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Rhetoric of Japanese officials condemned
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Friday that China condemns the rhetoric of two Japanese officials who claimed that the crimes of World War II Japanese war criminals have been absolved. "The Chinese government and people are indignant at their remarks and express strong condemnation," he said. Masahiro Morioka, parliamentary secretary for health, labor and welfare, and Kyuma Fumio, chairman of the Policy Research Council of Junichiro Koizumi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Tuesday the Class-A war criminals are no longer regarded as criminals in Japan. "The ridiculous remarks made by Japanese senior officials are obvious provocation against international justice and human conscience," said Kong. "They seriously hurt the feelings of the people victimized by Japan's militaristic aggression during World War II." The Class-A war criminals, including wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo, "whose hands were stained with the blood of Asians and people in the other parts of the world," have committed monstrous crimes to world peace and humanity, said the spokesman. The verdicts by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, which convicted 14 Class-A war criminals, constitute a major part of the post-war international political basis, and "any attempt to overthrow the verdicts will not succeed," said Kong. He warned the "absurd" remarks made by the Japanese politiciansare not isolated or incidental. "People cannot but raise the question: can Japan play a responsible role in the international community?" added Kong. "We strongly demand the Japanese side take concrete actions to fulfill its commitment to remorse for its history of aggression so that it can really win trust from the international community, especially the people of neighboring Asian nations," said the spokesman. Japan opposition party urges Morioka to resign The opposition Democratic Party of Japan demanded Friday that Masahiro Morioka resign as parliamentary secretary for health, labor and welfare for saying that Class-A war criminals are no longer regarded as criminals in Japan. DPJ President Katsuya Okada was quoted by Kyodo News as saying that "there is simply no justification for the remarks." Morioka is a member of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party. "It is only natural for us to demand his resignation, but before that the government should settle the issue as the parliamentary secretary is a government official and it is totally unforgivable for the prime minister to make comments as if he is not concerned," Okada was quoted. Kyodo also quoted Koizumi as saying the same day "I don't think it appropriate to take up the remarks seriously as he must have expressed his views as a House of Representatives member." Meanwhile, Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii said that the remarks are an outright glorification of the war of aggression and are unforgivable. The government should fire Morioka immediately or he should tender his resignation. Social Democratic Party Secretary General Seiji Mataichi said Friday at a press conference that "Morioka apparently has an erroneous historical perception. The prime minister is responsiblebecause his wrong political stances and foreign policy have spreadamong the government and the members of the ruling parties to a great extent." Earlier in the day, DPJ Parliament Affairs Committee Chairman Yoshio Hachiro said Morioka's remarks "warrant his resignation because they are totally inconsistent with the Cabinet's policy." "The remarks are exactly in line with Koizumi's self-centered behavior that indicates he does not know the basics of diplomacy,"the opposition lawmaker said. Morioka's remarks also drew criticism from ruling coalition members. Junji Higashi, Diet Affairs Committee chairman of the New Komeito party, the LDP's junior coalition partner, said, "The remarks were careless and inappropriate as they came at a time when we are making efforts to find a breakthrough in the cooling relations between Japan and China." China, South Korea and other Asian nations that were victims ofJapan's wartime aggression atrocities have strongly protested and criticized Koizumi's repeated visits to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrined 14 Class-A war criminals along with Japan's war dead. |
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