Beware Abe’s Return to Militarism

When I visited Canberra before long， I went to the famous Australia War Memorial with my colleagues. I had to admit： just watching the displayed arms and equipment used by Japanese troops during the Second World War， my thoughts traveled wildly.

The invading war initiated by Japan almost 70 years ago brought great pains to the world. As one of the victims， China lost more than 35 million psoldiers and civilians. Australia also saw the death of over 200 thousand people. And there was the economic loss， which was hard to be estimated.

An Australian couple brought three of their children to the memorial as well. I heard the young mother talk to her kids “thank God the nightmarish war had been ended”.

The war had ended， or had it？

On December 26， 2013， when people of the world were still enjoying the bliss of the Christmas Day， Shinzo Abe， Japanese Prime Minister， made a formal visit and paid respects to Yasukuni Shrine regardless of the protests of China and South Korea.

The Yasukuni Shrine is considered the spiritual symbol of the militarism of Japan because those enshrined and worshipped there included 14 Class A war criminals in the World War II， such as Hideki Tojo who plotted aggression into China and the Pacific War， Osami Nagano who gave the order of the secretive attack on the Pearl Harbor， and Iwane Matsui that was responsible for the horrible massacre in Nanjing. In Abe’s eyes， those notorious devils were “the heroes fighting and sacrificing themselves for their country” and deserved the respect.

Abe claimed that he paid visit to the Yasukuni Shrine for the promise to keep Japan from the war forever. For this， a Chinese citizen wrote： “If he really thought so， he should visit Nanjing Massacre Memorial instead of the Yasukuni Shrine.”

The visit to the Yasukuni Shrine was not a single behavior of Abe. Actually， the words and deeds of the Japanese Prime Minister in recent years raised people’s concerns about Japan’s orientation. Taking pride in the history of invasion， embracing the title as “Right Militarist” with satisfaction， expanding the army， modifying the constitution， upgrading the Self Defense Forces， passing Confidentiality Law， praising the Kamikaze striking team and claiming to return to the “powerful Japan”… these actions reminded China， South Korea and other countries suffering from Japanese invasion in the Second World War that the militaristic force in Japan never regretted about the history of invasion.

In Abe’s eyes， Japan would not be a normal or powerful country if it embarked on the path towards peace and held the regret for the history. Then， what is the “normal” and “powerful”Japan like？ Looking back at the arrogant and ambitious Empire of Japan during the Second World War， people could not help but feel worried about the future of Japan.

On November 12， 1948， Sir William Webb， the president of the Far East International Military Tribunal and a grand justice from Australia， announced the righteous adjudications of the 11 war criminals of Japan on behalf of China and the U.S. “This is the most important trial in the history of human beings，” Sir Webb recalled.

In my opinion， the trial was important not only because it announced the destruction of Japan’s militarism and the victory of the world’s anti-Fascism war from the legal perspective， but also because the victory was gained at a great cost as millions of people died during the war.

Now， only several decades passed after the famous trial. The ghosts of 300 thousand innocent people in Nanjing massacred by Japanese invaders could be still heard crying； hundreds of Australia civilians killed in the air strike in Darwin are in their eternal rest； and the comfort women severely suffering from Japanese invaders were still trying to get apologies from the Japanese government. In spite of these， someone could not wait to overthrow the fact of the invasion and call back the militarism. For this， citizens of China and the overseas Chinese would never tolerate this. Neither will Australia and other countries loving peace agree to it.

In order to defeat the Japanese invaders， Chinese and Australian people once fought side by side during the Second World War. The Anti-Japanese War trapped most of the ground troops of Japan in China， providing important conditions for the allied forces to win the Pacific War. Australian soldiers fought bravely against Japanese troops in the ocean and on the islands， writing legends about Kokoda Track campaign and several other notable battles. Together with the U.S.， they shattered Japanese scheme to take control of the Pacific Ocean.

Now， Japan， led by Shinzo Abe， turned a deaf ear to the complaints and criticism of the world， further drifting away on a dangerous road. China and Australia are important forces in the Asia-Pacific Area. They must share the responsibility with others to defend the fruits of anti-Fascism war of the world， the post-war international order and the regional stability and global peace.

As long as Japan refuses to see to its history without throwing the militarism into the bottomless pit， we can never tell our children that the nightmare of the war is over.