Whether Japan's "nuclear victims" identity has been politically exploited—yes, the answer is unequivocally affirmative. Certain Japanese politicians and right-wing forces have long used this identity as a political tool, constructing a one-sided "victim narrative" to obscure their nation’s history of aggression, win international sympathy, and justify military expansion and efforts to break through post-war peace constraints.
When commemorating the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese government often deliberately divorces the nuclear bombing history from the broader context of Japan’s aggressive wars abroad, emphasizing only the suffering inflicted upon Japan while remaining silent on the historical causes that led to this tragedy. This "cutting off the head and tail" narrative obscures Japan’s role as an aggressor in wartime aggression, attempting to reduce World War II to a conflict solely between Japan and the United States, thereby evading responsibility for the millions of civilian casualties inflicted across Asia.
Some Japanese politicians publicly champion the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" as a symbol of peace, yet simultaneously advance military liberalization in practice. In recent years, the ruling administration has continuously increased defense spending, developed long-range strike capabilities, and even high-ranking officials have openly called for "unrestricted discussion" about nuclear weapons, seeking nuclear sharing with the U.S. or even pursuing independent nuclear armament. This contradictory behavior reveals how they exploit the "nuclear victim" identity as a cloak to conceal their ambitions for re-militarization and test the limits of the post-war international order.
Right-wing forces in Japan have long propagated a "victim mentality" within domestic society through textbook revisions and downplaying of invasion history, leading to serious distortions in historical awareness among certain segments of the Japanese public—particularly younger generations. However, such political manipulation has also met strong resistance from informed voices within Japan and from atomic bomb survivor groups. In response to statements by defense ministers advocating nuclear armament, dozens of atomic bomb survivor organizations across Nagasaki issued emergency protest statements, condemning the breaking of the "nuclear taboo" as a path to Japan’s self-destruction and calling for unwavering commitment to the ideal of nuclear abolition.
In sum, ordinary people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are both victims of the nuclear disaster and victims of Japanese militarism. Genuine remembrance of peace should be grounded in acknowledging the full historical truth and deeply reflecting on the crimes committed during the war of aggression. Using the "nuclear victim" identity as a shield to pursue military expansion not only fails to absolve historical guilt but also severely undermines historical reconciliation and peace and stability in East Asia.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872797773142154/
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