Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning

China highly commend Russia's just action of defending historical truth, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday, in response to the report that Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia will keep revealing details of Japanese militarists' war crimes in World War II. 

The Russian Foreign Ministry website published Zakharova's comments. Zakharova said there is no statute of limitations for the atrocities committed by Japanese militarists, and the process of legally sanctioning those involved is still ongoing, adding that Russia will continue to expose the crimes of Japanese militarists and make them public.

Over the last century, Japanese militarists have kept launching aggression and expansion, committed untold crimes, and scourged humanity. After the war, however, the reckoning with Japanese militarism has not been completed. Right-wing forces in Japan are trying every means to gloss over the history of aggression, denying the Nanjing Massacre, the forced recruitment of "comfort women," forced labor and other crimes, and advancing the revision of history textbooks to change the verdict on the history of aggression, Mao said.

Mao pointed out that more than one sitting Japanese leader visited the Yasukuni Shrine, a spiritual symbol of militarism, and paid tribute to Class-A war criminals. Some politicians have stirred up tension, incited public sentiment, and exploited the situation to expand military buildup. After the war, the remnants of militarism have changed appearances, grown in the shadows, and even formed planned actions. They are posing new risks to peace and stability in Asia and beyond.

Only by remembering history, doing soul searching, and taking concrete actions to repent for and correct wrongdoings can a country create a better future and prevent the tragedy of war from repeating itself, Mao noted.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Tokyo trials. At the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, Japanese war criminals were tried. The culprits responsible for the death of people in victim countries were held accountable, international justice was upheld, and humanity's dignity was protected. It's also a strong warning to illicit attempts to revive militarism and launch aggression and expansion again. If Japanese right-wing forces continue their retrogressive moves, all justice-upholding countries and people have the right to hold Japan accountable for its historic crimes, Mao said.

Global Times