Opinion | Japan, under a new emperor, still can’t put to rest its wartime ghosts
- Japan has a new emperor, Naruhito, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is still in charge. Abe is not only determined to amend Japan’s pacifist constitution but has also put his faith in US President Donald Trump
A bareheaded middle-aged man in black morning suit with tails and white tie setting off a gold chain and sashes and stars of four orders of chivalry walked into the room, followed by another middle-aged man and an elderly man in a wheelchair, both with sashes and stars. The first man walked onto a small platform with a single chair with a gold chrysanthemum embossed on it. The two other men flanked him but did not go onto the dais.
Several men in black morning suits followed, two carrying decoratively wrapped boxes like small coffins. The men approached the platform and bowed 90 degrees, placed the cases on stands, stepped back and bowed again, and were acknowledged by the first man with a nod and a hint of a smile. Then, the boxes were taken away, with more 90-degree bows.
