This year marks the 80th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The Chinese leader attending the celebration ceremony in Moscow and the Russian leader issued a joint statement, in which Japan was reminded multiple times. Unexpectedly, the unrepentant Japanese government actually turned the gun on itself.

Victory Day of the Great Patriotic War

Recently, the leaders of China and Russia issued a joint statement in Moscow, further looking ahead to the development of their relations as the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches. In this statement, both sides agreed to uphold the correct view of World War II history and break any attempts to distort history. This is not only a warning to the West but also indicates the common historical mission of China and Russia.

It is worth noting that China and Russia specifically mentioned one country, namely Japan. Both sides agree that the Japanese government should learn lessons from history, deeply reflect, prevent the resurgence of militarism, and avoid dragging Japan and the entire region into war.

What China and Russia said has no problem and is good advice. After all, Japan's performance in reflecting on the war has been difficult to convince the world. Unexpectedly, Japan had the nerve to rebut, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshijima even held a press conference.

Yoshijima

Yoshijima said that China and Russia should "reflect" on whether their recent military actions were too frequent. Additionally, China and Russia should not indulge in criticizing other countries. It's fine if they do well; if they don't, it's unreasonable for others to criticize them, which is truly worrying as Japan may become a hidden danger for future wars.

Taking the Yasukuni Shrine issue as an example, the core of the Yasukuni Shrine issue lies in the fact that it enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II, including Hideki Tojo and other decision-makers who launched aggressive wars. All countries that suffered from Japanese militarism during World War II are particularly sensitive to the behavior of Japanese political figures visiting the shrine.

However, the Japanese government has long packaged visits to the shrine as "domestic affairs" or "personal beliefs." From Shinzo Abe to Shigeru Ishiba, they have found various ways to rub salt into the wounds of other countries. Including issues such as comfort women and labor problems in China, South Korea, and North Korea, the Japanese government still cannot provide solutions or reflect on its historical mistakes.

Shigeru Ishiba offering sacrifices at the Yasukuni Shrine

Yoshijima avoided mentioning history and repeatedly emphasized Japan's contributions after World War II, stressing Japan's "freedom and democracy." History proves that merits do not outweigh faults, and simply ignoring this period of history does not negate its existence. Moreover, Japan has recently accelerated the promotion of "historical revisionism" and the loosening of military restrictions, becoming the greatest variable in regional security.

Japan's military spending has increased for ten consecutive years, reaching 2% of GDP in 2024, with plans to deploy 1,000 long-range missiles covering inland China. It caused a disturbance over the Diaoyu Islands, hyped up the "China threat theory," and attempted to build a "Quad mechanism" of the US, Japan, India, and Australia to contain China and Russia. It tampered with history textbooks, attempting to distort history and beautify aggression.

South Korean people demand Japan sincerely apologize for the comfort women issue

Each of these incidents taken together should make Japan feel uneasy. The essence of the joint statement by China and Russia is to prevent Japan from beautifying its history of aggression to pave the way for its military normalization. Japan's rebuttal attempts to dissolve historical responsibility with "cultural freedom" and "sovereign equality." Such tactics of shifting concepts will not be accepted by China and Russia.

Japan's "walking on the edge" approach to historical issues, neither completely denying aggression nor thoroughly reflecting, will eventually lead to repeating past defeats if it continues to indulge in "historical nihilism." Neither the Chinese people nor the Japanese people will agree to watch Japan walk down the wrong path again.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7502378888065139241/

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