Demand for apology as day to remember Nanjing nears
Print Edition
THE Japanese government has been asked to apologize to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre and their surviving dependents and pay suitable compensation.
The China Federation of Demanding Compensation from Japan, a non-governmental group, made their demand days ahead of China’s first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims on December 13.
In a letter addressed to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe via Japanese Ambassador to China Kitera Masato, the federation also demanded his government apologize to all those murdered by Japanese troops during World War II.
Japan invaded northeast China in September 1931, followed by a full-scale invasion on July 7, 1937. Around 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed or injured during the war. Japanese invaders captured Nanjing, then China’s capital, on December 13, 1937.
Federation president Tong Zeng said yesterday that the Japanese government has never offered an apology to the victims.
“We hope Japan’s leaders will visit the Memorial Hall for the Victims in Nanjing Massacre on December 13 and apologize,” Tong said.
China’s State Archives Administration yesterday released a 10-minute video on its website, documenting the massacre.
The video, which includes residents’ diaries and photographs taken by foreign residents at the time, is the first of a seven-part series with one part released each day until Saturday.
Yesterday’s video also featured photographs taken by Japanese troops.
Memories of the massacre still pain survivors. She Ziqing, 81, said images of the murder of children and rape of women by Japanese troops still haunted him.
“We could not keep silent when Japanese right-wing forces are challenging the facts and growing aggressive on the issue,” Tong said. “Japan’s government should learn from its WWII history. Japan’s redemption starts when it apologizes sincerely to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.”
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