Xi hails legacy of Fukuda in shaping ties

President Xi Jinping extended condolences on Tuesday over the death of former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda.

In his message, Xi extended sympathy to the family and expressed hope that the late leader's family members would carry on his legacy and continue to work for China-Japan friendship.

He also called on Japan's current leadership to "safeguard the political foundation" of ties that have been strained ‌since late last year.

Fukuda died on Thursday from heart failure at the age of 90 in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Born in 1936, he was the eldest son of former Japanese prime minister Takeo Fukuda.

During his tenure as Japan's prime minister from September 2007 to September 2008, Fukuda actively worked to enhance and develop China-Japan relations.

Fukuda was a Japanese statesman known for his integrity and sense of responsibility, as well as a longtime friend of the Chinese people. He had long been committed to China-Japan friendship and upheld a correct view of history, Xi said.

Xi expressed hope that Japan's policymakers will cherish the efforts of previous generations of statesmen, abide by the four political documents between China and Japan, and safeguard the political foundation of bilateral relations.

In 2008, during Fukuda's tenure as Japan's prime minister, he signed the China-Japan Joint Statement on All-round Promotion of Strategic Relationship of Mutual Benefit — the fourth major political document signed by the two nations.

This "set out important principles for the development of bilateral relations", Xi said in his message.

After retiring from politics in 2012, Fukuda remained a committed advocate of China-Japan friendship and visited China many times.

Xi noted that Fukuda had served as chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia and had played a significant role in promoting exchanges and cooperation in Asia.

China will remember his contributions to China-Japan relations and Asia's development, Xi said.

Fukuda visited Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, in 2018. The Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital on Dec 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

In Nanjing, Fukuda visited the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, where he laid a wreath for the victims and handwrote the Chinese characters "he ping dong ya", meaning "peace in East Asia".

The visit made him the fourth retired Japanese prime minister to visit the memorial hall after Tomiichi Murayama, Toshiki Kaifu and Yukio Hatoyama.

In another development, an exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of the opening of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo Trial, began at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday.

Titled "Justice and Peace for All Humanity", the exhibition features historical photographs, archival documents and publications on the investigation and prosecution of Japanese war crimes during World War II.

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at the exhibition's opening that the Tokyo Trial "cements the post-war world order, upholds fairness and justice, and advances international rule of law. It is a landmark victory of peace over war, civilization over barbarism, and justice over evil, with far-reaching political and historical significance".

"The UN was born out of humanity's reflection on the devastation of war, therefore it fully serves the international community's common pursuit of remembering history and cherishing peace to hold the exhibition in the UN," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in Beijing on Tuesday.

"Anyone who undermines peace and challenges righteousness and conscience is bound to be brought once again before the court of history and justice", he added.