At the very beginning of 2013, reports came that Tokyo might seek to revise two official statements issued in the 1990s meant as apologies to victims of Japan's wartime atrocities.

The Kono Statement, which acknowledged the Japanese Imperial Army's role in forcing thousands of captured women into sex slavery, and the Murayama Danwa, a broader apology issued by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama over war atrocities, have long been considered rare examples of Tokyo's self reflection.

On the heels of the worrying turn of events, Japan's Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, in a high-profile trip to Myanmar, paid tribute to Japan's fallen soldiers buried there during WWII, in total disregard of the feelings of people that had suffered bitterly under the Japanese aggression.

Yet the most substantial effort of Tokyo toward the right is to try to upgrade its Self Defense Force into a full military force, starting with planned increase in defense budget in fiscal 2013, the first time in 11 years.

The prospect of reviving militarism in Japan evokes bitter memories among Asian countries which had endured brutal Japanese aggression and could eventually inflict a heavy toll on Japan's diplomacy.

Many observers have predicted the political orientation of the Abe administration upon the release of the list of cabinet ministers, most of whom were widely seen as "radical nationalists."

Japanese politicians have to bear in mind that any attempt to whitewash aggression would backfire and any endeavor by Tokyo to alter the post-war world order would land the country in massive trouble.

To become a future-oriented "normal country," Japan should put the brakes on right-leaning politics.

Source: Xinhua