Tokyo, Aug 15: Japan remembered the end of World War II with official ceremonies that proclaimed the nation's commitment to peace even as prominent lawmakers paid their respects at a shrine criticised as glorifying militarism.
At a memorial service for the more than three million Japanese who died in the war, which ended with Japan's surrender 58 years ago Friday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi voiced regret for the destruction inflicted by his country and vowed to uphold the tenets of pacifism in its postwar Constitution.
``During the war, Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering for the people of many countries, particularly Asian nations,'' Koizumi said. ``On behalf of the people of Japan, I again express my profound remorse and sincerely mourn the victims.''
The popular Japanese leader has used virtually identical language in past speeches at the service, an event that brings together several thousand relatives of the war dead.
Along with ceremonies to mark the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the service spotlights Japan's collective memory of eight years of war that began for this nation in 1937 with a campaign to subjugate China and ended in 1945 with Japanese cities in rubble.
While telling his audience of mostly elderly Japanese that today's peaceful and prosperous Japan had been founded on the ``ultimate sacrifice'' made by those who lost their lives in the fighting, Koizumi promised that future generations would never again take up arms.
``Humbly reflecting on the past, I will uphold this nation's anti-war pledge and will make every effort to develop friendly relations with our neighbors,'' he said.
Bureau Report
