Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has come under pressure to clarify his position on Japan's colonial past after his government sacked the air force chief for denying wartime aggression.
Some major newspapers have urged conservative Mr Aso, who took office in September, to state his opinion clearly and to examine why Japan's ruling elite continues to glorify the country's wartime history.
General Toshio Tamogami, chief of staff of Japan's Air Self-Defence Force, was dismissed on Friday after writing in an essay: ‘It is certainly a false accusation to say that our country was an aggressor nation.’
‘We need to realise that many Asian countries take a positive view of the Greater East Asia War,’ he wrote.
Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada fired General Tamogami, saying the essay clearly deviated from a 1995 government statement that apologised for Japan's past aggression and its colonial rule in Asia.
Prime Minister Aso criticised the essay saying it is inappropriate, given General Tamogami’s position, even if he expressed the opinion personally.
The controversy has come at a bad time for Mr Aso, who cannot afford a diplomatic faux pas as he struggles to boost his low approval rating ahead of general elections that are due within a year.
China expressed strong indignation over the essay, which it said generally justified Japan's action during the war.
South Korea called it a distortion of history, which must not be left unchecked.
The opposition vowed to take the Aso government to task over the issue in the upper house of parliament, which it controls.
Despite its officially pacifist position, Japan has often come in for criticism for internal perceptions of its wartime past, with neighbours closely watching for any sign of a militarist revival.
A Mainichi newspaper editorial pointed out that Mr Aso has in the past made remarks that sought to rationalise Japan's colonialism. In 2003, he said Koreans had willingly adopted Japanese names during Japan's 1910-1945 rule of the peninsula because it was advantageous when doing business.
It also recalled how Shinzo Abe, who served as prime minister from 2006-2007 using the theme of Japan as a ‘beautiful’ nation proud of its history, supported the 1995 statement, but refrained from admitting the country's wartime responsibility.
Such attitudes, words and deeds of politicians are at the root of the problem," the newspaper said.
The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper said it wanted to ask Mr Aso whether he felt the essay was inappropriate because of its substance or just because of the way it was presented.
In contrast, the conservative daily Sankei Shimbun said that it would be suppression of free speech if free, individual historical views are snuffed in order to keep peace in parliament and save ties with China and South Korea.
