Published on: 2026-10-16
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
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Beijing, October 15 /Xinhua/ — The disclosed documents once again proved that the Japanese government was fully aware at the time of the disgrace of including Class A war criminals in the list of those honored at the Yasukuni Shrine and, fearing the consequences, deliberately kept the process of making the corresponding decision secret. This was stated on Thursday by Mao Ning, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
Mao Ning made the corresponding statement at a regular briefing for journalists, commenting on the fact that Japanese media for the first time disclosed the protocols of internal meetings of the Yasukuni Shrine, revealing the decision-making process for including 14 Class A war criminals, including Hideki Tojo, in the list of those honored.
Documents show that the Japanese government agreed with the Yasukuni Shrine in the 1960s on the inclusion of Class-A war criminals among those honored, but preferred to keep this information hidden from the public until it was revealed in 1979.
As Mao Ning noted, these Class A war criminals were the main culprits of the aggressive war waged by Japanese militarists, and their hands are stained with the blood of countless victims. The important verdict delivered at the Tokyo Trial forever nailed them to the pillar of shame, thereby strengthening international justice and laying the legal foundation of the postwar international order, the official representative added.
“Nevertheless, representatives of the Japanese leadership repeatedly bow before this de facto ‘temple of war criminals.’ The question arises: where has conscience gone?” said the Chinese diplomat.
“History cannot be rewritten, and the truth cannot be erased. The crimes of Japanese militarism committed during the aggression are confirmed by irrefutable evidence. The Japanese authorities must look history squarely in the face, reconsider their responsibility for the committed crimes, and finally break away from their militaristic past,” said the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
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