Safeguarding the Pacifist Constitution.docVIP

Safeguarding the Pacifist Constitution 　　On August 15， 1995， the then Japanese Prime Minister， Tomiichi Murayama， released a landmark document known as the Murayama Statement to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II （WWII）. Twenty years later， Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to release his statement marking the end of the war on August 15. Will Abe’s statement inherit the spirit of the Murayama Statement？ This and other questions will be of great import for all nations， particularly China and South Korea. 　　In a recent exclusive interview with People’s China， a Beijing-based Japanese-language magazine， Murayama talked about the ins and outs of the Murayama Statement. He also stated that to safeguard the hard-won pacifism of post-WWII Japan， his country should hold fast to its pacifist constitution. An excerpt of the interview follows： 　　People’s China： One can imagine that when you decided to release the statement， you must have met with opposition. Can you tell us a little about the process of drafting the statement？ 　　Tomiichi Murayama： No matter whether from the perspective of history or culture， Japan is part of Asia. I believe that it is nonviable for Japan to be isolated from the rest of the continent. In particular， Japan， China and South Korea are neighbors separated only by a narrow strip of water and have a long history of mutual exchange. This history of exchange has played a decisive role in the development of the Japanese culture. Therefore， my greatest hope is to build a kind of relations that could gain the trust of Asian countries， in particular， South Korea and China. 　　When I assumed the post of Japanese prime minister in 1994， I visited almost all Asian countries. At that time， Japan had already become a world-class economic power， and the country’s success in this regard had been recognized worldwide. However， I could feel that Asian people still had an aversion to Japan： they believed that“Japan had not reflecte