To never wage war again

We must not forget the fact that, in the Pacific War, Japan was an aggressor before it was a victim. In recent years, the image of Japan as merely a defeated nation has taken on a life of its own, while discussions of its role as an aggressor have begun to feel almost taboo.

Some now claim that Japan did not invade its neighboring countries, but rather stood up to liberate fellow Asians from Western colonialism. They point out that Japanese aid led to the development of infrastructure and economic and cultural growth in some regions. These voices appear to be growing louder year by year. Today, even questioning Japan’s wartime responsibility is sometimes criticized as being a “masochistic view of history.”

However, no matter how much Japan may try to conveniently forget its responsibility as an aggressor, the countries it once invaded have never forgotten the suffering they endured.

What will happen if we continue to abandon the awareness of being a former aggressor and focus only on our victimhood? Such a mindset risks leading to a national conversation focused solely on how to “protect” Japan, neglecting the crucial perspective that we could once again become aggressors in future wars.

The more victimhood is emphasized, the more distrust and hostility toward neighboring countries grow. Calls for pre-emptive strike capabilities under the name of “enemy base attack” become louder, and it’s only a matter of time before the debate shifts from defensive-only policies to accepting preemptive attacks. Wasn’t it exactly such public sentiment that drove Japan into the previous war?

Once such sentiment takes root, military spending will continue to grow. Eventually, there will be arguments that conventional weapons are no longer sufficient, and that even nuclear weapons are necessary. The arms race will escalate, and at the end of that path lies a tragedy with no winners or losers—only the potential annihilation of all humanity.

In the last great war, we experienced the horrors of nuclear weapons firsthand, with atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over 200,000. Even now, many hibakusha, both in Japan and abroad, continue to suffer from the aftereffects, with no sufficient support.

In 2017, the United Nations adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, banning the development, production, possession, and use of nuclear arms. Last year, in 2024, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their powerful appeal for nuclear abolition. While the global momentum for nuclear disarmament grows each year, the road to total abolition remains steep—and in recent years, nuclear weapons with more advanced capabilities and delivery systems have been developed.

Enough is enough. Isn't it time for humanity to stop tightening the noose around its own neck? The neck being squeezed is not that of our enemies, but our own—and that of every living being on this planet.

To ensure we never again go to war, can we stop fueling hatred?

Let’s not dismiss this as mere idealism. It is the so-called “realistic” path toward self-destruction that we must reject.

To prevent future wars, let us find the courage not to pick up arms in madness, but to reach out our hands in solidarity.

Now more than ever, in a world flooded with division and hatred, we must believe in the power of nonviolence.

We cannot wait for someone else to act. No matter how small our efforts may seem, each of us must raise our voices, join hands, and do what we can.

To ensure we never go to war again, let us keep pursuing a future filled with hope, without giving in to despair.

Let us pass on a peaceful and beautiful Earth to the children of the future, all around the world.

Thank you.

Here is the Japanese version.

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