Guo Jiakun

We hope that Japan will take a hard look at its responsibility for the war crimes and draw lessons from history, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing on Wednesday, in response to media inquiry over Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's speech at the general debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, in which he shared his view on historical issues. 

China noted that Prime Minister Ishiba in his speech said that "No country can forge a path to a bright future unless it squarely faces history, and we must not again repeat the devastation of war," and that "the people of Asia showed a spirit of tolerance in accepting Japan after the war," Guo said. 

Meanwhile, we also noted that the speech did not mention "aggression" or "apology" and evaded Japan's responsibility as perpetrator of war, Guo said.  

Prime Minister Ishiba previously stated that Japan upholds the spirit of facing history squarely and looking to the future and keeps pursuing a path of peaceful development, and that Japan should reflect on history and remember the lessons so that Japan would not repeat past mistakes of war, said the spokesperson. 

Guo said that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. China maintains that to view and treat history correctly and to take concrete action of reflecting on and apologizing for the history of aggression is an important prerequisite for Japan's post-war return to the international community. 

It also matters to the political foundation of China-Japan relations, Japan's ties with neighboring countries, and Japan's global image, said Guo. 

Guo continued that in the China-Japan Joint Statement, it is clearly written that "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."

We hope that Japan will take a hard look at its responsibility for the war crimes and draw lessons from history. Japan needs to make a clean break with any move that seeks to whitewash or cover the history of aggression, follow the path of peaceful development, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the rest of the world through Japan's actions. This is the responsible thing to do for history, people and the future, the spokesperson said. 



Global Times