Any mention of Japan's aggressive history and shift in security policy by the country's government will be closely watched in 2015, as its neighboring victims are preparing to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.
In an interview with Chinese media on Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan's new security bills would not lead to military conflict between Japan and China, and the nation would not repeat its war history.
Japan's cabinet approved a package of security bills to significantly expand the scope of overseas operations by the country's self-defense forces in May, breaching Japan's post-war security policy. The cabinet is seeking to pass the new policies before July, despite opposition at home and worries abroad.
When asked to comment on the new policies, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed hope that Japan would follow the path of peaceful development and play a constructive role in Asia.
In Tokyo, about 25,000 protesters surrounded Japan's Diet building on Sunday to express their strong opposition against the new security bills proposed by the Abe administration.
OLD RHETORIC
When it comes to historical issues, the problem with Prime Minister Abe is that he has been repeating carefully-crafted words without a sincere or apologetic attitude regarding the nation's past atrocities.
In speeches he gave to the U.S. Congress and the Asian-African Summit in Indonesia, the prime minister expressed "deep remorse" over WWII but stopped short of issuing an apology.
More regrettable, when faced with a request for comment on the Potsdam Proclamation, which accelerated the end of WWII and established Japan's actions over 70 years ago as a war of aggression, the prime minister declined to comment and claimed that he did not notice this part in the proclamation.
In his Monday interview, the prime minister once again dodged an outright apology, which was reflected in the landmark Murayama statement by then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII on Aug. 15, 1995.
