The Need to Restore Reciprocity in Consoling the War Dead
NISHIKAWA Megumi / Journalist
July 25, 2013
For half a year now, Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has been engaged in an energetic round of summit diplomacy. What is conspicuous about his overseas visits is that the ceremonial act of "consoling the dead" seems intentionally built into his itinerary. Checking the Prime Minister’s daily movement in the newspapers, we find that in five out of the thirteen countries he has visited he has attended memorial ceremonies to lay flowers and spend a moment of silence at the graves of unknown soldiers and cenotaphs.
Abe began by visiting the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. in the United States in February and went on to pay his respects in Moscow, Russia, in April, in Ankara, Turkey, and Yangon, Myanmar, in May, and in Warsaw, Poland, on June 15. Surely, no other Japanese Prime Minister has attended as many memorials abroad.
Prime Minister Abe is perhaps trying to demonstrate that the act of "consoling the souls of the dead" should not be associated with any ulterior motive, political calculation or dispute. This is in view of the criticism Japan faces from China and South Korea, that paying respect at the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals are also enshrined, is tantamount to justifying Japan's past war.
In a memorial held in a foreign country, the Prime Minister bows his head as a representative of Japan in respect for those who lost their lives for another country - it is a solemn ceremony that takes place as honor guards look on, carrying the symbolic significance of a pledge to reconciliation, peace and amity. Yet, as I have mentioned before in this column (dated April 26, 2013), such a ceremony, which should be reciprocal under international protocol, is not held in Japan to mourn the Japanese soldiers who fought and died in war or civilians who fell victim to war. Foreign dignitaries visiting Japan have refrained from stepping inside the controversial Yasukuni Shrine since Class-A war criminals were enshrined in 1978.
In 1985, upon his visit to former West Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan took up the request of Chancellor Helmut Kohl and paid his respects at a cemetery for German officers and soldiers near the border with Luxemburg. As the date of his visit approached, it was discovered that the graves of Nazi SS officers were also located there, causing an uproar in U.S. public opinion and resulting in a resolution against the visit by both houses of Congress. President Reagan sought to balance his move by adding a visit to a Nazi concentration camp and cutting short his visit to the cemetery. I cannot recall of any other foreign leader who chose to take such a risk.
Japan should not leave unattended the current state of affairs, where visiting foreign leaders are unable to express their respects for Japanese soldiers and civilians lost to war. In former West Germany, the government designated the Bonn North Cemetery, where German soldiers from both World Wars are buried, as a temporary site where foreign dignitaries could pay their respects. After reunification, the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Tyranny was formally established in the capital city of Berlin.
Japan should also create such a temporary site for foreign dignitaries, at least until some conclusion is reached on the Yasukuni issue. The Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery would be a candidate for such a site. We must restore reciprocity to the status quo, where the Emperor and Empress and the Prime Minister of Japan may attend memorial ceremonies abroad but visiting foreign dignitaries cannot return the gesture by consoling the souls of Japan’s war dead.
Megumi Nishikawa is Expert Senior Writer on the Foreign News Desk at the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. This article was first published on June 28, 2013 in the morning edition of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.
Abe began by visiting the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. in the United States in February and went on to pay his respects in Moscow, Russia, in April, in Ankara, Turkey, and Yangon, Myanmar, in May, and in Warsaw, Poland, on June 15. Surely, no other Japanese Prime Minister has attended as many memorials abroad.
Prime Minister Abe is perhaps trying to demonstrate that the act of "consoling the souls of the dead" should not be associated with any ulterior motive, political calculation or dispute. This is in view of the criticism Japan faces from China and South Korea, that paying respect at the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals are also enshrined, is tantamount to justifying Japan's past war.
In a memorial held in a foreign country, the Prime Minister bows his head as a representative of Japan in respect for those who lost their lives for another country - it is a solemn ceremony that takes place as honor guards look on, carrying the symbolic significance of a pledge to reconciliation, peace and amity. Yet, as I have mentioned before in this column (dated April 26, 2013), such a ceremony, which should be reciprocal under international protocol, is not held in Japan to mourn the Japanese soldiers who fought and died in war or civilians who fell victim to war. Foreign dignitaries visiting Japan have refrained from stepping inside the controversial Yasukuni Shrine since Class-A war criminals were enshrined in 1978.
In 1985, upon his visit to former West Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan took up the request of Chancellor Helmut Kohl and paid his respects at a cemetery for German officers and soldiers near the border with Luxemburg. As the date of his visit approached, it was discovered that the graves of Nazi SS officers were also located there, causing an uproar in U.S. public opinion and resulting in a resolution against the visit by both houses of Congress. President Reagan sought to balance his move by adding a visit to a Nazi concentration camp and cutting short his visit to the cemetery. I cannot recall of any other foreign leader who chose to take such a risk.
Japan should not leave unattended the current state of affairs, where visiting foreign leaders are unable to express their respects for Japanese soldiers and civilians lost to war. In former West Germany, the government designated the Bonn North Cemetery, where German soldiers from both World Wars are buried, as a temporary site where foreign dignitaries could pay their respects. After reunification, the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Tyranny was formally established in the capital city of Berlin.
Japan should also create such a temporary site for foreign dignitaries, at least until some conclusion is reached on the Yasukuni issue. The Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery would be a candidate for such a site. We must restore reciprocity to the status quo, where the Emperor and Empress and the Prime Minister of Japan may attend memorial ceremonies abroad but visiting foreign dignitaries cannot return the gesture by consoling the souls of Japan’s war dead.
