Interview: Japan misleads public by denying wartime crimes: Russian expert

The Japanese government has tried to mislead the public by denying involvement in any acts of wartime aggression, former Russian ambassador to Japan told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"The Japanese political thinking is based on an assumption that the country has never in history participated in any acts of aggression, and that's why Tokyo wants to deny that the Japanese troops have committed any crimes like Nanjing Massacre," said Alexander Panov.

A Japanese rightist daily recently released a four-day report in which it denied the existence of the appalling Nanjing Massacre, at a time when the world gears up to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, since elected to his second term in 2012, has made consistent attempts to reinterpret the country's invasion of Asian countries, a move that has provoked worldwide criticism.

"Unlike post-war Germany, Japan has neither fully recognized the results of World War II nor repented for its role during the war," Panov said, noting that Tokyo is reluctant to highlight the fact that Japan was an ally of the Nazis during World War II.

"Neither Tokyo publicly condemns Nazi crimes, like those in the Auschwitz concentration camp, because Japanese special units committed similar atrocities during the war, including medical experiments on human beings," he added.

As a former ambassador to Tokyo, Panov is well aware of how the Japanese government has misled the Japanese people over the past.

"Official propaganda has been trying to persuade people to believe that their country was a victim rather than an aggressor," said the expert.

As one of the countries that played a significant role in World War II, Russia has invited leaders of the countries that fought against Nazi Germany and its allies in the Great Patriotic War to the annual V-Day parade in Moscow on May 9.

Meanwhile, this year China will hold a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

As two main battlefields in Asia and Europe during World War II, China and Russia have repeatedly called on the international community not to forget the wartime history.

On Dec. 13, 2014, when China held a state commemoration for its first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre victims, Chinese President Xi Jinping noted that denial of the Nanjing Massacre will not be allowed by the Chinese people or peace-loving people anywhere in the world.

On Jan. 27, 2015, which marked the 70th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that attempts to distort and rewrite history were unacceptable and immoral.

"Moscow and Beijing estimate historical events from the similar point of view and they also have a common opinion over Tokyo's actions and claims," said Panov. Endi