Tacloban and Palo maintain MacArthur Park or Freedom Park on the shores of Leyte Gulf to remind generations of Filipinos of World War 2, that horrific international war that saw Germany, Italy and Japan being defeated by the Allied Forces, mainly the United States, Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom.
China, the Philippines, Singapore, and the rest of the Asian region should also be credited for valiantly opposing Japanese hegemonism in that era.
The small town of Tolosa, Leyte had its contribution during Signal Day when they communicated with the Americans on Japanese positions, thus telling them which areas to bomb.
Etched in the cumulative memory of the Warays are these statistics about the Battle of Leyte on Oct. 20, 1944: 3,504 killed, 11,991 wounded and 183 missing. Throughout the Japanese occupation, Waray guerrillas fought the invaders and consequently, the population suffered immense atrocities.
These narratives should be revisited in the wake of Japan’s recent moves towards a return to militarization.
For two days in a row, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offered "ritual offerings" at Yasukuni Shrine. Yasukuni honors 14 convicted Class‑A war criminals, including Hideki Tojo. China immediately condemned it as "a spiritual tool of Japanese militarism."
Then, in the same week, Japan's parliament passed a historic revision of its "Three Principles on Defense Equipment Transfers." The new rules allow exports of finished weapons — including lethal ones — to certain countries not in active conflict. Within 24 hours, Tokyo announced a $7 billion deal to sell warship equipment to Australia. Japan is also selling equipment of war to the Philippines.
Japan's postwar constitution, Article 9, explicitly says the country "renounces war as a sovereign right" and will not maintain "land, sea, and air forces." For decades, Japan called itself a "peaceful nation." It told the world it had learned its lesson.
At the Shangri-La Dialogue of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro castigated those among us who are calling out Japan and hitting its tendency to militarize anew.
Gibo said, “We are witnessing the improper use of history, including the unfair vilification of Japan, to obscure one’s own misbehaviour at present. Japan certainly is a model citizen of the world…” Gibo here was hitting China, since the previous paragraph in this part of his speech was about the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corp. raid in Misamis Oriental.
A commentary from China Focus correctly pointed out:
“On one hand, top leaders honor the very architects of Japan's wartime aggression. On the other, Japan is quietly building a defense industry that can sell deadly weapons overseas. This isn't just about Australia. It's about Japan becoming a major arms exporter — for the first time since 1945.
“The official explanation is ‘national security and regional stability.’ But many in the region see a different picture: a Japan that wants to be a normal military power while still pretending the past doesn't matter.
“China's foreign ministry called it ‘a challenge to the outcomes of World War II.’ This week also marks 80 years since the Tokyo Trials began. The very war criminals convicted in those trials are still enshrined at Yasukuni. And now, on the same day, Japan unlocks its weapons export door.”
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