Japanese citizens took to the streets of Tokyo on Saturday, the 81st anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II, calling on the government to face up to Japan's history of aggression and reflect on its wartime crimes.
The rally came on the same day that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japanese militarism and wartime aggression, while several cabinet ministers and senior politicians visited the controversial shrine.
Their actions have drawn criticism and opposition from many Japanese citizens.
"If they truly understand the atrocities committed in China during the war, they should reflect on them. Some Japanese people today have not reflected on history and do not even know about it, which is really outrageous," a protester said.
Participants at the rally voiced strong opposition to visits by senior government officials to the Yasukuni Shrine, warning against forgetting Japan's wartime aggression.
"Today is August 15. Japan once invaded countries across Asia. From its war of aggression against China to the Pacific War, Japan committed extremely brutal atrocities. Yet key members of the current government are still visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, which means they have not reflected on that war at all. I firmly oppose that," said another protester.
Others warned against a return to Japan's prewar militarism and criticized the current government's stance, citing the lessons of history and the suffering caused by Japan's wartime aggression.
"I think the others who gathered here feel the same way I do. Japanese society today is already in the same situation as it was before World War II. We are only one step away from entering into war again," a demonstrator said.
"For my generation, our fathers went to war and caused tremendous harm to the people of Asia. That is all recorded in books. I absolutely cannot tolerate Takaichi's words and actions, and that is why I am here today," said another participant at the rally.
Japanese citizens rally in Tokyo, urge government to reflect on wartime aggression
Trilateral talks between Russia, the United States and Ukraine ended on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, with Russia and Ukraine reaching an agreement on a "large-scale" prisoner exchange.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation at the talks, told a press conference that details of the exchange would be announced soon and that negotiations would continue.
He said the delegations had discussed humanitarian issues, with the future of European security being a central focus of the U.S.-mediated talks.
Medinsky added that parties had reached understandings on some issues, without providing further details.
He defended the need to discuss post-war security arrangements at the current stage of negotiations, saying the conflict in Ukraine had exposed shortcomings in Europe's security system.
Medinsky called for the establishment of a fair security framework that takes into account the interests of all countries.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been continuously briefed by the Russian delegation on developments in the trilateral talks.
He said that the Russian delegation did not have any contacts with European representatives in Abu Dhabi, and such contacts had not been planned in the first place.
Meanwhile, Jared Kushner, a member of the U.S. negotiating team, told reporters that a lot of serious issues had been discussed, adding the discussions were thorough and covered all major issues.
He noted that the prisoner exchange deal was one of the positive outcomes of the negotiations, with the exact number of prisoners to be finalized on Thursday.
Kushner said the second day of discussions were "very substantive," describing the negotiations as a good first step forward.
He also said he and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff planned to travel to Moscow for further discussions on ending the Ukraine conflict.
Kushner noted that the two would seek progress in Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to U.S. demands to end the war, and would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky afterward.
Kushner added that Russia had its own security concerns and had been asked to put forward proposals to reduce tensions.
On the Ukrainian side, negotiator David Arakhamia, chairman of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, a Ukrainian political party, said the Abu Dhabi talks had generated "good momentum" toward finding a solution to the conflict before the end of the year.
Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service and a member of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, said earlier Wednesday that the Ukrainian team planned to hold separate discussions with European partners following the trilateral session.
"The Russian-Ukrainian war has its implication on the European security structure to begin with. So having the European security structure as part of these trilateral talks is a logical process, because we cannot exclude the effects this war had on Europe's security, on Europe's economy, and it's right on the European border. And that's the whole issue. The main issue that began with is NATO being closer and Europe's security being closer to the Russian border," said Abdulaziz Al-Shehhi, a senior researcher at TRENDS Research and Advisory.
The latest round of Russia-U.S.-Ukraine trilateral talks took place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday, marking the first meeting among the three countries since February. The first day's discussions lasted nearly four hours, while Wednesday's session concluded in less than two hours.
Although progress was reported on the prisoner exchange, no agreement was announced on a ceasefire, territorial disputes or long-term security guarantees.
Trilateral talks on settlement of Ukraine crisis conclude in Abu Dhabi
