Veteran calls for Japan war reflection

Former soldier hopes youth will learn truth about invasion

TOKYO - A Japanese man who joined the Chinese Eighth Route Army during World War II has called for reflection on history ahead of the 72nd anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender in the war.

Mitsushige Maeda, who celebrated his 100th birthday last year, was taken captive by the Chinese Eighth Route Army in 1938, and during several months as a "prisoner of war", he gradually learned about the injustices of Japan's invasion of China and the truth about the conflict.