Last week, I received an interesting invitation from an online television station. They wanted me to discuss whether the Japanese government should “formally apologize” to China regarding the incident on March 24 in which a young active-duty Self-Defense Forces officer trespassed onto the grounds of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo.

The program, Abema Prime, streams online every weekday night targeted at young viewers who don’t typically watch traditional television. They asked me to join a live debate with young liberal guests advocating that Japan should apologize. At first, I was unsure how to respond because I had mentally braced myself for an “away game,” meaning a hostile environment where I would be in the minority.

However, the overall tone of the program was more well-balanced than I had anticipated. Of the three guests including myself, two argued that “since active-duty Self-Defense Forces personnel were involved, the Japanese government should issue a formal apology; failing to do so would harm Japan’s national interests.” One was a 20-something person and the other was a liberal journalist, but the atmosphere was by no means hostile.

I countered by stating, “The current debate does not align with international standards,” as follows:

To begin with, the concept of “apology” in Japanese differs significantly from what an apology means outside of Japan. In Japanese, an apology carries........

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