Japan has not learned WWII lessons: Russian expert

Japan has failed to learn the lessons of its defeat in World War II, and deliberately forgotten the historical dates that marked its surrender, a Russian academic noted.

Andrey Fesyun, deputy director for research at the Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, made the statement in an interview with China Media Group (CMG), on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II, which falls on Saturday this year.

"Unfortunately, these dates are practically forgotten, or deliberately forgotten. They are not reflected in any way in the memory of the Japanese people. The very fact that the emperor directly addressed his people, the first such address in the country's history, clearly demonstrated that the war was over and Japan would no longer fight. This left a very deep wound in the Japanese mentality. And this wound remains to this day. It has not gone away. It was the offensive of the Soviet and Chinese armies that became the decisive step in Japan's surrender. Yet Japan tries not to remember that," said Fesyun.

Fesyun went on to critique Japan's conduct in its postwar relations, particularly with the United States, which he said reveals a lack of historical dignity and a failure to confront the legacy of its defeat.

"As for its relations with the United States, regarding itself as defeated by America, it behaves disgracefully. For instance, when President Trump was recently asked about the atomic bombings (during a dinner with international business leaders in Japan in October 2025), he described them as a 'little conflict', saying, 'It's funny that we had a little conflict with Japan, but our two countries remain the closest friends and partners imaginable.' And the high-ranking Japanese officials present giggled. It looked so unseemly — so cheap, to put it bluntly. They can't even remember the dates, and more unfortunately, they haven't learned their lesson yet," Fesyun said.

Fesyun's remarks underscore concerns among some Russian scholars that Japan's post-war pacifist commitments are being eroded by the current government's military buildup and historical revisionism.

Japan has not learned WWII lessons: Russian expert

Repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks have halted commercial and maritime activity at Yemen's Mocha Port near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, killing seven people and causing about 16 million U.S. dollars worth of direct losses, government and port officials said on Saturday.

The port, in southwestern Yemen's Taiz province, is a key entry point for commercial goods and supplies bound for government-held areas.

Abdulmalik al-Sharabi, director of the government-held port, said the attacks over the past week killed four members of the port's security forces and three port employees, while causing extensive damage to facilities and equipment.

"Some of the port's berths were damaged, along with warehouses and the port's own maintenance workshops. Every economic facility in the port complex was targeted in the attack," al-Sharabi said.

He said six wooden vessels and a dredger involved in the port's expansion operation were also damaged. The suspension of shipping and commercial activity has left about 1,300 workers without an income.

"The attack on Mocha Port caused enormous losses for merchants. There were also casualties among port personnel and workers, including dockworkers, and commercial vessels moored at the port with cargo being loaded also sustained damage," said Mohammed al-Ghanami, head of the Mocha Merchants' Union.

Yemen's pro-government National Resistance Forces said the Houthis launched 40 ballistic missiles and 46 drones, and used explosive-laden boats in the attacks against Mocha, its port and other sites in the area between Aug 9 and Aug 14.

The Houthis have said their operations in the Mocha area targeted military buildups and weapons depots of what they called Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. Government authorities refuted that account, describing the port as a civilian commercial facility.

The escalation has raised concern that Yemen could slide back into full-scale fighting. A U.N.-brokered truce expired in October 2022, but a fragile de facto ceasefire had largely held until the recent attacks.

Houthi strikes halt operation of Yemen's Mocha Port, kill seven