Japan From War to Peace by Shinzo Abe - Project Syndicate

TOKYO – On the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, we must calmly reflect upon the road to war, the path we have taken since it ended, and the era of the twentieth century. We must gain from the lessons of history the wisdom to guide our future.

More than one hundred years ago, vast colonies, possessed mainly by the Western powers, stretched across the world. With their overwhelming supremacy in technology, waves of Western colonial forces surged toward Asia in the nineteenth century. There is no doubt that the resulting sense of crisis drove Japan to pursue modernization. Japan established a constitutional government earlier than any other country in Asia, and preserved its independence throughout. The Japan-Russia War gave encouragement to many people under colonial rule from Asia to Africa. Suite...