Wartime lessons still need heeding

In sharp contrast to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's hint that his statement on Aug 15 may deviate from former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama's statement admitting Japan's war atrocities in World War II, Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito stressed the need to remember WWII "correctly" during a news conference ahead of his 55th birthday on Monday. His words were seen by many as a rebuke to those right-wing political figures in Japan who insistently seek to whitewash Japan's wartime atrocities.

In remembering the war correctly, the biggest lesson one can draw is that extremism and aggression are doomed to fail when those that oppose them unite.

Formed after the war, the United Nations is the most representative and authoritative international organization, and it has helped maintain world peace and promote transnational cooperation over the last seven decades. And China remains committed to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday while chairing a UN ministerial-level open debate to reflect on history.