Two people walk by a statue in the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders Wednesday. Photo: CFP
China has lodged solemn representations over a Japanese official's denial of the Nanjing Massacre and supports Nanjing's decision to suspend all official exchanges with the Japanese city of Nagoya, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While meeting with the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Shinsuke Sugiyama, Luo Zhaohui, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian affairs department, expressed strong dissatisfaction Wednesday over a Japanese mayor's denial of the Nanjing Massacre, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Sugiyama said the mayor's statement was a "personal opinion" and did not represent the Japanese government's position. Japan is sincerely apologetic and is determined to adhere to a path of peaceful development, Sugiyama said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Wednesday that China will pay close attention to the matter. On Monday, Hong said that China hopes Japan "takes history as a mirror," urging Tokyo to properly deal with historical problems.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Wednesday that it was unable to deny the Japanese army's killing and robbing of non-combatants, that the government's stance had not deviated from the statement made by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in August 1995, and would follow the statement when dealing with historical incidents.
Kawamura Takashi, the mayor of Nagoya, told a Nanjing official, who led a delegation to the city, on Monday that he believes only "conventional acts of combat" took place there, not the mass murders and rapes. According to Japanese media, the Nanjing visitors responded modestly without making a strong protest, despite contradicting the claim.
Such reports sparked criticism of the delegation for not rebutting Kawamura immediately and not making strong protests against the Nagoya government.
The Nanjing government defended its officials Tuesday, saying that "the delegation responded to Kawamura's claims during their talks Monday in Nagoya" and decided to suspend official exchanges with Nagoya.
The Nagoya government Wednesday expressed its disappointment at Nanjing's decision and said the Japanese side would further contact Nanjing.
"Most Japanese are unclear about what happened during the invasion," said Yang Bojiang, the director of Japanese Studies under the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. "Kawamura's comment does not represent the mainstream view of Japanese society, but it represents the thoughts of some conservatives."
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