On August 6, just as Japan mourned the lives lost in Hiroshima in the world’s
first atomic bombing and reaffirmed its commitment to a nuclear-free world, the
Advisory Panel on the History of the 20th Century and on Japan’s Role and World
Order in the 21st Century submitted its report to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Commonly referred to as “Kitaoka Commission,” after its deputy chairman Shinichi
Kitaoka, the Commission’s considerations and recommendations are said to play a
critical role as Abe finalizes his highly anticipated statement to commemorate
the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The Commission consists of 16 members. Some of the members, including
Kitaoka, who is president of the International University of Japan, are
academics. Others are former government officials, non-governmental organization
representatives, and journalists. All were selected with the blessing of Abe
himself. In particular, Kitaoka, who also chaired another commission that
deliberated on the right of collective self-defense-related issues, has been
known to have Abe’s confidence.
At the outset, Abe tasked this Commission with deliberating on five issues:
(1) What are the “lessons learned” we need to take away from the history of the
20th century?; (2) how should we evaluate postwar history of Japan?; (3) how has
Japan tried to achieve reconciliation with its former enemies, including the
United States, Australia, the countries in Europe, China, South Korea and the
rest of Asia?; (4) based on the lessons learned from the 20th century, what kind
of vision should Japan pursue for Asia and for the world in the 21st century?;
and (5) what are the specific principles with which Japan should formulate its
policies at this juncture?
The report itself is not terribly long—the Japanese original is 38 pages
long, its English translation 41 pages long. However, the report deserves to be
acknowledged for a couple of reasons.
First, the report unambiguously refers to Japan’s behavior before and during
World War II—especially in Asia—as “aggression.” While it does note dissenting
opinions by some commission members and the reasons for their dissent, in a
footnote of the final report, the report argues that Japan went against the key
trends in the post-World War I international order—self-determination,
democratization, delegitimization of war, and economic development—and inflicted
grave damage in Asia. Furthermore, the Commission’s report urges that Japan
should continue its dialogue with China and South Korea toward reconciliation,
and it should always work with Southeast Asian countries with humility.
Secondly, the report reaffirms three critical lessons that Japan learned from
World War II. Those lessons were: (1) international conflicts must be resolved
peacefully; (2) democracy needs to be promoted; and (3) free trade must be
supported. Indeed, these are the principles on which Japan has based its
post-World War II foreign policy. These are also the principles that are
reaffirmed in Japan’s National Security Strategy as the guiding principles of
Japan’s foreign and security policy.
Finally, the report presents four guiding principles for the vision for
Japan’s future—deepen the understanding of history, support the existing
international order, contribute to peace and development, and make Japan more
open to changes and interaction with outside forces. In particular, the first
principle—deepen the understanding of history—is noteworthy, as the specific
recommendations the report made under this category have elements of both
remembering prewar Japan and reflecting on the lives of Japanese that were lost
during the war.
It has been reported that Abe’s 70th anniversary statement will be an
official, Cabinet-approved document. As concern surges that Abe may not say “the
right things” in his 70th anniversary statement, the Kitaoka Commission’s report
stands as a powerful narrative that reflects the consensus of the majority (if a
silent one) of Japanese—something which Abe knows he will have to respect.
