Reference News Network, January 1 report: The Japan Television Network website published an article titled "Why Ishiba Shigeru Insists on Issuing '80th Anniversary of the Postwar Period Reflection' Despite Opposition Within the Party" on December 30, 2025. The author is Isaji Ken. The following is a compilation of the article:

2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Former Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has issued his "Reflections on the 80th Anniversary of the Postwar Period." Japan Television interviewed him on this issue.

Japan Television asked: Why did you insist on issuing this reflection despite various opposition within the Liberal Democratic Party?

Ishiba Shigeru replied: My political mentor Tanaka Kakue once said, "As long as those who participated in the war remain at the core of this country, Japan will be safe. I fear the day when they are no longer here. We must think seriously about this."

Even those who were 15 years old and conscripted in 1945 are now 95 years old. I believe many of them are still in good health, but in ten years, there may truly be no more war veterans left. As the Prime Minister, it is very important to express my thoughts during the 80th anniversary of the postwar period.

The village mountain speech in the 50th anniversary of the postwar period, and the Koizumi speech in the 60th anniversary, were both carefully considered, mainly focusing on apologizing to Asian countries.

Why did we get involved in that war? In the 70th anniversary Abe speech, it briefly mentioned why the pre-war political system failed to prevent the war. But why exactly did it fail? Can we ensure such things won't happen again? These thoughts prompted me to express my views regardless of everything.

Question: Knowing that the war was difficult, Japan still insisted on proceeding. There were countless opportunities to stop the war, yet we still started it.

Answer: According to the constitution at the time, the Emperor was the supreme ruler. However, the Emperor bore no responsibility. Therefore, Japan pushed forward the war without clear accountability. For a long time, these senior politicians filled the ambiguities in Japan's national system and constitution. After their deaths, no one knew who would take responsibility, and Japan operated under such a system.

Thus, whoever had the loudest voice dominated the situation. The Total War Research Institute once pointed out that "waging war against the United States, whose economic scale is ten times larger than ours, is impossible to win." Yet, why did we still push forward resolutely?"

What did the Diet do? During the war, the budget was managed through special accounts, so there was almost no budget review. The media was the same; newspapers and radio stations were inciting war fervently.

Neither the government, the Diet, nor the media could stop the war. So what about today's situation? What about the government? The Diet? The media? Can we confidently say everything is "absolutely fine"? (In my 80th anniversary of the postwar period reflection), I want to ask this question.

Question: Prime Minister Takahashi proposed a responsible and proactive fiscal policy, emphasizing "continuation of fiscal discipline." What concerns do you have about the current fiscal structure?

Answer: I believe sound finance is crucial at any time. National security should always be based on preparing for all kinds of "worst-case scenarios," which is its essence. Even if the probability is low, once it occurs, it can cause huge losses. Therefore, we must create policies to prevent such situations from happening.

Therefore, I can't help but feel that expanding fiscal spending, issuing more government bonds, and claiming "as long as we issue our own currency, there's no problem" or "we have a lot of assets overseas" are all underestimating the risks.

An important function of the Diet is to review the budget. Although everyone says defense spending is high, social security expenditures are actually the largest part. However, even with social security expenditures, the funding sources are not endless. Therefore, the Diet should prevent the government from formulating budgets that harm the national finances. Although Takahashi spoke of a responsible and proactive fiscal policy, what does "responsible" really mean? This is likely to become a focus of future discussions.

Question: How to maintain trust relationships with neighboring countries?

Answer: Twenty-three years ago, when I first became the Minister of Defense, I was invited to attend an international conference in Singapore. Then-Singaporean Cabinet Minister Lee Kuan Yew invited me for a long private conversation. He asked me, "Mr. Ishiba, do you know what Japan did to Singapore during the last war?"

I answered according to what was in the textbooks: Japan renamed Singapore as "Chosho Island," positioned it as the center of Asian military rule, built the Chosho Shrine, and vigorously promoted Shintoism.

He responded, "If you only know this, then it will be difficult for our two countries to maintain a trusting relationship in the future."

From then on, I have been thinking about this. Whether to apologize or not regarding war responsibilities relates to the country's major policies and also to the personal views of the ruling party. What kind of military administration did Japan implement in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia? How did Japan govern Taiwan during its occupation? How much do people know about this history? I believe that without understanding this history, it is impossible to maintain a long-term trust relationship with the other side. (Translated by Liu Lin)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7590325764081205811/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.