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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
Beijing, December 22 (Xinhua) — Eighty years ago, the Great Victory in the World Anti-Fascist War was achieved. At the cost of tens of millions of lives, humanity defeated the fascist forces, defended human civilization, and, on the ruins of war, built a post-war international order, with the United Nations at its core, in hopes of preventing future disasters.
Yet, as the world celebrates the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great War, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to buck the tide of history. Speaking to the Japanese Diet, she linked the "situation threatening Japan's existence" to "problems in Taiwan," which could imply the use of military force against China.
Sanae Takaichi's statements have caused widespread shock and concern. They represent not only gross interference in China's internal affairs but also an open challenge to the post-war international order, sending an extremely dangerous and deeply flawed message to the world.
All who value peace are convinced that any attempts to whitewash the history of aggression, destroy the post-war order, or revive militarism will meet with resolute opposition from the international community and will inevitably fail. The will of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering, and their determination to uphold the hard-won victory in the World Anti-Fascist War is unshakable.
INDISPUTABLE HISTORICAL FACTS
Among the exhibits at the Nanjing Museum in eastern China's Jiangsu Province is an antique glass-cased wall clock, the hour and minute hands frozen at the fateful 9 o'clock position. The inscription on the dial reads: "The clock used at the Japanese surrender ceremony in the China Theater."
The signing ceremony took place in Nanjing on September 9, 1945. Yasuji Okamura, then commander-in-chief of the Japanese Expeditionary Force in China, presented the official Instrument of Surrender to Chinese representatives. Seven days earlier, on the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, then-Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu also signed a similar document, surrendering Japan to the Allies, including China.
Japan's defeat was a key historical event that led to the establishment of the post-war international order, which enshrined Taiwan's return to China.
Taiwan has been part of China's sacred territory since ancient times. In 1894, Japan started the First Sino-Japanese War and later forced the Qing Dynasty government to sign the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki, which led to Japan's 50-year colonization of Taiwan—the darkest chapter in the island's history, marked by countless atrocities.
In December 1943, China, the United States, and Great Britain issued the Cairo Declaration, which stipulated that all territories stolen from China by Japan, including Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, were to be returned to China. The word "returned" signified both a recognition of historical facts and a determination of Taiwan's legal status as originally belonging to China.
In July 1945, the three countries signed the Potsdam Declaration, which was later recognized by the Soviet Union. It contained the following provision: "The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be fulfilled, and Japan's sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and such minor islands as we shall determine."
This legally binding document provided an unshakable legal basis for the return of Taiwan to Chinese jurisdiction. In its surrender documents, Japan pledged to "faithfully fulfill the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration."
On October 25 of that year, the Chinese government announced it was resuming sovereignty over Taiwan, and a ceremony was held in Taipei to accept Japan's surrender in Taiwan Province, part of the Chinese theater of operations. From that moment on, China reclaimed Taiwan de jure and de facto through a series of internationally binding documents.
In October 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly, by an overwhelming majority, adopted Resolution 2758, which resolved to restore the People's Republic of China in all its rights and to recognize representatives of its government as the sole legitimate representatives of China in the UN.
This resolution once and for all settled the political, legal, and procedural issues of representation for all of China, including Taiwan, in the UN. It clearly states that China occupies only one seat at the UN; there are no "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan."
The one-China principle not only became an international consensus but also laid the political foundation for the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations. The 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement explicitly states that "the Government of Japan recognizes the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China" and that "the Government of the People's Republic of China confirms that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. The Government of Japan fully understands and respects this position of the Government of the People's Republic of China and firmly adheres to its position in accordance with Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration."
This position was unequivocally reaffirmed in three subsequent political documents signed by China and Japan. It is a solemn promise made by Japan to China, and also an international obligation that Japan must fulfill as a defeated country in World War II.