Megumi Nishikawa is Expert Senior Writer on the Foreign News Desk at the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. This article was first published on June 28, 2013 in the morning edition of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
慰霊の非対称解消を
西川 恵 / ジャーナリスト
2013年 7月 25日
慰霊の非対称解消を
西川 恵 ジャーナリスト
この半年、安倍晋三首相は精力的な首脳外交を展開しているが、目を引くのは外国訪問で「慰霊」を意識的に日程に組み込んでいると思われる点である。首相の日々を新聞で拾うと、13ヵ国のうち５カ国で、無名戦士の墓や追悼記念碑に献花し、黙とうする儀式に臨んでいる。
米ワシントンのアーリントン墓地（２月）を皮切りに、露モスクワ（４月）、トルコ・アンカラ（５月）、ミャマー・ヤンゴン（同）、ポーランド・ワルシャワ（今月15日）。これほど「慰霊」を行っている首相は過去いないのではないか。
中韓が「Ａ級戦犯が合祀されている靖国神社への参拝は、過去の戦争の正当化だ」と批判していることを念頭に、「慰霊」にいかなる邪心も、政治的打算も、論争もあり得ない、ということを示そうとしているようだ。
日本を代表して首相がその国のために命を落とした人々にこうべを垂れる。儀仗兵が見守る中で行われるこの荘重な儀式には、和解と平和友好の誓いなど、象徴的な意味合いが込められる。しかし前にこの欄で述べたが（今年４月26日付）、国際慣例で相互主義のこの儀式が日本の戦没者や戦争犠牲者に対しては行われない。１９７８年、靖国神社がＡ級戦犯を合祀して以降、来日する外国首脳は議論の多い同神社に足を踏み入れるのを避けているからだ。
西独（当時）を訪問したレーガン米大統領が、同国のコール首相の求めでルクセンブルクに近い国境の独軍将兵らの墓に詣でたことがある（85年）。ところが直前にナチス親衛隊員が含まれていることが分かり、米世論が反対し、米上下両院も墓参反対を決議した。同大統領はユダヤ人の強制収容所も訪問し、墓参も短縮してバランスをとった。こうしたリスクをとった外国首脳を私は他に知らない。
しかし来日した外国首脳が日本の戦没者や民間人の犠牲者を慰霊することがないのを、日本は放置していていいはずはない。西独政府は両大戦の独軍兵士が埋葬されているボン北墓地追悼所を外国首脳が慰霊する仮の場所としていた。東西統一後は、首都ベルリンに正式に国立中央戦没者追悼所を設けた。
日本も靖国神社問題で結論が出るまで、外国首脳が慰霊する仮の場所を設けるべきではないか。例えば千鳥ヶ淵墓苑もある。天皇、皇后両陛下や日本の首相が外国で慰霊の儀式に臨むのに、来日した外国首脳は慰霊を行わないという非対称を解消しなければならない。
（筆者は毎日新聞社専門編集委員。本稿は2013年６月28日毎日新聞朝刊に掲載された。）
西川 恵 ジャーナリスト
この半年、安倍晋三首相は精力的な首脳外交を展開しているが、目を引くのは外国訪問で「慰霊」を意識的に日程に組み込んでいると思われる点である。首相の日々を新聞で拾うと、13ヵ国のうち５カ国で、無名戦士の墓や追悼記念碑に献花し、黙とうする儀式に臨んでいる。
米ワシントンのアーリントン墓地（２月）を皮切りに、露モスクワ（４月）、トルコ・アンカラ（５月）、ミャマー・ヤンゴン（同）、ポーランド・ワルシャワ（今月15日）。これほど「慰霊」を行っている首相は過去いないのではないか。
中韓が「Ａ級戦犯が合祀されている靖国神社への参拝は、過去の戦争の正当化だ」と批判していることを念頭に、「慰霊」にいかなる邪心も、政治的打算も、論争もあり得ない、ということを示そうとしているようだ。
日本を代表して首相がその国のために命を落とした人々にこうべを垂れる。儀仗兵が見守る中で行われるこの荘重な儀式には、和解と平和友好の誓いなど、象徴的な意味合いが込められる。しかし前にこの欄で述べたが（今年４月26日付）、国際慣例で相互主義のこの儀式が日本の戦没者や戦争犠牲者に対しては行われない。１９７８年、靖国神社がＡ級戦犯を合祀して以降、来日する外国首脳は議論の多い同神社に足を踏み入れるのを避けているからだ。
西独（当時）を訪問したレーガン米大統領が、同国のコール首相の求めでルクセンブルクに近い国境の独軍将兵らの墓に詣でたことがある（85年）。ところが直前にナチス親衛隊員が含まれていることが分かり、米世論が反対し、米上下両院も墓参反対を決議した。同大統領はユダヤ人の強制収容所も訪問し、墓参も短縮してバランスをとった。こうしたリスクをとった外国首脳を私は他に知らない。
しかし来日した外国首脳が日本の戦没者や民間人の犠牲者を慰霊することがないのを、日本は放置していていいはずはない。西独政府は両大戦の独軍兵士が埋葬されているボン北墓地追悼所を外国首脳が慰霊する仮の場所としていた。東西統一後は、首都ベルリンに正式に国立中央戦没者追悼所を設けた。
日本も靖国神社問題で結論が出るまで、外国首脳が慰霊する仮の場所を設けるべきではないか。例えば千鳥ヶ淵墓苑もある。天皇、皇后両陛下や日本の首相が外国で慰霊の儀式に臨むのに、来日した外国首脳は慰霊を行わないという非対称を解消しなければならない。
（筆者は毎日新聞社専門編集委員。本稿は2013年６月28日毎日新聞朝刊に掲載された。）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