A Foreign Ministry spokesperson yesterday said the Japanese
government should match its words of remorse over Japan's
aggressive history with concrete action.
"We've noted Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's statement," Kong
Quan said, referring to an apology to the victims of Japan's past
aggression issued yesterday on the 60th anniversary of the end of
World War II.
Taking a serious and responsible attitude towards its
militaristic history serves Japan's long-term and fundamental
interests, he added.
But Kong said the visits by two Japanese cabinet ministers and a
group of lawmakers to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine yesterday, which
honors 14 Class-A war criminals amongst 2.5 million of Japan's war
dead, showed the politicians involved had seriously misjudged a key
issue.
He said that, as a country that was targeted by the Japanese
military, China strongly asked that the Japanese government
consider its history and stop doing things to hurt the feelings of
people affected by its previous military aggression.
Kong said Japan's "correct view" of its militaristic past was a
prerequisite for the country to gain trust from its Asian neighbors
and the international community. "It is also the political
foundation for improving Sino-Japanese ties."
Koizumi's statement, which his cabinet adopted earlier in the
day, was the first of its kind issued by a prime minister on the
actual anniversary since 1995, when then Prime Minister Tomiichi
Murayama apologized for Japan's past wrongdoings, the first time a
premier had done so.
"Our country has caused tremendous damage and pain to the
peoples of many countries, especially Asian countries, through
colonial rule and invasion. Humbly acknowledging such facts of
history, I once again reflect most deeply and offer apologies from
my heart as well as express my condolences to all the victims of
the last major war both in and out of the country," Koizumi
said.
Japanese Emperor Akihito also expressed hopes yesterday that
Japan would never again wage war.
"Looking back on history, I ardently hope that the horrors of
war will never be repeated," he said at a memorial service.
The same day, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura
underscored the importance of Japan and its Asian neighbors
establishing better ties.
Japan's education ministry's approval of a fact-distorting
history textbook that plays down the country's aggressive past, and
Koizumi's annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, have sparked strong
protests from countries including China and South Korea.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2005)