Watanabe laments the fact that after Japanese war criminals were tried by the Tokyo Tribunal of 1951, “No efforts were made in the name of Japan or the Japanese people to look into where responsibility for the war rested.” As a result, “there can be no genuinely honest and friendly dialogue with those countries that suffered considerable damage and casualties in the wars with Japan.”
渡部感到痛心，那就是在1951年东京特别法庭审判了日本的战争罪犯之后，“没有人以日本或日本民众的名义对调查谁应该对这场负责”。其结果是，“我们与那些在与日本的战争中遭受巨大损失和人员伤亡的国家无法进行真诚和友好的对话。”事实上，也许正是《读卖新闻》的报道，日本新任首相安倍晋三在当选后马上去了中国以寻求改善双边关系。