Japan's ties with China and South Korea have grown chillier due to perceptions concerning Japan's wartime behavior. The two neighbors jointly oppose the move to put Japan's 23 "Sites of the Meiji Industrial Revolution" on UNESCO's World Heritage list on the grounds that Chinese and Korean workers were forced to labor at some of the facilities during World War II. In the Nuclear-Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference recently held at the United Nations in New York, China blocked Japan's proposal to include in a final document an invitation for world leaders to visit the atomic-bombed cities of Hiroshima Nagasaki, saying that it represents a "partial interpretation of history" that portray Japan as a "victim" rather than as a "victimizer."

While the two countries' arguments are politically motivated, Japan should not brush them aside. The wartime forced labor is not an issue of the past. South Koreans who worked as forced laborers or their bereaved families filed a series of lawsuits against Japanese firms in recent years seeking damages. So did some Chinese. In opposing placing Japan's industrial sites on the heritage list, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry criticized Japan for failing to work out a "responsible solution to rational demands" made by the victims.

As the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender in WWII approaches, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should not skirt the issue of historical perception. The way he answered a question from an opposition leader in a recent Diet session raises suspicions over his perception of Japan's wars in the 1930s and '40s. During his question, Japanese Communist Party chief Kazuo Shii cited Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's 1995 statement to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII, in which Murayama said "Japan, following a mistaken national policy, advanced along the road to war," and asked Abe whether he thinks that Japan waged a wrong war. Abe replied that he inherits Murayama's statement "as a whole," and acknowledged that many Asians suffered but did not say whether Japan's militarism was responsible for the suffering.

Shii also quoted Section 6 of the Potsdam Declaration of July 1945, which mentioned Japan's war leaders "who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest," and Section 8 containing reference to the Cairo Declaration of December 1943, which includes the phrase, "The Three Great Allies are fighting this war to restrain and punish the aggression of Japan." Then he asked Abe whether he accepts the sentiment expressed in the Potsdam Declaration that Japan's war was a wrong war. Abe evaded answering the question by saying that he was not sure about the details of Sections 6 and 8 of the Potsdam Declaration. The declaration, which was issued by the United States, Britain and China, called for "the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces" and was eventually accepted by Tokyo. If Abe cannot accept the assertion that Japan waged war to conquer the world, he should have clearly said so and then should have expressed his own views on Japan's war. By evading the question, he gave the impression that he is trying to avoid making public what he really thinks about Japan's war.

Abe has repeatedly indicated that he intends to put a focus on Japan's pacifist path in its postwar years and the nation's future when he issues his war anniversary statement this summer. Without making clear his perception of Japan's wartime behavior, however, it will be difficult for the prime minister to dispel suspicions held by China and South Korea, as well as by other members of the international community, that he in fact wants to justify the nation's wartime aggression. Abe must realize that it is an issue that cannot be skirted.