CRI听力:Japan's Defense Policies Questioned on Potsdam Anniversary

Japan's Defense Policies Questioned ahead of Potsdam Anniversary 

This July marks the 70th anniversary of the Potsdam Proclamation, a document issued by China, the United States and Britain on July 26, 1945 in demand of Japan's unconditional surrender in WWII.

In issuing the statement, the three nations put out an ultimatum, stating that if Japan did not surrender, it would "face prompt and utter destruction."

Dennis Roy, senior fellow at the East-West Center in the United States, notes the Japanese government chose to ignore the statement at its own peril.

"The Japanese government could have taken the opportunity in late July to end the war and prevented the atomic bombings in August which soon followed. But instead, the Japanese government passed up on the opportunity. United States government is often blamed for dropping the bombs, but the Japanese government deserves equal if not greater blame for not heeding the Potsdam Declaration when they had the opportunity."

But beyond calling for an immediate end to the war, the Potsdam Declaration also outlined a series of steps Japan would have to take to bring itself out of the war safely.

These included provisions which would allow Japan to maintain industries and international trade, as long as the proceeds of which weren't used to re-arm later.

This provision of the Potsdam Proclamation eventually became part of the blueprint for Japan's pacifist constitution.

Ly Yaodong, Japanese studies researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt to change the country's defense policies flies in the face of the spirit of the Potsdam Declaration.

"Japan accepting the Potsdam Proclamation and surrendering at the allies' discretion marked the end of the anti-fascism war. It also meant that Japan had to abide by the items in both the Potsdam and Cairo Declarations to help build post-war international order."

Victor Pavlyatenko, a Japanese researcher with the Russian Academy of Sciences, suggests countries occupied or hurt by Japanese forces during the war need to speak out against what's happening right now in Japan.

"The series of moves made by Abe's cabinet have violated major postwar international laws, including main principles of the Potsdam Proclamation. And all those countries which had been hurt by Japanese militarism in the 1940s should now stand together to defend the post-WWII order."

Despite originally ignoring the Potsdam Proclamation, Japan did eventually announce its surrender on August 15th, and formally signed the articles of peace based on the Potsdam Proclamation on September 2nd, 1945.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.