Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks with reporters on Aug. 1 after the start of the extraordinary Diet session. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Rather than have his name associated with a historic milestone, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has apparently chosen to face political reality.

He has abandoned plans to issue a personal message to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, according to several sources.

Having been dealt a devastating blow in the Upper House election July 20 and facing calls from within his Liberal Democratic Party to resign, Ishiba has chosen not to rankle conservative elements in the party that would take umbrage at a fresh interpretation of Japan’s role in the war.

Tomiichi Murayama blazed the trail in 1995 with a statement backed by his Cabinet and issued in his name on Aug. 15 that expressed “deep remorse” and offered a “heartfelt apology” for Japan’s “colonial rule and aggression.”

Ten years later, on the 60th anniversary, Junichiro Koizumi issued a statement as prime minister that echoed a similar sentiment.

In 2015, Shinzo Abe put a special twist to the statement issued under his name.

He noted that Japan has “repeatedly expressed the feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for its actions during the war” and that the “position articulated by the previous Cabinets will remain unshakable into the future.”

However, he added that, “We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize.”

Conservative elements in the LDP felt the Abe statement covered all the bases and that no new message was needed.

Ishiba had initially envisaged setting up a panel of experts to assess the process that led Japan to invade China and then go to war with other countries. Based on that evaluation, Ishiba had planned to issue a personal message in line with the 80th anniversary observances on Aug. 15.

But with growing calls within the LDP for Ishiba to resign, sources reported little progress in choosing the members to serve on the panel.

Others felt that if Ishiba, 68, went ahead and issued a message, it would only add fire to calls for him to resign and place the administration itself in jeopardy.

Those close to Ishiba said now is not the right time to broach such a delicate issue as historical understanding.

Ishiba has previously stated he wanted to weigh the significance of serving as prime minister on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, leaving open the possibility of a statement in the autumn or later, depending on the state of internal party dynamics.

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