China urges Japan to earn trust through concrete actions: spokesperson

(ECNS) -- The world cares more about what Japan does than what it says, and Japan can only realize its postwar image as a "country for peace" by repenting its history and making a clean break with militarism, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Wednesday. 

Guo made the remarks at a regular media briefing when asked about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that Japan has consistently contributed to the peace and prosperity of the international community as a peace-loving nation under its exclusively defense-oriented policy, and that it is Japan's mission to lead the efforts of the international community toward a "world without nuclear weapons." Takaichi also called for the deletion of the "Enemy State Clauses."

Guo said that the reality with the current Japanese administration is a constant denial of the history of aggression, glorification of Japan's wartime crimes, and a series of moves to rearm Japan, accelerate remilitarization, seek to abandon the three non-nuclear principles, and revise the pacifist Constitution.

These moves constitute a blatant challenge to the postwar international order and a major factor threatening peace and stability in the region, Guo said.

This year marks the 81st anniversary of the founding of the United Nations and the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials. Guo noted that decades ago, Japan joined the United Nations after recognizing its militarist crimes and accepting the UN Charter in its entirety.

The "Enemy State Clauses" in the UN Charter are a vital institutional arrangement aimed at preventing fascism and militarism from threatening international peace and security ever again. The clauses provide important institutional safeguards for defending the postwar international order and remain highly relevant today, Guo said.

China urges Japan to take history as a mirror, deeply repent, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions, he added. 

(By Evelyn)