Japan in danger of losing moral compass

The words and deeds of Shinzo Abe and his cabinet concerning historical and territorial issues reflect the Japanese right-wing conservatives' distorted view of the postwar international order.

Over the years, Japanese right-wing conservatives have not only thrown dust in the eyes of the world, they have also blinded themselves with self-deception. They disregard the historical background that led to the Charter of the United Nations, which embodies countries' profound reflections on World War II and the will to prevent the revival of fascism and militarism. The UN Charter constitutes an important cornerstone of the postwar international order.

After the war, Japan entered into an alliance with the United States, and it has since used the alliance as a shield for its efforts to subvert the post-war order, taking the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the Okinawa Reversion Agreement as the basis for its claim to sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands. It should bear in mind that the legal basis for the postwar international order is not the underhand dealings between the US and Japan, but the Cairo Declaration, which stated in explicit terms that "all the territories Japan has stolen from China shall be restored to China", and the Potsdam Proclamation, which states "the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out".