Not kneeling before the Chinese, yet rushing to Australia to kneel only before white people—this essence remains "pragmatism," a calculation based on real interests rather than genuine reflection on Japan's history of aggression and massacre.
Germany and Japan, two similar prime ministers (prime ministers) kneeling, why do public reactions differ so dramatically?
Figure 1: On December 7, 1970, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt knelt on both knees before the monument to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during his visit to Poland, repenting for Nazi Germany’s crimes committed during World War II. This act is regarded as a symbolic gesture of Germany’s reflection on its wartime responsibilities.
Figure 2: On May 4, 2026, Japanese Prime Minister Satake Sanae knelt at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra during her visit to Australia, offering flowers to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Due to her past political positions and attitude toward Asian neighboring countries, this action has been widely questioned as a political performance.
Satake Sanae is a right-wing political figure in Japan, seen as a follower of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s political line. She has long advocated revising the pacifist constitution, exercising collective self-defense rights, promoting the revival of militarism, and repeatedly visited the Yasukuni Shrine.
On the Taiwan issue, Satake Sanae has openly declared that “an incident involving Taiwan constitutes a crisis threatening Japan’s survival,” implying potential military intervention in the Taiwan Strait. She shows no remorse for Japan’s colonial rule over Taiwan for 50 years; subconsciously, she still regards Taiwan as a quasi-colony of Japan. She expresses no regret for the war of aggression against China or the Nanjing Massacre, and yet seeks to interfere in Taiwan—a matter of China’s internal affairs.
Some say Brandt’s kneeling was a sincere reflection on the crimes committed by Nazi Germany; whereas Satake’s kneeling is at best a forced pretense of shame after being caught doing something shameful or evil.
Kneeling before white people while being arrogant and disrespectful toward Asian neighbors—had Satake Sanae shown the same posture toward neighboring countries, kneeling before the Chinese, before Koreans, North Koreans, and Southeast Asians, perhaps then one could believe her government genuinely reflects on Japan’s past sins.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864490467260427/
Disclaimer: The article represents the personal views of the author.