By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
On Dec. 13, a national memorial ceremony was held to honor the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. During this solemn occasion, eighty-eight youth representatives read a peace declaration, reaffirming their commitment to remembering history and safeguarding peace.
On the same day, China’s Central Archives released a batch of declassified archives transferred from Russia, including Soviet interrogation records of members of Japan’s Unit 731 during World War II. These newly available records shed light on the dark history of Japanese militarism, particularly the atrocities committed against the Chinese people during the war. Among these, the Nanjing Massacre and the inhumane use of bacterial warfare stand as some of the most egregious crimes in human history.
The newly released files reveal the involvement of more than 200 individuals in the crimes committed by Unit 731, including 12 war criminals who publicly confessed to violating international conventions and conducting bacterial warfare. These documents not only corroborate the existing records at the Unit 731 site in China but also reinforce the historical truth with undeniable evidence, further exposing Japan’s bacterial warfare efforts as a premeditated, state-sponsored crime.
The international community has long rendered a just verdict on the aggressive acts of Japanese militarism. Legal frameworks established through instruments such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation established the basic principles of the postwar international order, explicitly stipulating provisions against aggression, the punishment of war criminals, and the elimination of militarism. Furthermore, both the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal delivered definitive legal findings on the Nanjing Massacre, cementing Japan’s militarism as a historical stain — an assessment that will not change with the passage of time.
However, Japan has yet to offer a genuine reckoning of its historical accountability. Right-wing forces in the country have continuously sought to overturn the historical verdicts, and recent developments indicate growing signs of militarism’s revival.
Since taking office, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has launched serious provocations on the Taiwan question — an issue central to the postwar international order — while seeking to revise the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, relax restrictions on arms exports, and escalate defense spending. These moves signal a troubling shift toward militarism, undermining the outcomes of World War II and challenging the postwar international order, demanding heightened vigilance from the international community.
To forget history is to betray it; to deny responsibility is to invite its repetition. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, and upholding historical justice while preventing the resurgence of Japanese militarism represents a shared imperative of all forces in the international community committed to global justice.
Encouragingly, we are witnessing increasing international solidarity in safeguarding historical memory. For instance, Russia transferred vital historical archives to China, while young French citizens have donated photographs revealing the destruction wrought by Japanese bombings of Shanghai and the atrocities committed against civilians during World War II. Additionally, Japanese scholars have provided color scans of personnel records from the Japanese Imperial Army’s germ-warfare Unit 8604, which carried out bacterial warfare in South China. These contributions are heartening, as more countries and individuals join the efforts to defend historical truth and uphold human justice.
“There is nothing shameful about acknowledging history; the true shame lies in pretending it never happened.” “Avoiding historical truth keeps us forever trapped in the shadow of militarism.” Japanese right-wing politicians must heed these voices of conscience, reflect deeply on their history of aggression, confront the harmful legacy of militarism, and pursue a path of peaceful development that fosters trust with Asian neighbors and the international community.
The establishment of the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre and the act of revisiting the Chinese nation’s painful historical memories are not intended to perpetuate hatred, but to learn from the past and open up a better future.
Today, China is embarking on a new journey toward the full realization of a great modern socialist country, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable. China remains firmly committed to the path of peaceful development and will always be a force for peace, stability, and progress in the world. In collaboration with peace-loving countries and peoples, China will work to thwart any attempts to resurrect militarism or fascism, protect the outcomes of World War II and the postwar international order, and make greater contributions to the noble cause of peace and development for humanity.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
