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Rhetoric of Japanese officials condemned
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-05-28 10:44
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Friday that China condemns
the rhetoric of two Japanese officials who claimed that the crimes of World War
II Japanese war criminals have been absolved.
"The Chinese government and people are indignant at their remarks and express
strong condemnation," he said.
Masahiro Morioka, parliamentary secretary for health, labor and welfare, and
Kyuma Fumio, chairman of the Policy Research Council of Junichiro Koizumi's
ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Tuesday the Class-A war criminals are no
longer regarded as criminals in Japan.
"The ridiculous remarks made by Japanese senior officials are obvious
provocation against international justice and human conscience," said Kong.
"They seriously hurt the feelings of the people victimized by Japan's
militaristic aggression during World War II."
The Class-A war criminals, including wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo,
"whose hands were stained with the blood of Asians and people in the other parts
of the world," have committed monstrous crimes to world peace and humanity, said
the spokesman.
The verdicts by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, which
convicted 14 Class-A war criminals, constitute a major part of the post-war
international political basis, and "any attempt to overthrow the verdicts will
not succeed," said Kong.
He warned the "absurd" remarks made by the Japanese politiciansare not
isolated or incidental.
"People cannot but raise the question: can Japan play a responsible role in
the international community?" added Kong.
"We strongly demand the Japanese side take concrete actions to fulfill its
commitment to remorse for its history of aggression so that it can really win
trust from the international community, especially the people of neighboring
Asian nations," said the spokesman.
Japan opposition party urges Morioka to resign
The opposition Democratic Party of Japan demanded Friday that Masahiro
Morioka resign as parliamentary secretary for health, labor and welfare for
saying that Class-A war criminals are no longer regarded as criminals in Japan.
DPJ President Katsuya Okada was quoted by Kyodo News as saying that "there is
simply no justification for the remarks."
Morioka is a member of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal
Democratic Party.
"It is only natural for us to demand his resignation, but before that the
government should settle the issue as the parliamentary secretary is a
government official and it is totally unforgivable for the prime minister to
make comments as if he is not concerned," Okada was quoted.
Kyodo also quoted Koizumi as saying the same day "I don't think it
appropriate to take up the remarks seriously as he must have expressed his views
as a House of Representatives member."
Meanwhile, Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii said that the remarks
are an outright glorification of the war of aggression and are unforgivable. The
government should fire Morioka immediately or he should tender his resignation.
Social Democratic Party Secretary General Seiji Mataichi said Friday at a
press conference that "Morioka apparently has an erroneous historical
perception. The prime minister is responsiblebecause his wrong political stances
and foreign policy have spreadamong the government and the members of the ruling
parties to a great extent."
Earlier in the day, DPJ Parliament Affairs Committee Chairman Yoshio Hachiro
said Morioka's remarks "warrant his resignation because they are totally
inconsistent with the Cabinet's policy."
"The remarks are exactly in line with Koizumi's self-centered behavior that
indicates he does not know the basics of diplomacy,"the opposition lawmaker
said.
Morioka's remarks also drew criticism from ruling coalition members.
Junji Higashi, Diet Affairs Committee chairman of the New Komeito party, the
LDP's junior coalition partner, said, "The remarks were careless and
inappropriate as they came at a time when we are making efforts to find a
breakthrough in the cooling relations between Japan and China."
China, South Korea and other Asian nations that were victims ofJapan's
wartime aggression atrocities have strongly protested and criticized Koizumi's
repeated visits to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrined 14 Class-A war
criminals along with Japan's war dead.
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