Russian Foreign Ministry urges Japan to fully recognize WWII outcomes, stop whitewashing wartime aggression

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Thursday urged Japan to fully recognize the outcomes of World War II and stop attempts to whitewash its history of aggression.

Zakharova said that at events marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's announcement of its unconditional surrender, the Japanese government has not only failed to publicly acknowledge its aggression in the Asia-Pacific region, sincerely apologize to the peoples of neighboring countries who suffered from it, and reaffirm its commitment to the pacifist provisions of its Constitution, but has instead continued to pursue a course of remilitarization, increasingly moving down a dangerous path.

"Japan's so-called whitewashing of its wartime crimes, revision of the fundamental principles of its Constitution, and renewed discussions on revising what it calls the 'Three Non-Nuclear Principles' are all taking place against a backdrop of distortion of historical facts," Zakharova said.

Zakharova said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks at the national memorial service for the war dead, her ritual offering at the Yasukuni Shrine and other gestures toward the shrine, as well as visits to the shrine by Japanese government officials including Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, were all manifestations of the country's remilitarization course.