Abe's speech: moving on without a sense of closure

PRIME Minister Shinzo Abe failed to grasp the nettle when he delivered a much-touted address on the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.

As Mr Abe pointed out, more than 80 per cent of today's Japanese were born after the war and, as time goes on, it will be 100 per cent. It is indeed time to move on.

However, ideally, moving on should come after a sense of closure. Unfortunately, Mr Abe's speech does not succeed in providing this. Instead, in some ways, it reopens old arguments, implying that Japan was not really responsible for its role in the conflict.