AFP, Tokyo :
Japan should remember its bitter lessons from World War II, Emperor Akihito said in an interview to mark his 82nd birthday on Wednesday, recalling events related to the 70th anniversary of the war’s end.
“I think I spent a year by thinking of the war from various viewpoints,” the emperor said in the interview with local media released by the imperial household agency on Wednesday.
“The number of those who don’t know about the war is increasing year by year,” he said.
“But I think for the sake of the future of Japan, it is extremely important to be fully aware of the war and deepen our thought,” he added.
Attending this year’s ceremony on August 15 to mark the end of the war, Akihito said he felt “profound remorse” over the conflict, which Tokyo fought in the name of his father Hirohito.
Japan should remember its bitter lessons from World War II, Emperor Akihito said in an interview to mark his 82nd birthday on Wednesday, recalling events related to the 70th anniversary of the war’s end.
“I think I spent a year by thinking of the war from various viewpoints,” the emperor said in the interview with local media released by the imperial household agency on Wednesday.
“The number of those who don’t know about the war is increasing year by year,” he said.
“But I think for the sake of the future of Japan, it is extremely important to be fully aware of the war and deepen our thought,” he added.
Attending this year’s ceremony on August 15 to mark the end of the war, Akihito said he felt “profound remorse” over the conflict, which Tokyo fought in the name of his father Hirohito.
