Japanese professor stresses nation obligation to take historical lessons from past

(MENAFN) Japan carries a moral obligation to honestly preserve and pass on the history of its wartime actions, and failing to do so constitutes wrongdoing, warned Professor Emeritus Atsushi Koketsu of Yamaguchi University in a recent interview regarding the Tokyo Trials.

On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. The following year, the Allied Forces established the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo. From May 1946 until the verdict in November 1948, the tribunal, commonly known as the Tokyo Trials, conducted over 800 court sessions prosecuting 28 Class-A war criminals.

"The reason the trial lasted so long was, first, because Japan's responsibility for aggression was extremely grave; second, the number of those responsible for war crimes was very large; and moreover, Japan had set up many concentration camps in Southeast Asia, subjecting local people to brutal abuse," Koketsu explained.

He highlighted the trials’ importance in shaping the post-war international order alongside the Nuremberg Trials, but noted that incomplete enforcement of the verdicts has left Japanese society—especially younger generations—with a significant gap in historical awareness.

Political changes during the Cold War enabled convicted Class-A war criminals, including former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, to return to influential positions, impacting post-war governance. Koketsu observed that Japan’s current political system was partly shaped by individuals who had once waged aggressive war, and their influence persists today.

The scholar also pointed out that sites related to the trials reflect this neglect. Traces of the Tokyo Trials are now difficult to find: the original courtroom lies within the Ministry of Defense with restricted access, and the former Sugamo Prison, which housed war criminals, has been converted into a commercial complex with little acknowledgment of Japan’s wartime responsibility.

Koketsu criticized education for failing to convey events like the Nanjing Massacre, which fosters public indifference to Japan’s wartime actions.

"Many Japanese think, 'I wasn't born during the war, so it has nothing to do with me,' but I often tell my students that although you weren't born then, you have a responsibility to pass down the history of the war; otherwise, it is also a form of guilt," he said.

As a longtime history educator, he also criticized Japan for focusing heavily on its own suffering while neglecting the causes behind it.

"Regarding the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Tokyo air raids, Japanese society repeatedly calls for such disasters never to be repeated. But the question is, why did these disasters happen? Few people will voluntarily say it was because Japan launched a war of aggression," Koketsu stressed.

He argued that without acknowledging Japan’s role in aggression, it is impossible to understand victimization and build true peace. As the wartime generation ages, he warned that memories of Japan’s past misdeeds will fade, heightening the risk of repeating historical mistakes.

"Japan must face and reflect on its history of aggression, transforming painful lessons into a force for peace," he said. "Otherwise, regional distrust will persist, and history could repeat itself."

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