August 15th marked the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender. I made a point of watching Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's speech, and it left me deeply disappointed. If you search online for the countries Japan invaded in its modern history, you'll find a long list β countries that, along with Japan itself, suffered profound harm.
The Silence After the War
After the war, the United States backed Japan as a forward base against the communist bloc. Japan's economy recovered rapidly, and it soon became a developed, law-abiding, democratic nation. But apart from a small handful of officials and civic groups, almost no one has offered a formal reflection or apology.
By Today's Rule-of-Law Logic
If someone breaks into another person's home and kills them, and is then killed in the victim's self-defense β by today's rule-of-law logic, that should be a matter of shame, not something to be worshipped like a hero or paid homage to at a shrine.
A Society in Contradiction
Japanese society pursues excellence, values safety and security, prizes honesty and trustworthiness β everyone follows the rules and trusts one another. But on historical questions, it often looks the other way; historical revisionism has been rising, and the facts of the invasion keep being softened. Right-wing groups within the LDP have long influenced textbook screening and the wider public discourse, keeping this history from being passed on to the next generation fully and accurately. This gap β a society that is trustworthy on one level, dishonest about its history on another β is a contradiction that leaves me deeply troubled.
Remembering, But Not Repenting
Japan is a country that respects human rights and takes remembrance seriously. In 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed in Gunma Prefecture, killing 520 people. This year marks the 41st anniversary, and bereaved families still climb "Osutaka Ridge" every year through wind and rain, laying flowers and lighting lanterns inscribed with their longing. There are many such memorials across Japan. But at the same time, politicians still make official visits every year to Yasukuni Shrine, where war criminals are enshrined, while almost no one formally expresses repentance to the people who were killed. This is what fills Japan's neighbors β the former victims β with such deep resentment.
Nor Do I Defend the Chinese Government
I don't believe the Chinese government is an honest one. Tiananmen, the Cultural Revolution, internet controls, religious controls β these are all facts. In fact, Japan has provided China with ODA loans and development aid continuously since the 1980s, something many Chinese people don't even know about. The fundamental purpose of the Chinese government's long-standing information control and centralized propaganda is really just one thing: to secure the legitimacy of its own rule and eliminate dissent. China today is, in overall terms, certainly far more powerful than before β and more unsettling than before. But that doesn't mean Japan gets to be dishonest because of it.
From "Already Grown Up" to "It's All the Same"
The Japanese pop music and TV dramas I encountered as a child came bundled with an entire cultural worldview. Back then, I felt Japan had a head start of several decades on us β we were just entering adolescence, and Japan was already an adult. More than twenty years later, having actually come to live here and experience it firsthand, I finally realized: it's really all the same. Every government, carrying its own ambitions, tells the story that suits it best β and in that respect, they're equally tiresome.
What It Takes to Be a "Lighthouse"
In her speech, Prime Minister Takaichi said Japan should become a trusted, shining lighthouse of the Indo-Pacific. But as I see it, a country that cannot honestly face its own past has no qualification to be a lighthouse. A country that can face its history honestly and apologize with courage β rather than endlessly softening and revising it β is the one that truly deserves trust. History cannot be softened away. It is recorded clearly in the memory of every one of Japan's neighbors, and it can be found with a simple search online.
An Apology That Was Answered With "Get Out of Japan"
I once watched a video of several Japanese Christians who, after learning the truth of this history, felt deep guilt and made a special trip to China to apologize, perform, and pray. When they returned to Japan, they were told to "get out of Japan." (The video link is at the end, in case you'd like to watch it.)
Before Revival Comes Honesty
Sunday's message spoke about "revival." My own understanding is this: before revival comes honesty β facing one's own conscience without flinching. At the very least, when we pray, if we can feel that we owe nothing to be ashamed of before God or before others β that kind of revival is the one with real power.
Where I Stand
Right now, Japan's policies are shifting sharply to the right, and life for foreign residents is getting harder. Honestly, I don't know whether my next visa renewal will succeed. If it fails, I'll face serious trouble β I still have a mortgage to pay off, so I'm paying it down as early and as much as I can, to reduce the risk down the road. I came here with the resolve to spend the rest of my life in Japan. If, in the end, that doesn't work out, I'll certainly feel sad about the time and money I've spent β but I won't regret it. I kept the promise I made to myself: to truly come here, and truly live here, in order to understand and know this place better.
I won't take the side of the Chinese government, nor the side of the Japanese government. Depending on who I'm talking to, I may not say everything I think β but I hope that, at least among fellow Christians, I can speak honestly. I continue to hope that one day, Japan can become a true lighthouse of revival.
Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkk0GIyzzig
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Prayer Requests
1. May the people of both nations think with their minds rather than their emotions on questions of history β seeking out the full historical truth for themselves, and seeing one another with understanding rather than hatred.
2. May the governments of both nations one day face their own pasts more honestly. May they no longer hide or rewrite that past.
3. May peace continue across the Taiwan Strait. May the freedom and stability that the people of Taiwan enjoy be preserved.
4. May China conduct honest, serious history education β not reduced to entertainment or emotion β and may this nation find the courage to face the darker parts of its own history.
5. May the government and people of Japan truly face their history and find the courage to look truth in the eye. May they no longer use ritual visits as a way to avoid repentance.
6. May the people of China have better employment conditions, and may human rights and human dignity be more valued.
7. May the people of China have true freedom of religion, free from interference and restriction.
8. May both nations β and the whole world β see more mature Christians raised up, so that within the same shared value of love, we may understand one another and pray for one another.