China Voice: Japan need to make clear break from militaristic past

It is regrettable that select Japanese politicians are persistent in their visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in downtown Tokyo.

Such conduct has been eroding the fragile trust between Japan and its neighbors having been victimized in the World War II, including China and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

Yasukuni Shrine honors 14 Class-A convicted war criminals among about 2.5 million dead Japanese soldiers from WWII.

About 70 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine on Tuesday during the annual autumn festival.

Their move came after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ritual offering to the shrine and visits made by two of the ministers in his Cabinet.

As a nation that suffered more than 35 million casualties in the war against Japanese aggression in the first half of 20th century, China always opposes Japanese officials' wrong deeds related to the shrine.

Their visits, in addition to attempts to gloss over their aggressive past in textbooks, only reveal the right-wing nationalists' intention to defy the international order set after the end of WWII and glorify its notorious atrocities, which are considered as a dark page in human history.

A set of new security bills which expand the reach and role of Japan's Self-Defense Forces reach has also been passed by the parliament, despite nationwide protests. Such forces are dangerous if allowed to develop unchecked.

The visits and the new legislation, which might engage Japanese troops in conflicts overseas, are highly provocative for a nation respected for its pacifist constitution over the past seven decades.

For Japan's war time victim neighbors, it is reasonable to question the Japanese government's sincerity when it promised it would never repeat the devastation of war.

The politicians' visits during the autumn festival are also inappropriate when China, Japan and the ROK are preparing for a trilateral summit in ROK and the overall atmosphere of China-Japan relations has been improved since November last year.

High-level exchanges between China and Japan are picking up. Last week, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi visited Tokyo, and Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Japan's Komeito Party, a junior coalition partner Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), visited Beijing

The Japanese government should continue to send positive signals that it is following a path of peaceful development and aims to further improve bilateral ties.

Peace and development are the inevitable trend in an age of globalization.

It will be wise for all politicians in Japan to stay away from the shrine since it has been regarded as a symbol of past Japanese militarism.

For the Japanese government, only by adopting an honest attitude toward its history of militarist aggression and breaking from it clearly can it be a trusted player in Asia and the international community. Endi