Clearly, a Japan that refuses to truly reflect on its past while accelerating military expansion risks again becoming a source of regional volatility.
BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wrongfully claimed in early November that a "Taiwan contingency" could constitute a so-called "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, she has provoked a diplomatic crisis with China.
China's strong reaction comes as no surprise. The rhetoric of "survival-threatening crisis" is all too familiar to the Chinese people. Japanese imperialist aggressors used similar pretext to launch a 14-year-long war of aggression against China. In 1931, Japanese militarists, by claiming that "Manchuria and Mongolia are Japan's lifeline," staged the September 18 Incident to occupy Northeast China. In 1937, they repeated the tactic with the July 7 Incident, launching a full-scale war of aggression against China.
Recent remarks by Takaichi bear an alarming resemblance to the rhetoric used by Japan's military establishment before World War II. Back then, the claim that "Manchuria and Mongolia are Japan's lifeline" was used as a pretext for aggression by Tokyo. Today, the rhetoric of "a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency" attempts to pull China's Taiwan into Japan's so-called "security perimeter." Such dangerous moves reek of militarism.
By downplaying Japan's wartime aggression while amplifying the impact of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the country's right-wing forces attempt to recast themselves from perpetrators into victims.
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East made it clear long ago: Japan initiated crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. As Telford Taylor, a key prosecutor at the International War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremberg, stated, the atomic bombings ended a war for which Japan's government bore direct responsibility.
However, the right-wing groups in Japan still try to sell a lie that the country was trying to "liberate Asia" and build a "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." History shows that their "co-prosperity" means mass killings, plunder, forced labor and cultural looting. In China alone, 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed or injured in the war, not to mention countless cities and towns reduced to rubbles and tens of millions more displaced during the Japanese aggression.
By trying to dodge its war crimes, Japan is evading obligations clearly defined under international law. Whether it be Abe's claim that the Japanese "can no longer bear the fate of continuing to apologize" or Takaichi's intensified push to break away from the post-war international order, these Japanese politicians are struggling to evade historical responsibility.
After World War II, German leaders have taken concrete steps to compensate victims and educate future generations about Germany's wartime past. As former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder noted, confronting history with prudence and self-reflection wins respect.
On December 1, the German government announced it would build a memorial to Polish victims of Nazi rule. During recent talks with visiting 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 never ends," said Merz, noting that remembering and coming to terms with history "will never be complete," and Germany stands by its historical responsibility.
History shows that denying or whitewashing aggression will cast a tremendous negative effect on a country's future. How can a nation that refuses to acknowledge its history ever gain the trust or respect of the international community?
Clearly, a Japan that refuses to truly reflect on its past while accelerating military expansion risks again becoming a source of regional volatility. The regressive posture of Takaichi has already provoked strong criticism from both inside and beyond the country.
In Japan, Takaichi's abandonment of the nation's postwar commitment to peace and her disruption of the social consensus have heightened public concern that the country may once again repeat past mistakes and be drawn into the flames of war. Several former prime ministers have openly criticized her for overstepping boundaries, while multiple lawmakers and civic groups have questioned her qualifications to serve as prime minister. Scholars and media outlets have warned that her reckless actions risk isolating Japan diplomatically and damaging its economy.
At the regional level, the dangerous moves of the Takaichi administration have undermined the postwar international order that has long safeguarded lasting peace and development in the Asia-Pacific. Countries including Russia, South Korea and Myanmar have voiced criticism.
On the global stage, Takaichi's remarks linking a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan to the Taiwan question have once again stirred the international community's painful memories of militarism. As noted by Australian Citizens Party's National Chairman Robert Barwick, Takaichi's remarks undermine "both Japan's security, and the security of the entire region."
The world today bears little resemblance to that of the past, and China today is no longer what it used to be a century ago.
The Chinese people have always cherished peace and remain committed to striving for peaceful reunification. However, on major issues concerning national sovereignty and territorial integrity, China will never yield or compromise. Any attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs or obstruct its national reunification will be met with decisive countermeasures.
Eighty years ago, faced with Japanese militarism, the Chinese people fought for national survival, national rejuvenation and the cause of human justice. Today, China is even more capable and more determined to safeguard the hard-won peace.
Peace and development are the prevailing trends of the time and the shared aspiration of all peoples. As a founding member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China will firmly stand on the right side of history. Together with all nations and peoples committed to peace, China will safeguard the postwar international order, defend the victory of World War II, and ensure that the banner of peace and justice continues to fly high.■
