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Citizens protest against museum's removing of exhibits on Japanese atrocities in WWII

Xinhua, April 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Dozens of citizens rallied to protest against removing of exhibits on Japanese atrocities in WWII in Peace Osaka, a museum that reopened on Thursday after six months' redecoration.

The museum, dedicated to exhibiting historical records about wars so as to promote peace, used to exhibit photos and archives on the United States' air raid of Osaka in 1945, as well as Japan' s invasion of other countries and regions such as China, Korea and southeast Asia in WWII.

In the reopened museum, photos and historical records on Japanese atrocities such as Nanjing Massacre have been removed, and Japan's invasion of other countries are scarcely mentioned. Instead, sufferings of people in Osaka from the United States' air raid in 1945 are stressed.

"The change is against the original purpose of setting up the museum, which was to remind people not to forget the history and to remember the sufferings of people caused by Japanese invasions so as to promote peace," said a protester.

Established in 1991, Peace Osaka served as an important education base about war and peace in Osaka, and received about 75, 000 visitors every year.

The museum had long been a target of right-wing groups in Japan, who claimed that the museum promoted a "self-abusive" view of history. Under pressure from right-wing groups and some city councilors, the government-founded museum was closed for redecoration since last September. Endi