China has urged Japan to face history squarely and reflect on its war crimes, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing Monday.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday sent a monetary offering to the Yasukuni Shrinein in Tokyo, a symbol of Japanese militarism and wartime aggression, for its autumn festival through senior officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
On the same day, land minister Tatsunori Ibayashi visited the notorious shrine, which honors 14 convicted Japanese Class-A war criminals from World War II, as did LDP election chief Yasutoshi Nishimura and a cross-party lawmakers' group.
"China firmly opposes and sternly condemns these negative developments on the Japanese side, and has lodged solemn representations and a strong protest with Japan. Yasukuni Shrine serves as a spiritual instrument and symbol of Japanese militarism and its wars of aggression. It enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals who bear grave responsibility for those wars. Japanese leaders and politicians are well aware of this, yet they still pay homage there -- a fact that exposes their deeply ingrained, erroneous perception of history, as well as their sinister intent to absolve war criminals, overturn the verdict on their past aggression, and pave the way for 'remilitarization'," Mao said.
"This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials. We once again solemnly demand that Japan face history squarely, reflect upon its culpability, cease its regressive actions regarding historical issues, and take concrete steps to earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community," she added.
Japan should face history squarely, reflect on war crimes: spokeswoman
