Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Moscow, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) — Japan's revisionist narratives about the events of World War II are poisoning the historical consciousness of the younger generation of Japanese and distorting the collective memory of humanity, according to an opinion piece by Chinese Consul General in Yekaterinburg Luo Shixiong published Wednesday in the Russian newspapers Sovetskaya Sibir (Novosibirsk Region) and Omskaya Pravda (Omsk Region).
“In recent years, revisionist narratives that deny, distort, and sometimes even embellish the country’s history of aggression during World War II have become increasingly vocal in Japan. Four typical fallacies — the so-called “end of the war,” “sacrifice,” “proactive pacifism,” and “break with history” — have systematically poisoned the historical consciousness of the younger generation of Japanese people, distorted the collective memory of humanity, and caused serious negative consequences that cannot be ignored,” the publication notes.
As the Chinese Consul General stated, the narrative of “the end of the war,” which has come to dominate Japanese conservative media in recent years instead of the formulation “defeat in the war,” is self-deception. “But if Japan was not defeated, why did it surrender unconditionally? Replacing “defeat” with “end of the war” blurs the essence of the results of the war. Doesn’t this indicate an unwillingness to admit its guilt and intentions to repeat the same mistake?” the diplomat asks.
He cited historical facts, according to which Emperor Showa /Hirohito/ made a radio address on surrender on August 15, 1945. On September 2, 1945, the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender took place in Tokyo Bay on board the American battleship Missouri. Representatives of nine victorious countries, including China, signed the document. The verdict of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East also confirmed that “Japan signed the instrument of unconditional surrender on September 2, 1945, recognizing the complete failure of its military actions.” “The historical fact of Japan’s defeat in World War II is irrefutable and cannot be revised,” Luo Shixiong emphasized.
The Chinese diplomat called the tendency to present Japan's external aggression as "self-defense," the desire to present the incidents of September 18, 1931 and July 7, 1937 as "accidental conflicts," as well as the denial of such historical facts as the Nanjing Massacre, the crimes of Unit 731, and the forced recruitment of "comfort women," a distortion of the truth. "The facts of Japanese aggression and the war crimes it committed are historical facts that are not subject to dispute. At the same time, the Japanese people themselves were largely victims of militarism," Luo Shixiong said, recalling that the trial of Japanese war criminals lasted 2 years and 7 months, 419 witnesses were heard, 779 written testimonies and 4,336 pieces of material evidence were considered.
As for the revision of the Peace Constitution, which establishes the principle of refraining from building up a military force and waging war, under the pretext of a policy of “proactive pacifism” and the need for Japan to “intervene more actively and proactively in international affairs,” according to Luo Shixiong, this is a deception under a plausible pretext. He cited the Report on the Arms Race in Northeast Asia, published by the International Crisis Group in 2024, which notes that Japan’s actions could “upset the strategic balance in East Asia and trigger a chain reaction.” “The essence of Japan’s behavior, which is covering up the real ‘military buildup’ with fake ‘peace’, is an attempt to remove post-war international restrictions on its military activities, which could lead to the revival of militarism under the guise of pacifism,” the consul general noted, adding that in recent years, Japan has again resorted to old tricks, interfering in China’s internal affairs and declaring that “Taiwan’s problems are Japan’s problems.”
Luo Shixiong also pointed to Japan’s attempts to shirk responsibility for the war and sever ties with history. To this end, in recent years, textbooks have been constantly rewritten, history has been distorted, and facts have been turned upside down, which has misled the historical perception of the Japanese people. “State guilt cannot be severed, and historical obligations cannot be changed,” the Chinese diplomat emphasized. He warned that using the rhetoric of “intergenerational responsibility gap” to shirk state responsibility and disconnect from history creates fertile ground for repeating the mistakes of the past.
The PRC Consul General in Yekaterinburg called on the international community to remain vigilant in relation to such rhetoric from Japan and not to allow the tragic pages of history to be “rewrapped in a new wrapper.” “Only joint defense of historical truth can preserve justice and fairness,” he concluded. –0–
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