Thread by @RinNishimura

Full text of PM Ishiba’s speech at the National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead — the speech stressed that the tragedies of war should never be repeated and that Japan must take to heart “remorse and lessons” from the war that happened 80 years ago.

kantei.go.jp/jp/103/stateme…

The word “remorse” was used in a prime minister speech at the National Memorial Ceremony for the first time since then-PM Noda Yoshihiko (DPJ) referred to it in 2012.

nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO…

Those close to the PM explain that Ishiba referred to “remorse and lessons (from the war)” to remind the younger generation with no recollection of the war about the tragedies 80 years on from the war.

The term “remorse” was dropped from speeches on August 15 when the late PM Abe Shinzo delivered the first speech of his second term in 2013. The term “condolence” was also only used in 2016.

Abe dropped language on “lessons from history” in 2020 and added “proactive contribution to peace” as a way to contribute to world peace while maintaining its position as a peace-loving nations.

Kishida, who prides himself on representing Hiroshima, introduced in 2022 the language “taking the lessons of history deeply into our hearts” in the context of striving to be a peace loving nation. He dropped the “proactive contribution to peace” in 2024.

To clarify, the first prime minister to refer to “remorse” was then-PM Murayama Tomiichi in 1994. Abe and Noda referred to the word in 2007 and 2012, respectively.

While the prime minister stopped referring to “remorse” in 2013, the Emperor began referring to “deep remorse” in 2015 and has since kept that practice alive.

mainichi.jp/articles/20250…