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Members of four Japanese peace groups gathered hereMonday to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the beginning of China's eight-year anti-Japanese war, expressing their aspiration for peace and friendship.
Nobuo Okimatsu, representative director of "the 815 Japan-China Friendship Association," said at the event held in the Chinese embassy here "Proper understanding of history starts from facing up to the past."
The former Kamikaze suicide attacker said that there has been increasing noise within the Japanese society of denying the country's history of aggression, which is deeply rooted in failure to understand the cause of its defeat in the war of aggression and conduct some real reflection on that war.
In 1937 at Lugou Bridge, Japanese troops attacked Chinese defenders in the nearby fortress town of Wanping, marking the beginning of the eight-year anti-Japanese War. Seventy-seven years, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe refused to reflect on history, but lifted the self-imposed ban on Japan's collective self-defense, threatening todrag the country into possible war.
"Abe lacks international common sense. If he continues the current dangerous path, I am really concerned that Japan would repeat its failure," Okimatsu said.
Addressing the event, Chinese ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua said "Using history as a mirror and looking forward into the future are the basic principle for developing a healthy China- Japan relationship. In recent years, Japan has attempted to dilute its history and even whitewash its war crimes. Those moves, together with its ambition to enhance military power, prompt people question Japan's true intention."
A chorus composed of members from "The Society to Carry on the Miracle at Fushun" sang 12 anti-war songs during the event. The head of the chorus, Mitsuyoshi Himeda, also chairman of the society, said what his group is doing is more than just singing, but reflecting on history and cherishing peace.
