Remembering history: China marks 89 years since start of whole-nation resistance against Japanese aggression

China on Tuesday marked the 89th anniversary of the Lugou Bridge Incident, also known as the July 7 Incident of 1937, which marked the start of the entire nation's resistance against Japanese aggression during World War II.

Following the incident in southwest Peiping (Beijing), the city was captured by the Japanese army on July 29, 1937. Over 10,000 civilians were killed or went missing during the fall of the city.

The fall of Peiping prompted the Chinese Kuomintang party and the Communist Party of China to join hands against the Japanese aggression, marking China's whole-nation resistance against the invasion, which was widely recognized as the main battlefield against Japanese imperialism and fascism during World War II.

Official data shows that more than 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians died during the war, accounting for nearly 8% of China's total population in 1928.

New evidence

This year also marks the 81st anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War as well as the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials.

Convened on May 3, 1946, the Tokyo Trials lasted for nearly three years and involved 818 court sessions, 419 witnesses, 4,336 pieces of evidence and more than 48,000 pages of trial records. The proceedings exposed Japan's grave war crimes, such as the Nanjing Massacre and the Bataan Death March, revealing the brutality and inhumanity of the Japanese military.

In recent days, newly released archival materials have provided further evidence of atrocities committed by the Japanese military during the war, highlighting the importance of preserving historical memory and learning from the past.

A report archived at the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Imperial Japanese Army in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, authored by Japanese military surgeon Tsutomu Saito, confirmed that in 1938, Japanese forces used blood drawn from horses, sheep, dogs, rabbits and chickens to conduct live experiments on 23 prisoners of war.

Moreover, historian Jin Chengmin's book "Black Box: Unit 731" was officially released on July 5 at the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army. The book presents previously unpublished archival materials that reveal the germ warfare crimes committed by the notorious Japanese Unit 731 during World War II.

Experts attending the book launch said the publication contributes to the study of wartime history and promotes evidence-based historical education among the public. They added that acknowledging documented facts and reflecting on wartime atrocities provide a foundation for justice and lasting peace.

Concerns over historical revisionism

However, efforts to preserve history have faced challenges. For decades, Japanese authorities have attempted to reshape narratives surrounding the country's wartime history.

In the latest batch of high school textbooks approved by Japan's education ministry for use from the 2027 academic year, certain history textbooks once again appear to downplay or deny Japan's wartime wrongdoing, including issues related to forced labor and "comfort women."

Kumiko Haba, professor emeritus at Aoyama Gakuin University, noted that the newly approved textbooks further reduce coverage of the Nanjing Massacre and the issue of "comfort women." She said efforts to revise history textbooks in Japan have accelerated over the past three decades.

Lyu Yaodong, a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said revising history textbooks has long been one of Japan's standard tactics for denying, downplaying and whitewashing its history of aggression. He added that outright denial of the history of aggression itself lies at the core of Japanese historical revisionism.

"When a generation is raised on a selectively edited version of history, its understanding of the brutality of war and a nation's responsibility for past actions is inevitably incomplete," Lyu said. Such efforts, he added, not only deprive younger generations of the opportunity to receive an accurate historical education, but also undermine Japanese society's ability to learn from history.

"Only by remembering history, resolutely opposing attempts to whitewash and overturn judgments on militarist aggression and crimes, and actively upholding the achievements of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War can the international community prevent efforts to erode the foundations of the postwar international order," Lyu said.