Recalling conscience: Japan urged to confront its history of aggression with honesty

Scholars and officials from Japan, Germany and Russia have called on the Japanese government and society to face the truth of history and prevent the repetition of the mistakes of military aggression.

A civil group from Saitama Prefecture, Japan, organized a study session to educate the Japanese public about the historical truth of the Nanjing Massacre on Saturday. Attendants at the session all stressed the importance of remembering and facing Japan's past history in the time, especially as the year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

One of the attendants told China Media Group (CMG) that "it is crucial for us to critically examine Japan's past history, and spreading the correct historical narrative has become even more important.”

In an interview with CMG, Japanese scholar Yoichi Jomaru, a former journalist with Asahi Shimbun, said a systematic review of historical reports from Japanese newspapers around 1937 reveals that journalists deliberately concealed the truth about the Nanjing Massacre and other atrocities committed by the Japanese army during the invasion of China.

"Even if it is a brutal and shameful part of history, we cannot deny the Nanjing Massacre, nor can we deny history," Jomaru said.

Jomaru added that Japan can only achieve genuine understanding and trust with its Asian neighbors if it faces its history of aggression and honestly acknowledges its wartime responsibilities.

As for Jomaru, one of Japan's major failures after the war was the lack of a widespread societal consensus on the nature of its aggressive wars.

While attending the 12th national memorial day at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing City, east China's Jiangsu Province, Yasuharu Nogawa, professor of Kanazawa University, told CGTN that Japan's history must not only include the suffering such as air raids and atomic bombings, but also the history of its role as a perpetrator of aggression against China and other Asian nations. He added that this is a history that must be learned.

Thomas Rabe, the grandson of John Rabe, who established a safety zone and saved countless civilians during the Nanjing Massacre, posted a video on Saturday, saying that there has been no clear official apology (from the Japanese government) to China exclusively for the Nanjing Massacre.

Noting multiple international academic institutions and historians classify the Nanjing Massacre as a crime against humanity, Rabe said that as a member of the Rabe family, to carry on the legacy of his grandfather, he has established six John Rabe Communication Centers around the world to continue helping people in need globally.

He also called on people worldwide to join hands together and fulfill their responsibilities for a more peaceful and beautiful tomorrow for humanity.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a regular press briefing on Thursday that the Nanjing Massacre has become a symbol of the inhumanity and barbarity of Japanese militarism.

The irrefutable historical truth about the events in Nanjing was legally established and codified in the verdicts of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal in 1947. These rulings, along with the decisions of the Nuremberg Tribunal, form the unshakeable foundation of the post-war world order and modern international law, said Zakharova.