Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has issued a message to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Public opinion believes that the message, to some extent, reflects Ishiba's personal characteristics and has certain significance, but the absence or insufficiency of some key expressions highlights the country's deficiency in summarizing and understanding its history.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the message, which spans approximately 6,000 words in Japanese, delves into five themes: the pre-war constitution, government structure, parliament, media, and information gathering and analysis. Ishiba argues that all these factors bear responsibility for Japan's path to war. He emphasized that politics must never pander to public opinion or pursue popularity-seeking policies that could harm national interest, and warned against narrow-minded nationalism and xenophobia.

The prime minister stressed that Japan must not prioritize emotional and sentimental judgments over calm and rational ones. He noted that what matters most are the courage and integrity to squarely face the past. Japanese media noted that, compared to past formal cabinet-endorsed statements released by his predecessors on previous anniversary milestones, Ishiba's views present new perspectives. However, the message was released in a personal capacity, without formal cabinet approval, and failed to explicitly mention "responsibility for aggression" towards neighboring Asian countries. Ishiba mentioned in response to a reporter's question that the historical views he upholds from previous cabinets include "feelings of remorse and apology."

Ishiba is seen as a moderate conservative within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), with a more progressive understanding of history than the party's hardline conservatives. Local media generally believe that Ishiba's remarks reflect his balanced approach under pressure from within the LDP.

Since taking office last year, Ishiba planned to issue a prime minister's statement approved by the cabinet on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the war's end. However, conservative LDP members strongly opposed it, arguing that the 70th anniversary statement by then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had made it clear that "future generations should not be predestined to apologize," with concerns that Ishiba might overturn this stance. Newly elected LDP president Sanae Takaichi also stated there was no need to issue an 80th anniversary statement.

Meiji University professor Akira Yamada believes Ishiba's reflections mainly focused on domestic Japanese politics and lacked a perspective on neighboring Asian countries. Although Ishiba used the phrase "remorse," the content was almost exclusively focused on analyzing how political parties failed to check military influence. Professor Mie Oba of Kanagawa University commented that the message provided a common-sense explanation of pre-war Japan's situation. "The fact that the prime minister has to repeatedly recount these facts, which should have been shared in education in the first place, reflects Japan's serious shortcomings in summarizing history."