Editor's note: Xu Yongzhi is a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On January 12, when Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited Hawaii in the United States, he made a special trip to lay flowers at the tomb of Hirofumi Mikami – an act that aroused astonishment.

A thorough understanding of the historical context would tell us that this seemingly ordinary memorial ceremony is, in fact, another dangerous attempt by Japan's right-wing forces to distort the history of World War II and glorify its aggressive acts.

During World War II, as U.S. forces were on the verge of capturing Iwo Jima, Rear Admiral Rinosuke Ichimaru of the Imperial Japanese Navy wrote a suicide note titled "A Note to Roosevelt" and entrusted Hirofumi Mikami, a Japanese soldier born in Hawaii, to translate it into English. Later, both Ichimaru and Mikami lost their lives in the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the translated manuscript was seized by U.S. troops.

What exactly does the "Note to Roosevelt" say? The letter was written from the perspective of the "Kōkoku Shikan" (meaning the 'imperial view of history'), which denied and glorified Japan's aggression. "Kōkoku Shikan" is a fallacious historical narrative fabricated by Japan's militarist forces to provide a "theoretical basis" for aggression and colonial expansion.

Specifically, the letter was riddled with three major fallacies.

First, it attempted to legitimize Japan's foreign aggression. The letter claimed that the actions of the Japanese invading forces were meant to "take up arms" and "support the Imperial doctrine" – in other words, to put into practice the political slogan of "hakkō ichiu" (meaning "all the world under one roof"), which depicted Japan's invasion of neighboring countries as an effort to allow all nations to enjoy "benevolent governance" and attempted to justify the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Second, the "Note to Roosevelt" blamed the Allies for waging war against Japan. The letter denounced the United States' motive for entering the war as a pursuit of "unending imperialism," accusing it of "nipping in the bud the movement for the freedom of the suppressed nations of the East." The letter even asserted that if it were not for sabotage by the United States, the "Greater East Asia War" launched by Japan would have brought about "the birth of the East Asia Co-Prosperity Area."

Third, the letter defended German Nazism, accusing the United States of "slandering Hitler's program and cooperating with Soviet Russia."

Judging from this letter, even as Japanese militarism was on the verge of collapse, Ichimaru showed no remorse or reflection on Japan's aggression. Instead, he clung to the belief that the Japanese nation was superior to other Asian nations and possessed the right to rule over them. In practical terms, Ichimaru used this letter to urge his subordinates to fight to the last man.

As this letter closely aligned with the narrative promoted by Japan's right-wingers to glorify aggressive wars, it has been hailed as a "treasure" by them since the 1990s. Numerous related reports and books have since been published in Japan.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense explicitly listed this flower-laying ceremony as part of Defense Minister Koizumi's official itinerary. This makes it clear that the ceremony was a deliberate act. One cannot help but ask: What message does it send? Do Japan's ruling authorities still endorse the "Kōkoku Shikan," believing that Japan's war of aggression during World War II was "justifiable," that China's resistance was a "misunderstanding of Japan's goodwill," and that U.S. resistance was "motivated by impure intentions?"

The historical logic behind this is chilling. If soldiers who participated in acts of aggression can be commemorated in such a manner and portrayed as "admirable heroes worthy of remembrance," how can justice be restored for the tens of millions of victims in Asian countries invaded by Japan during World War II?

Even more alarming is the fact that this ceremony attended by Defense Minister Koizumi was by no means an unintentional personal act. Rather, it exposed the systematic distortion of World War II history by Japan's right-wingers.

History brooks no revision. When Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hinted that the Self-Defense Forces could intervene militarily in the Taiwan Straits and refused to retract her remarks, China must ask: Does Japan intend to retake the path of aggression and allow the painful lessons of history to repeat themselves?

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