TOKYO — Japan’s former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who was known for his 1995 “Murayama statement” apologizing to Asian victims of his country’s aggression, died Friday.
Murayama died at a hospital in his hometown Oita, southwestern Japan, according to a statement by Mizuho Fukushima, the head of Japan’s Social Democratic Party.
As head of what was then known as the Japan Socialist Party, Murayama led a coalition government from June 1994 to January 1996.
A historic apology for Japan’s actions in World War II He is best remembered for the “Murayama statement,” an apology he issued on the 50th anniversary of Japan’s unconditional surrender ending World War II on Aug. 15, 1995.
That included Abe protege Sanae Takaichi, who was recently elected party leader and is now poised to become prime minister next week.
Tomiichi Murayama, the former prime minister of Japan, passed away on Friday. He was well-known for his 1995 “Murayama statement” in which he apologized to Asian victims of his nation’s aggression. 101 was his age.
According to a statement from Japan’s Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima, Murayama passed away in a hospital in his hometown of Oita, in the country’s southwest.
From June 1994 to January 1996, Murayama led a coalition government as the leader of the Japan Socialist Party.
a historic apology for the World War II actions of Japan.
The “Murayama statement,” an apology he made on the 50th anniversary of Japan’s unconditional surrender that ended World War II in August, is what most people remember him for. 15, 1995. . It is thought to be the primary way that Japan expresses regret for its colonial and wartime past.
“At one point in the not-too-distant past, Japan advanced along the path to war . due to a misguided national policy. In the statement, he said, “and, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly those of Asian nations.”.
“I consider these undeniable historical facts with humility, and I once more convey my profound regret and offer my sincere apologies in the hopes that no such error will be made in the future. “,”.
A contentious government.
In 1972, Murayama, a socialist, was elected to parliament for the first time after serving in a local assembly and working for a labor union.
He broke with the long-standing opposition of his party to the Japan-U when he was appointed prime minister in 1994. S. In response to yelling from irate party members, he made a speech acknowledging the constitutionality of the security alliance and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
Two significant catastrophes occurred in 1995 that Murayama had to deal with: a huge earthquake in Kobe, a port city in the west, which killed over 6,400 people, and a gas attack in a Tokyo subway that left 13 people dead and over 6,000 injured. He was criticized for his tardy reactions to both.
In a surprise announcement made as he returned to work following the 1996 New Year holidays, he announced his resignation early the following year. In a year commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, Murayama claimed to have done what he could. In the new year, he claimed to have made the choice while gazing up at the blue sky.
When his successors questioned Japan’s wartime guilt, Murayama chastised them.
Although he retired in 2000, Murayama remained involved in politics and often criticized his more nationalist successors for their attempts to distance themselves from accountability for Japan’s wartime actions.
For almost 20 years, all prime ministers adhered to the Murayama statement. However, in 2013, Shinzo Abe, a nationalist, ceased to apologize after his Liberal Democratic Party members claimed it undermined Japan’s sense of national pride. Sanae Takaichi, a protégé of Abe who was just elected party leader and is set to take over as prime minister next week, was one of them.
Murayama also chastised the government for its unwillingness to admit that during World War II, the Japanese government routinely coerced Asian women into having sex with Japanese soldiers at military brothels.
“A historical perspective claiming that Japan’s war was not an act of aggression, or referring to it as justice or freedom from colonialism, is completely intolerable not only in China, South Korea, or other Asian nations, but also in America and Europe,” Murayama stated in a 2020 report.
Amid the “tremendous damage” his nation’s previous war of aggression caused to its neighbor, he also emphasized the significance of Japan forging a lasting friendship with China. “We must establish stable politics, economics, cultural exchanges, and development if we are to bring about peace and stability in Asia. “.
