On October 17, former Japanese Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi passed away at the age of 101. Murayama served as prime minister from June 1994 to January 1996, and expressed an official apology for Japan’s colonial rule and aggression based on his peace philosophy.
After graduating from Meiji University, Murayama pursued a political career and was first elected to the Lower House in 1972. On June 30, 1994, Murayama became the first socialist prime minister since Katayama Tetsu, who served as prime minister from May 1947 to March 1948. The sudden arrival of the socialist prime minister was reported with surprise and curiosity. Murayama was described at the time as “a soft-spoken 70-year-old whose bushy eyebrows give him a kindly, grandfather look” in The Washington Post.
What distinguishes Murayama from other Japanese prime ministers is the “Murayama statement.”
On August 15, 1995, Murayama gave a statement on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Asia Pacific War, the final conclusion of World War II. Murayama emphasized the importance to learn from the “lessons of history” and expressed an “apology” for Japan’s “colonial rule and aggression” during the war:
We must look into the past to learn from the lessons of history, and ensure that we do not stray from the path to the peace and prosperity of human society in the future… Japan, following a mistaken national policy, advanced along the road to war, only to ensnare the Japanese people in a fateful crisis, and, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. In the hope that no such mistake be made in the future, I regard, in a spirit of humility, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology.
The Murayama statement received mixed reactions domestically and internationally. From a Japanese perspective, the Murayama statement could be regarded as the “pinnacle of Japan’s postwar apology,” representing the moral responsibility of the premier. From a Korean perspective, the historical value of the Murayama statement, in which the prime minister officially apologized for Japan’s “colonial rule” over the Korean Peninsula, should not be forgotten or underestimated by both the people and the political elites of the two countries.
Unsurprisingly, the Chinese government welcomed “political apology” by the Murayama statement, but pointed out that the spirit of the statement was not properly shared by other Japanese politicians. The Chinese response highlighted the reality that the reconciliation processes between Japan and its neighbor states in Asia is different from those in Europe. Paul Keating, the Australian prime minister at the time, highly evaluated the Murayama statement as “comprehensive.” British war veterans and former prisoners of war stated, “We welcome this official statement of apology by the Japanese prime minister. In addition, we are particularly pleased that at his press conference he referred specifically to British prisoners of war and again apologized to them.”
Although there are criticisms against the Murayama statement, it can be regarded as a diplomatic endeavor and community-based apologia toward the healing of victims of Japan’s aggression. Such an official apology by a state leader is necessary for international reconciliation, although it may cause a domestic backlash. In this sense, apologies have symbolic implications in international politics. The harmonization of national memories between Japan and victimized countries would facilitate “genuine reconciliation.” Chinese media over the years have reported that the Murayama statement “helped repair Japan’s ties with its neighbors and also raised its international reputation” and “Japan needs Murayama spirit.” The Murayama statement, therefore, contributed to facilitating reconciliation processes between Japan and other countries victimized by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Asia Pacific.
On the same day as the 50th anniversary of the war’s end, Murayama appealed for the establishment of the Asian Women’s Fund (AWF) for the purpose of “national atonement for the former comfort women.” In essence, Murayama’s peace philosophy was influenced by his experience of the Asia Pacific War and was reflected in the Murayama statement and the establishment of the AWF.
This was also framed by the political philosophy of the Japan Socialist Party that had insisted on the so-called “unarmed neutrality” (hibuso churitsu) as an alternative to Japan’s foreign and defense policy. In this respect, Murayama’s pacifism was consistent with “absolute pacifism” that even denies self-defense, namely, the existence of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) as well as the stationing of the U.S. Forces based on the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
However, it has to be noted that Murayama’s peace philosophy was modified after the socialist party formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). During the 20th G7 Summit, held in Naples, Italy on July 8-10, 1994, Murayama assured then-U.S. President Bill Clinton that Japan would adhere to the bilateral security treaty, despite his longstanding unarmed neutrality policy. In his general policy speech delivered at the Diet on July 18, 1994, Murayama mentioned the term “peace” 18 times, and officially recognized the constitutionality of the existence of the SDF and the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. This was not his original political philosophy, but once Murayama became prime minister of Japan, he was pressured into accepting the tradition and reality of Japan’s existing foreign and defense policy. In this sense, it can be argued that Murayama’s pacifism was transformed from “absolute pacifism” into “relative pacifism.”
