Little more than 20 days remain in 2022. The top news of the year may well be Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Whatever the stated reason, violating another country's sovereignty by force is unacceptable. A war that draws in so many civilians should be brought to an end as soon as possible.
Japan, too, has the experience of starting such a reckless war. Eighty-one years ago, on December 8, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the Pacific War began. At the standing exhibition "Japan's Path" at the National Archives near the Palaceside Building, the original promulgated Imperial rescript declaring war, "Declaration of War Against the United States and Britain," was on display. The rescript lists at length the reasons Japan felt compelled to go to war, yet still "whatever the reason, violating another country's sovereignty by force is unacceptable."
Today is the anniversary of the start of the Pacific War.