Sanae Takaichi's provocative remarks regarding Taiwan, made shortly after taking office as prime minister, marked the first in a series of negative statements by a Japanese leader since the end of World War II. Specifically, it was the first statement made by a Japanese leader since Japan's defeat in 1945 at an official event, declaring that "Taiwan's problems are Japan's problems" and linking this to the exercise of the right to collective self-defense; the first statement declaring Japan's readiness to intervene militarily in the Taiwan issue; and the first statement threatening to use military force against China.
Such provocative statements grossly violate international law and the basic norms of international relations, seriously undermine the post-war international order, and run counter to the spirit of the one-China principle and the Four Political Documents signed by China and Japan. They also seriously damage the political foundation of Sino-Japanese relations and deeply insult the Chinese people.
The so-called "San Francisco Peace Treaty" referred to by Sanae Takaichi was signed in the absence of key World War II participants, such as the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union, with the aim of concluding a separate peace agreement with Japan. This document contradicts the provision on non-concluding separate armistices or peace with enemies contained in the UN Declaration of Independence, signed in 1942 by 26 states, including China, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. This "treaty" also violates the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of international law.
Historical facts cannot be changed. Taiwan's status as an integral part of China is clearly documented, verifiable, and legally based. It will not change over time or be undermined by political manipulation.
Japan must recall its history of aggression, reflect deeply on its crimes, and offer a sincere apology. Sanae Takaichi's erroneous statements about Taiwan in the context of an "existential situation" and her threat of military intervention openly call into question the results of Victory in World War II, essentially constituting nothing more than a denial of the postwar international order and an attempt to revive Japanese militarism.
THE GHOST OF MILITARISM
The fact that Japan never shed its militaristic ideology in the postwar period led to the emergence of figures like Sanae Takaichi. For decades, Japan's right-wing forces have continually attempted to revive their agenda.
Following Japan's defeat and surrender in World War II, the country that had been the primary instigator of aggression was required to completely break with its militaristic past. The Potsdam Declaration clearly stated that "the power and influence of those who deceived and misled the Japanese people into pursuing a course of world conquest must be permanently eliminated."
However, with the onset of the Cold War, Washington's policy toward Japan fundamentally shifted, moving from weakening and demilitarizing Japan to supporting and remilitarizing it. As a result, Japanese militarism was not completely eradicated. The policy aimed at purging militarists from the political, economic, and social spheres was also suspended, allowing many wartime criminals to return to power.
According to Atsushi Koketsu, professor emeritus at Yamaguchi University, Japan's post-war political system was partly created by those who once waged a war of conquest, and their influence is still felt today.
As a result, right-wing forces have gained a foothold in Japan. For decades, they have been promoting a revival of militarism, denying Japan's aggressive history, and liberating itself from the constraints of the post-war international order.
Their efforts manifest themselves in such actions as visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, which since 1978 has become a symbol of glorification of Japan's war of conquest. Sanae Takaichi herself has publicly called the Yasukuni Shrine a "shrine of peace" and has visited it almost every year in recent years.
For years, Japan's right-wing, manipulating education and public opinion, has been promoting historical revisionism to whitewash wartime crimes. They claim that Japan started the war for "self-defense." They also attempt to discredit the acknowledgement of war crimes, calling it a "masochistic view of history." In 1997, right-wing scholars founded the Japan Society for History Textbook Reform, which, in conjunction with right-wing politicians, began revising textbooks. The term "invasion" was replaced with "advancement" or "entry," while brutal war crimes, including the Nanjing Massacre and the forced recruitment of "comfort women," were labeled "questionable."
At the same time, right-wing forces are seeking any opportunity to "free" the Japanese military. The cornerstone of Japan's pacifist constitution is Article 9, which denies the country the right to engage in war or resort to military force to resolve international conflicts. For decades, this article has been a key constraint on Japan's military efforts.