Either way, Murayama’s peace philosophy came through in his policy speech as prime minister. Murayama argued that Japan was a peaceful country and a nuclear-bombed state should adhere to the exclusively defense-oriented policy and the Three Non-Nuclear Principles in order to contribute to creating the world peace without armament, nuclear weapons, and other global issues including poverty. In addition, he stated that Japan should facilitate its mutual understandings with other countries of the Asia Pacific region on the basis of repentance for wartime aggression and the history of colonization conducted by the Empire of Japan that caused “unbearable suffering and sorrow” of the people in the region. In this way, his first general policy speech was consistent with the content of the Murayama statement.
Murayama officially attended the anniversary ceremony in Hiroshima on August 6, 1994, and wrote a hand-written message for peace. As a premier, Murayama noted that he would like the people of the world to visit Hiroshima, and that it solidified his resolution for abolition of nuclear weapons. Murayama’s peace philosophy was also influenced by domestic politics as well as the importance of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO). Murayama’s general policy speech of September 30, 1994 indicated that he admitted the constitutionality of the SDF and its dispatch to UNPKO. In the speech, he mentioned the term “peace” 11 times. Murayama’s antiwar pacifism had become more internationalized and active, given the fact that he previously opposed the existence of the SDF and its overseas deployment.
In his administrative speech of January 20, 1995, Murayama mentioned the term “peace” 19 times, promised that his government would adhere to the spirit of the “Peace Constitution” (heiwa kenpo), indicating that he respected Article 9 as a peace clause. In his general policy speech of September 29, 1995, Murayama mentioned the term “peace” nine times, and stated that Japan would dispatch the SDF to UNPKO in the Golan Heights, and would request nuclear-armed states to stop any nuclear testing and to support the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Domestically, Murayama Cabinet was called the “Disarmament Cabinet,” due to its reducing the defense budget of the Japan Defense Agency. Internationally, Murayama made a diplomatic contribution to the facilitation of nuclear disarmament by submitting Japan’s first-ever resolution draft on the abolition of nuclear weapons to the United Nations in 1994.
As part of his peace diplomacy, Murayama delivered a speech at the General Assembly Special Meeting on the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations on October 22, 1995. In the speech, Murayama urged all U.N. member states to facilitate global nuclear disarmament progress, including the signing of the CTBT. In this sense, Murayama’s peace philosophy was consistent with non-nuclear pacifism based on Japan’s experience of nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Meanwhile, the socialist party he led justified the existence of nuclear power plants, but Murayama said that “It was imprudent and it was a failure. I want to apologize,” after the 2011 nuclear incident.
Later on, Murayama joined a movement to decommission nuclear power reactors in Japan in cooperation with four other former prime ministers: Hosokawa Morihiro, Koizumi Junichiro, Hatoyama Yukio, and Kan Naoto, and jointly issued the “3.11 Declarations” at the Global Conference for a Nuclear Free, Renewable Energy Future: 10 Years Since Fukushima.
Although there were policy evolutions during his premiership, it is no doubt that Murayama contributed to improving Japan’s diplomatic relations with Asia Pacific countries, especially China and South Korea. Finally, the Murayama statement should be regarded as his legacy, as it has had profound diplomatic implications for Japan’s foreign policy toward neighboring countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
This is a revised version of an earlier work published as a chapter in Japanese Prime Ministers and Their Peace Philosophy (Daisuke Akimoto, Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).