Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 19 (Reporters Feng Xinran and Wu Mengtong) Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on the 19th that distorting history and covering up crimes will not buy tolerance and trust. Japan should deeply reflect on its historical responsibilities, take concrete actions to completely break away from militarism, and truly follow the path of peace.
At the regular press conference that day, a reporter asked: Japan and Germany, both defeated countries in World War II, have completely different practices and effects in implementing trial results, reflecting on historical guilt, and carrying out national education. Recently, Germany launched a Nazi history query tool, which has been visited millions of times, once again triggering discussions about reflecting on Nazi crimes. There are rampant voices in Japan that deny the Tokyo Trial and even attempt to overturn the verdict. Some Japanese people lamented that they may be the last people who still remember the Tokyo Trial. How does China view this?
Guo Jiakun said that in the face of justice, some countries have sincerely reflected, made public apologies, comprehensively purged fascists, carried out extensive anti-Nazi education, and formed a legal system that strictly prohibits Nazi propaganda and severely punishes those who deny historical guilt, and has won the respect of the world. However, the Japanese government tried its best to avoid and downplay the "Murayama Statement" and "Kono Statement" that expressed remorse and apology for colonial aggression. It allowed right-wing forces to blatantly beautify war crimes and attempted to challenge the conclusions of the Tokyo Trial and overturn the history of aggression.
Guo Jiakun said that more than 80 years after its defeat, Japan has not completely liquidated the legacy of militarism. Instead, it enshrines the World War II war criminals who launched the aggressive war at the Yasukuni Shrine. This is a de facto "war criminals shrine" where many prime ministers and political figures have visited or paid sacrifices and paid sacrifices. Japan also did not fully and objectively reflect the history of aggression in its textbooks and establish the orientation of never fighting again. Instead, it created a so-called "victim" character and promoted a wrong view of the history of World War II. These wrong words and deeds challenge the victory of World War II and the post-war international order.
"Distorting history and covering up crimes cannot buy tolerance and trust. Japan should deeply reflect on its historical responsibilities, completely break away from militarism through practical actions, and truly follow the path of peace." He said.
