China urges Japan to do serious soul-searching, make a clean break with militarism, and truly embark on the path for peace, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Tokyo Trials and the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of the Nuremberg Trials. While Japan and Germany are both defeated World War II belligerents, they differ greatly in terms of implementing the trial verdict, repenting over war crimes and educating the public, noted Guo.
"In the face of justice, there are those who have truly repented, openly apologized, held the fascists fully accountable, launched nationwide anti-Nazi education, formed a legal system that bans Nazi propaganda and severely punishes any denial of history, and thus won the respect of the world. The Japanese government, however, has been shying away from the verdict of justice and history, including casting aside the Murayama Statement and the Kono Statement that express remorse and apologies for Japan's colonial aggression. The Japanese government even abets right-wing forces' whitewashing of the war crimes in a bid to challenge the judgment of the Tokyo Trials and reverse the verdict on Japan's history of aggression," said the spokesman.
"Eighty years on since its defeat, Japan still hasn't fully remove the pernicious influence of militarism that still haunts the Japanese society as well as the government. Instead, Japan's Class-A war criminals who launched the war of aggression are worshiped in the Yasukuni war shrine to which many Japanese prime ministers and officials pay tribute, and send ritual offering or monetary donation. To this day, school textbooks in Japan fail to present its history of aggression as it is, nor do they seek to establish a 'no-more-war' mindset. Instead, they portray Japan as a 'victim' and instill a wrong view of World War II history. This is clearly a challenge to the outcomes of World War II and the postwar international order," said Guo.
"Distorting history and covering up crimes will not bring forgiveness or trust. Japan needs to do serious soul-searching, make a clean break with militarism, and truly embark on the path for peace," he said.
China urges Japan to make clean break with militarism: spokesman
