Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua said that he noticed German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Japan, echoing her persuasion to the Japanese government.

"Merkel's attitude is clear, and reflection on the dark history of the past is the precondition to really achieve peace after World War II," Cheng said, speaking at the two sessions in Beijing on Tuesday,

Cheng Yonghua, also a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is attending the committee's third annual session in Beijing.

He also remembered a saying from former President of West Germany Richard von Weizsäcker, who died in January this year, "Anyone who closes his eyes to the past is blind to the present," which Chancellor Merkel also mentioned during her stay in Japan.

"It shows that the German people have faced up to history and have taken responsibility, which should make Japanese government reconsider. As an invader in World War II, how should Japan prevent similar war from happening again in the future?"

The ambassador also mentioned in the Joint Statement of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China issued in 1972, which states, "The Japanese side is keenly conscious of the responsibility for the serious damage that Japan caused in the past to the Chinese people through war, and deeply reproaches itself," as well as the famous Murayama Statement by the former Prime Minister of Japan Tomiichi Murayam, who said "In the hope that no such mistake be made in the future, I regard, in a spirit of humility, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology. Allow me also to express my feelings of profound mourning for all victims, both at home and abroad, of that history."

"That was Japan's attitude and commitment to the international community after the war. I hope the current leader, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the Japanese government will honor the commitment, and demonstrate a clear attitude to the international community before the 70th anniversary of the ending of the World War II. Japan should reflect on the crime of invasion and murder committed by Japanese militarists. It should turn the page, prevent future war and maintain the peace," the ambassador said.

He added that China's relationship with Japan is like the relationship between Germany and France. "It is a relationship between victim and aggressor. If the aggressor never forgets his guilt and responsibility, the victim will feel comforted. If, alternatively, the aggressor doesn't want to admit the crime at all, the result will go the opposite way."

As for whether China and Japan can really become reconciled like Germany and France, the ambassador said that, "It depends on the Japanese side's actions and attitude in the future."

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