TOKYO, (Xinhua) — A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan said Saturday that Japanese political leaders’ latest moves involving the notorious Yasukuni Shrine constitute a serious challenge to the victorious outcomes of World War II and the post-war international order.
Responding to questions over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ritual offering to the war-linked shrine, as well as visits to the shrine by several cabinet ministers and senior politicians, the spokesperson said the Chinese side firmly opposes and severely condemns the moves, and has lodged solemn representations and a strong protest with the Japanese side.
The Yasukuni Shrine is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism’s foreign wars of aggression which enshrines 14 convicted Class-A war criminals who bear direct responsibility for the country’s war of aggression, the spokesperson said.
The relevant actions of Japanese officials and politicians openly stand in opposition to historical justice and human conscience, and seriously challenge the fruits of World War II and the post-war international order, the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, which lawfully convicted Class-A war criminals and upheld the outcomes of the World Anti-Fascist War.
Correctly acknowledging and deeply reflecting on Japan’s militarist past was an important prerequisite for the country’s return to the international community after the war, and also forms the political foundation for the establishment and development of China-Japan relations, the spokesperson said.
China urges the Japanese side to deeply reflect on its historical crimes, earnestly learn from history, honor its commitment to peaceful development, take real actions to break with militarism, halt dangerous moves toward “remilitarization,” and avoid placing itself in the defendant’s seat of history once again, the spokesperson said.
