From the Chinese Press

Facing up to the past

Japanese politicians, including in the latest instance, Takashi Kawamura, mayor of Nagoya, should stop denying the atrocities that Japanese soldiers perpetrated in Nanjing during their occupation of the city. Such disregard for the suffering of the Chinese people during Japan's invasion of China distorts the historical facts, damages Sino-Japanese ties, and hinders a shared regional historic outlook among the related countries in East Asia, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

The recent repeated denials of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre by Takashi Kawamura, mayor of the Japanese city of Nagoya, is very provocative for Chinese people especially as this year marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations.