafter, Koizumi and Emperor Akihito -- son of wartime Emperor Hirohito -- bowed before an alter of chrysanthemums at a nationally televised service for the nation's estimated 3 million war dead.
Japan's relations with some of its Asian neighbors are at the lowest point in years in part because of disputes about whether Japan has properly atoned for its past aggressions. The issue has contributed to opposition to Tokyo's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat.
Fueling the grievances are Koizumi's controversial visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine and his government's approval of history textbooks that critics say whitewash wartime atrocities such as the Rape of Nanking, in which Japanese troops massacred as many as 300,000 people while taking the Chinese city in 1937.
Tensions have also been stoked by disputes between Tokyo, Beijing, Taipei and Seoul over resource-rich islands off their coasts, and Japan's running argument with China over gas drilling in a contested area of the East China Sea. Concerns over communist North Korea's nuclear weapons program have also increased regional friction.
Protesters in Hong Kong, which Japan occupied from 1941-1945, marched on Tokyo's consulate yesterday, saying Japan had not sufficiently atoned for military aggression and chanting "Japan's hands are full of fresh blood." Scores of police meanwhile guarded Japan's Beijing embassy as China marked the anniversary demanding that Japanese leaders face up to suffering inflicted by their nation.
"Only with an honest attitude towards history can a nation win reconciliation and then integrate into the global community," the China Daily newspaper said. State television devoted the first 10 minutes of its midday news yesterday to war commemorations, showing battle scenes and the bodies of Chinese killed by Japanese troops.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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