Just after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered his statement on Aug. 14 to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan¡¯s surrender in World War II, the Foreign Ministry deleted a ¡°History Issues Q&A¡± section on its website, which was based on Prime Ministers Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi¡¯s statements on the 50th and 60th anniversary of the war¡¯s end, respectively, and then reinstated the section but with altered content on the evening of Sept. 18, just before the Abe administration steamrolled its controversial security legislation, which included the collective self-defense doctrine, through the Upper House.

A look at the new version of the Q&A makes it clear that the statement delivered by Abe, which played down his revisionist position on war-related historical issues, was intended to facilitate the passage of the security bills. By omitting references to Japan¡¯s colonial rule and aggression in the past, the statement hides Abe¡¯s true color ¡ª his reluctance to admit the fact that Japan committed any transgressions.

With regard to the question of ¡°How does the government of Japan recognize the history concerning the previous war?¡± the version that was deleted from the website clearly referred to certain passages in the Murayama statement, such as ¡°In the past, Japan, through colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly in Asia,¡± and ¡°I ... express ... my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology. ...¡±