Reminder of Japan's past

The unveiling of a memorial to the Korean freedom fighter Ahn Jung-geun, at the railway station in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, on Sunday, commemorates his bravery against Japanese aggression and reminds people not to forget the past, says a Xinhua News Agency commentary.

Ahn shot dead Hirobumi Ito, the de facto ruler of Korea, at Harbin railway station on Oct 26, 1909. Ito served as the prime minister of Japan four times before becoming resident-general of Korea in 1905, after Japan forced the Korean Empire to sign a protectorate treaty. Ahn said during his trial that he killed Ito for the independence of his motherland and peace in the Orient. He was hanged by Japanese forces in March 1910.

Unfortunately, Ahn did not stop Japan's ambitious aggression. In the decades leading up to 1945, Japanese forces wreaked brutal havoc on the Korean Peninsula, in China and in other Asian countries.