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Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Tokyo (Jiji Press) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is carefully considering whether to release a statement this year to mark the 80th anniversary of the country’s surrender in World War II.

While conservative members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party oppose releasing such a statement, the party’s coalition partner, Komeito, calls on the prime minister to send out a message that reiterates the country’s commitment to being a pacifist nation.

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“No decisions have been made yet on whether to release a new statement,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference on Friday.

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“We plan to consider what we’ll do from various perspectives, based on past events,” he said.

Then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama released a statement on the 50th anniversary in 1995, followed by Junichiro Koizumi on the 60th and Shinzo Abe on the 70th.

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Tetsuo Saito, leader of Komeito, which touts itself as a “party of peace,” has urged Ishiba to publish an 80th-anniversary statement, saying that doing so is of significance for Japan, a country pursuing peace.

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In his 2015 statement on the 70th anniversary, Abe had sought to put an end to Japan’s diplomacy centered around apologies to countries over its wartime actions.

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Abe’s statement included “aggression,” “colonial rule,” “remorse” and “apology,” keywords that appeared in Murayama’s statement.

But Abe’s statement also said, “We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize.”

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Many LDP lawmakers think that Ishiba does not need to release a new statement because Abe’s statement achieved a certain goal. Conservative members, in particular, are worried that a new statement will rewrite the 2015 statement.

If Ishiba fails to handle the matter appropriately, this could deal a blow to his already shaky political foundations as he leads a minority government.

About a year later, all that optimism disappeared into thin air, along with its Greenbelt showroom, which was once a vibrant outlet showcasing different e-scooter models. This space—meant to attract heavy foot traffic—has been padlocked very recently.

Ishiba’s immediate focus is on getting his government’s fiscal 2025 budget plan through parliament by the end of March.

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“We can’t discuss future events yetwinhq,” a senior Ishiba administration official said.

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