However, right-wing groups are tirelessly working to undermine the provisions of this article. After the Gulf War, Japan sent minesweepers to the region, marking the first overseas deployment of the Self-Defense Forces. During the war in Afghanistan, Japan sent naval vessels to supply fuel to the US Army. During the Iraq War, Self-Defense Forces personnel were deployed to Iraqi territory…
The scope of Japan's military continues to expand, steadily eroding the principles of its pacifist constitution. This trend has noticeably intensified under the Shinzo Abe administration. In 2015, the Japanese government passed a new security law allowing Japan to engage in collective self-defense when countries "closely related to Japan" are attacked. This created the legal basis for Japan to shift from a defensive to an offensive strategy.
Today, Sanae Takaichi, the self-proclaimed political heir to Shinzo Abe, is attempting to exploit this already dangerous interpretation and make it even more dangerous for Japan and the region. Until Japan confronts its persistent legacy with honesty and moderation, the specter of militarism will continue to permeate its policies, with consequences that extend far beyond its borders.
Sanae Takaichi's political rise has been fueled by the toxic soil of historical revisionism. By questioning Tomiichi Murayama's statement, considered Japan's most profound apology for its atrocities before and during World War II, denying the Nanjing Massacre, and glorifying militaristic symbols, she has aligned herself with groups that refuse to break with Japan's aggressive past. Even more disturbing, Sanae Takaichi once posed for a photo with the leader of a Japanese neo-Nazi group, as reported by local media.
For decades, Japanese right-wing politicians like Sanae Takaichi have stubbornly clinged to a century-old worldview, unable or unwilling to transcend the thinking that once fueled Japan's aggression. Their position on China is determined not by facts and current events, but by nostalgia for imperialist ambitions, denial of wartime atrocities, and disregard for the serious commitments Japan made in normalizing relations with China.
The Sanae Takaichi administration also appears to be seeking to use a confrontational foreign policy to distract attention from domestic problems such as minority rule, waning support for the Liberal Democratic Party, and dissatisfaction with governance.
Under the influence of numerous factors, Sanae Takaichi has accelerated the implementation of her dangerous plans. Not only has she made reckless statements regarding Taiwan, but she has also insisted on a sharp increase in defense spending, sought to revise key security documents, attempted to further ease arms export restrictions, hinted at the development of nuclear submarines, and even proposed revising Japan's three non-nuclear principles.
In the face of obvious historical and legal facts, she refuses to acknowledge her mistakes or renounce her errors; on the contrary, she exacerbates them. This fully demonstrates that her statements about Taiwan were not a momentary oversight, but a deliberate expression of political intentions. Some insightful people in Japan have noted that Sanae Takaichi is making at least two fatal errors.
First, she misperceives the international situation. As an editorial in the Asahi Shimbun aptly noted, at a time when the US is seeking to stabilize its relations with China, Sanae Takaichi's statements "lack a broader perspective," undermining the foundations of Japanese diplomacy. Other commentators argue that the Japanese prime minister is attempting to hold the US hostage to her risky agenda and force it to pay, which amounts to nothing less than a dangerous political gamble.
Secondly, Sanae Takaichi underestimates China's resolve. The Taiwan issue lies at the heart of China's core interests and is a red line that must not be crossed. By challenging China's core interests, it will face a firm and decisive response from the Chinese side.
UNREDEEMED WAR CRIMES
China's harsh reaction is unsurprising. The rhetoric of an "existential crisis" is well known to the Chinese people. Japanese imperialists used a similar pretext to launch a 14-year war of conquest against China. In 1931, Japanese militarists, declaring that "Manchuria and Mongolia were vital to Japan," staged the September 18 Incident (Mukden Incident) and occupied northeast China. In 1937, they repeated this tactic, triggering the July 7 Incident (Lugou Bridge Incident) and unleashing a full-scale war of conquest against China.
Sanae Takaichi's recent statements evoke alarming associations with the rhetoric used by the Japanese military on the eve of World War II. Back then, Tokyo's aggression was justified by the claim that "Manchuria and Mongolia were vital to Japan." Today, the narrative that "problems in Taiwan will also be problems for Japan" is becoming an attempt to incorporate Chinese Taiwan into Japan's "security perimeter." Such dangerous moves exude a spirit of militarism.
