Japan should face up to its wartime history and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Friday.
Speaking at an anti-war themed event in Tokyo, Ishiba emphasized the importance of viewing history with the objectivity of a science.
"We are now in an era where history can be viewed as objectively as a science - not through ideology or political confrontation. If we don't do this now, then when? That is what I strongly believe," said Shigeru.
Ishiba stressed the urgency of such an approach, noting that those who lived through the war are passing away.
Citing former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, he said Japan could only be safe as long as those who experienced World War II and understood the horror of conflict, remained at the center of the country's leadership.
"In his final message, Kakuei Tanaka said that as long as the people who lived through that war sit at the center of this country, Japan would be fine. What's worrisome is when those people pass away. That is why he said people should study and learn from history. Right now, there are still people who lived through the war - those who fled from the shelling, and those who endured the hardships of the post-war years. But in another decade, such people will likely be gone," he said.
Ishiba stressed that Japan should confront its own problems, rather than avoid history or stoke confrontation.
"In fact, back then, neither the parliament, the government, nor the media could stop the war. Why couldn't they? And what about now? Today, many people like to say things that sound tough. And if you advocate peace, you get dismissed as someone 'living in a garden' -- an unrealistic idealist. People just laugh it off. But I think that way of thinking is itself wrong. We must first understand where we are now and how the situation came to this. Those of us in politics must seriously explain to the people what responsibility we ourselves bear for bringing about this situation," said Ishiba.
Japan should face up to wartime history, avoid repeating past mistakes: former PM
