Japanese scholars call for return of Chinese relics looted during wartime

A group of Japanese scholars and civic activists has called on the government to confront its history of aggression and return Chinese cultural relics that were taken to Japan during wartime.

The appeal was made at a symposium held on Saturday in Tokyo by the Association for Promoting the Return of Chinese Cultural Relics, a civic organization advocating for the repatriation of Chinese artifacts and historical reconciliation between China and Japan.

Members of the organization at the event noted that a large number of cultural relics brought to Japan during wartime remain in the country today. While the Japanese government has long maintained that the origins of many of these artifacts are unclear, they argued that numerous items display distinct Chinese artistic characteristics and that questions remain over whether they entered Japan through legitimate channels, given the context of Japan's wars and overseas aggression.

The organization said it is currently urging the Japanese government to return several artifacts taken from China during wartime, including the Tang Dynasty Honglujing Stele.

Tsuguo Toukairin, vice chairman of the Tokyo Association of History Educators, told Xinhua that a number of European countries have in recent years advanced the return of cultural artifacts as part of efforts to reflect on their histories of colonialism and aggression, while similar awareness has yet to take root in Japan.

"Japan should face history squarely, acknowledge the mistakes it made in the past, and promote the return of cultural relics based on reflection on those mistakes," he said.

Akira Igarashi, a co-representative of the organization, said the issue is not simply whether a particular artifact should be returned, but whether Japan is willing to reexamine its modern history.

"In a sense, these relics are unsettling reminders of the past," Igarashi told Xinhua. "Continuing to possess them brings no benefit to Japan. The key question is how deeply Japanese society recognizes this."

The Honglujing Stele, erected in AD 714 during the Tang Dynasty, is regarded as important historical evidence that the Tang central government exercised authority over the northeastern region of China through the formal appointment of leaders of the Mohe ethnic group.

Before the end of April 1908, the Japanese garrison administration in Lyushun dismantled and transported the stele, along with a pavilion built in 1896 to protect it, and shipped them to Japan. For decades, concerned citizens and scholars in both China and Japan have called for the stele's return, but the Japanese government has yet to respond positively to those efforts.