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Japan flaunts "peaceful contribution" in annual foreign policy report

Xinhua, April 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Japan issued its annual "blue book" on foreign policies Tuesday, in which the country flaunts its " peaceful contribution" but continues to play up the fallacy of historical and disputed territorial issues.

Japan remains committed to continuing on its path as a peace- loving nation as it has done over the past 70 years since the end of World War II based on "deep remorse", said the Diplomatic Bluebook 2015.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry uses the expression of "deep remorse" without specifically pointing out who or why they feel remorse for. Furthermore, this declaration is not in line with the country's recent moves.

Just one day earlier, Japan's Education Ministry irked China and South Korea by unveiling the results of its regular review of textbooks for middle school students.

In those textbooks, Japan revised its expressions over the country's wartime atrocities during the World War II.

On the infamous Nanjing Massacre committed by the then Japanese Imperial Army, some reviewed textbooks stated that captives and civilians were involved in "the tragedy" and "casualties were exposed," compared to the original words like the Japanese Army " killed many captives and civilians."

The new textbooks also mentioned that China's Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as Senkaku Islands, are historically Japanese territory.

In the Diplomatic Bluebook, Japan reiterates its unjust territorial claims and cites Chinese vessel's entering into waters around the Diaoyu Islands as "unilaterally change the status quo" in the East China Sea.

However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying has commented last week on the draft of the bluebook that it is non other than Japan that unilaterally stirred things up and tried to change the status quo.

Should Japan truly feel "deep remorse", it would reflect on its wartime past squarely and understand that it has no right whatsoever to claim the territory it seized through aggression, including the Diaoyu Islands.

In a break from the previous annual report, the report also deleted a passage stating that Japan and South Korea "share fundamental values such as freedom, democracy, and respect for basic human rights."

The Diplomatic Bluebook 2015 will have an English version for the first time in nine years, said Japan's Kyodo News Agency. Endi