Nothing is more important and urgent task for Japan than to redeem the hideous crimes it committed against humanity in the first half of the last century, the article notes, and goes on:

It is quite natural for the criminals to admit the responsibility for their crimes and face a punishment for them and make apology and reparation to the victims from a legal and moral point of view.

Japan should no longer delay the settlement of its past even in the light of the international trend. It has become a trend in the international relations to feel responsibility for the past wrongdoings and make apology and reparation to the victims.

Japan is required to liquidate its past to live with clean conscience as a member of the international community. Japan was universally registered as an "enemy state" in the UN Charter when the Second World War was over but it has not yet shaken off this ill-fame.

Japan should properly settle its past if it wants to develop the relations of good neighborliness and friendship with other countries.

Now that cooperation and exchange are brisk among countries Japan's behavior of evading the settlement of its past would only precipitate its isolation and destruction.

For Japan to honestly admit its wrongdoings and fully redress them is the only way of getting rid of guilty conscience.

Whether Japan will be able to live with clean conscience as a member of the international community or not depends on its attitude.