Japanese MP Questions Takagi’s Understanding of Historical Aggression

According to a report by Asahi Shimbun on October 17, on the 16th, Diet member Seiko Tsuchimoto of the Constitutional Democratic Party questioned Takagi Sanae during a session of the Senate Budget Committee regarding her statement: “I do not regret Japan’s history of aggression.”

Specifically, Tsuchimoto directly challenged Takagi on her stance toward the “Murayama Statement”—a 1995 apology issued by former Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, in which he acknowledged Japan’s colonial rule and acts of aggression.

About three decades earlier, in 1995, then-newly elected Diet member Takagi Sanae had stated before the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee: “At the very least, I am not part of the generation that participated in the war, so I have no remorse and see no need for reflection on the war.”

Tsuchimoto pressed Takagi on whether she had changed her position since then, asking: “Have you changed your views now?” To which Takagi replied: “We continue to grow every day.”

When asked what specific changes had occurred, Takagi responded: “As Abe said during the 70th anniversary of the war’s end, I cannot burden future generations with responsibility.”

Takagi’s understanding of the “Murayama Statement” has also come under scrutiny. In 2005, she criticized the statement in the monthly publication *Seiron*, arguing: “If such an unreasonable view is not checked, our descendants will become citizens of a ‘criminal nation.’”

Furthermore, in 2013, while serving as head of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council, Takagi expressed negative views, stating that including the term “aggression” was meaningless.

When Tsuchimoto asked whether Takagi would uphold the “Murayama Statement,” Takagi affirmed: “The positions taken by past cabinets will remain unchanged. The Murayama Statement is naturally included within that framework.”

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1879253650374746/

Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author.