March 23, 2015 – “Looking Ahead to the 2015 Round of Historical Anniversaries” (Nippon)

By Nippon’s Editor in Chief, Kawashima Shin:

“We in Japan see our country’s seven-decade postwar period as having begun on August 15, 1945. But China focuses on September 3 as its V-J day, while Taiwan has celebrated October 25 as its Retrocession Day. We should accept this sort of diversity in matters relating to history, but at the same time I think we and our neighbors all need to take a broader view of historical issues. To the extent that the events marking the upcoming round of anniversaries are staged in keeping with the designs of the government and society of each country or region, they are liable to heighten nationalistic sentiments. We need to gradually “relativize” our assertions and feelings relating to these anniversary observances by trying to improve our understanding of our neighbors’ views.”