Japan honors fallen on 80th anniversary of surrender in World War II

Japan is paying tribute to more than three million dead today, marking the 80th anniversary of its surrender that ended World War II, amid growing concern that memories of the tragedy of war and the bitter lessons of an era of Japanese militarism are rapidly fading.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed "regret" for the war, which he called a mistake, returning to the word in a speech marking August 15 for the first time by a Japanese leader since 2013, when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rejected it.

"We will never repeat the tragedy of war. We will never go down the wrong path. Once again, we must hold the remorse and lessons of that war deep in our hearts," Ishiba said.

Pointing to the majority of Japan's post-war population "who have not known war," Ishiba pledged to pass on "the memory of the tragedy of war and the determination to have no war for generations and to adhere to actions towards achieving lasting peace."

At a national ceremony today, at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo, about 4.500 officials and bereaved families and their descendants from across the country held a minute of silence at noon, the time when the then emperor's surrender speech began on August 15, 1945.

Just a block away at the Yasukuni Shrine, which Asian neighbors see as a symbol of militarism, dozens of Japanese right-wing politicians and their supporters came to pray.

Prime Minister Ishiba stayed away from Yasukuni, where he sent a religious ornament as a personal gesture instead of praying at the controversial shrine.

The shrine also honors convicted war criminals among the estimated 2,5 million who died in the war. Victims of Japanese aggression, particularly China and North and South Korea, view visits to the shrine as an indication of a lack of remorse for Japan's wartime past.

As the number of people from the wartime generation rapidly declines, Japan faces serious questions about how to pass on its wartime history to the next generation.

Since 2013, Japanese prime ministers have stopped apologizing to Asian victims, following a precedent set by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Some lawmakers' denial of Japan's military role in the mass civilian deaths in Okinawa or during the Nanking Massacre has fueled controversy.

In an editorial today, the Mainichi newspaper pointed out that Japan's pacifist principle is mainly about not getting involved in global conflict, not about how to establish peace, and called on the country to work together with its Asian neighbors as equal partners.

"It is time to show a vision for a world without war based on the lessons of our own history," the editorial reads.