By downplaying the scale of their own military aggression while simultaneously exaggerating the significance of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan's right-wing forces are trying to portray themselves not as aggressors, but as victims.
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East has long since issued a clear assessment: Japan committed crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. As Telford Taylor, one of the key prosecutors at the Nuremberg Trials, noted, the nuclear bombings ended the war, for which the Japanese government bore direct responsibility.
Nevertheless, right-wing groups in Japan continue to promote the lie that the country sought to "liberate Asia" and create a "Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere." History shows that their "co-prosperity" meant mass murder, looting, forced labor, and cultural pillage. In China alone, 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded during the war, not to mention the countless cities and towns reduced to rubble and the tens of millions of people forced to flee their homes during Japanese aggression.
By attempting to avoid responsibility for war crimes, Japan is effectively shirking its obligations clearly enshrined in international law. Whether it's Shinzo Abe, who declared that "the burden of constant apologies cannot be the eternal fate" of the Japanese people, or Sanae Takaichi, who is actively seeking to free herself from the constraints of the post-war international order, all these politicians are seeking to evade historical responsibility.
After World War II, German leaders took concrete steps to compensate victims and educate future generations to understand the country's military past. As former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder stated, a balanced and self-critical approach to history deserves respect.
On December 1, the German government announced its intention to erect a memorial to Polish victims of the Nazi regime. During recent talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated that the memory of World War II is not a closed chapter, but an ongoing responsibility.
"The past is never over," he said, adding that the process of comprehending history "will never be completed" and that Germany acknowledges its historical responsibility.
History shows that denying or justifying aggression has a profoundly negative impact on a country's future. How can a country that refuses to acknowledge its history gain the trust and respect of the international community?
CHINA'S COMMITMENT TO PEACE AND JUSTICE
Clearly, Japan, which refuses to truly reassess its past while simultaneously accelerating its military buildup, risks once again becoming a source of instability in the region. Sanae Takaichi's reactionary stance has already drawn sharp criticism both domestically and internationally.
In Japan, Sanae Takaichi's abandonment of her postwar commitment to peace and her violation of public consensus are heightening public concern that the country could repeat past mistakes and be plunged into the flames of war. Several former Japanese prime ministers have openly criticized Sanae Takaichi for crossing boundaries, while many lawmakers and public groups are questioning her qualifications as prime minister. Scholars and media outlets are warning that her reckless actions could lead to Japan's diplomatic isolation and damage the country's economy.
At the regional level, the dangerous actions of the Sanae Takaichi government are undermining the post-war international order that has long guaranteed lasting peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region. Countries including Russia, the Republic of Korea, and Myanmar have criticized the Japanese prime minister.
On the global stage, Sanae Takaichi's comments linking Japan's "existentially threatening situation" to the Taiwan issue have revived the international community's painful memories of militarism. As Australian Citizens Party Chairman Robert Barwick noted, Sanae Takaichi's statements undermine "both Japan's security and the security of the entire region."
The world today bears little resemblance to the world of the past, and China today is no longer what it was a century ago.
The Chinese people have always cherished peace and remain committed to the peaceful reunification of the country. However, on important issues concerning national sovereignty and territorial integrity, China will never make concessions or compromises. Any attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs or impede its national reunification will be resolutely rebuffed.
Eighty years ago, facing Japanese militarism, the Chinese people fought for the survival of their state, the rebirth of their nation, and the just cause of humanity. Today, China is even more capable and determined to preserve the hard-won peace.
Peace and development are the prevailing trends of our time and the common aspiration of all peoples. As a founding member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is determined to stand firmly on the right side of history. Together with all countries and people committed to peace, China will uphold the post-war international order, defend the victory of World War II, and ensure that the banner of peace and justice continues to fly high.
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