TOKYO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Several Japanese civil groups jointly held a memorial rally on Tuesday in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, to commemorate the 89th anniversary of the July 7 Incident and called on the government to squarely face history.
On July 7, 1937, Japanese soldiers attacked Chinese forces at the Lugou Bridge, marking the beginning of Japan's full-scale invasion of China and China's whole-nation resistance against the Japanese invaders.
Groups that participated in Tuesday's rally include the Japan-China Friendship August 15 Association, the Fushun's Miracles Inheritance Association, and the Kanto Japan-China Peace and Friendship Association.
Speakers at the event said Japanese society's understanding of the country's history of aggression remains seriously inadequate, which has significantly hindered the development of Japan-China relations.
They expressed concern that, against this backdrop, the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has continued to expand Japan's military capabilities and hype up so-called "threats from neighboring countries," warning that such moves could once again put Japan on a path toward war.
Susumu Yabuki, professor emeritus at Yokohama City University, told Xinhua that postwar Japan failed to carry out serious history education, and that the education ministry and other authorities have long deliberately avoided the subject, leaving many young Japanese with little knowledge of the aggressive past.
He pointed out that Japan and China are close neighbors, and that portraying China as a "hypothetical enemy" would jeopardize Japan's own survival. The current Japanese government ignores this basic reality and keeps pushing discussions in that direction to the point where "it has become absurd."
Fujio Kato, co-representative of the Japan-China Friendship August 15 Association, told Xinhua that the Japanese government has for years "pretended to reflect" on the war of aggression it waged in the past, an attitude that cannot truly earn the trust of the Chinese people.
In his view, Japan needs to genuinely acknowledge the grave mistakes it committed against China and other Asian countries, and through sincere atonement and profound reflection, show an authentic commitment to advancing bilateral relations toward normalization. ■
