Attitude to the war matters

HISTORY IS THE BEST TEXTBOOK. THAT IS WHAT President Xi Jinping said at the ceremony to mark the 77th anniversary of the Chinese People's War Against Japanese Aggression on Monday.

Just as Xi said in his speech, to bear in mind history, to cherish the memory of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the war, to refresh the importance of treasuring peace and warn people of the possible repetition of that historical tragedy are what the anniversary is for.

Indeed, the question of how to look at that part of the history between Japan and its Asian neighbors has long been an issue of great concern. Rightist politicians in Japan have tried to rewrite history, portraying that war as a military conflict in which Japan was forced to engage so as to liberate Asia from white colonialism. They also continue whitewashing the atrocities Japanese aggressors committed during the war.