Learning the lessons of history
Documents unveiled by the Provincial Archives in Jilin province have cast fresh light on atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army during the occupation of China, as He Na reports from Changchun.
In the same week Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that his cabinet had endorsed the "reinterpretation" of a constitutional clause that outlaws Japan's use of armed force in all but the most serious situations, further evidence has emerged of atrocities committed by Japanese troops during the occupation of China before and during World War II.
On Tuesday, the Jilin Provincial Archives released a batch of 450 recently translated files culled from confidential Japanese wartime archives in Changchun, the capital of the northeastern province. According to experts, the archives contain rare, firsthand information that sheds fresh light on the activities of Japanese soldiers during the occupation.
