People from all walks of life including survivors and relatives of victims of the Nanjing Massacre gathered in Nanjing on January 24 to denounce the Japanese right-wing anti-China gathering in Osaka on January 23 and unfair judgment concerning Azuma Shiro by Japan's Supreme Court.

In heavy snow, there were more than 500 people standing in silent tribute at the square in front of the Memorial Hall to Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. Hundreds of students held banners and streamers with their signatures and the words: "The Nanjing Massacre is an irrefutable fact. The atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers cannot be denied."

Xu Huiling, the city's vice mayor, said that the anti-China rally organized by Japan's right-wing forces at the International Peace Center in Osaka on January 23 attempted to whitewash the Nanjing Massacre and deny any aggression by the Japanese.

The real purpose of the Osaka gathering, said Xu, was to enforce right-wing's anti-China activities and to whitewash war crimes committed by Japanese invaders.

Japan's right-wing forces are deliberately tampering with historical facts, whitewashing wartime crimes and hurting the feelings of Chinese people and undermining Sino-Japanese friendly relations in the process," Xu said, emphasizing that historical issues determine the political basis of Sino-Japanese relations.

In the Sino-Japanese joint statement, the Japanese government clearly admits Japan's invasion of China and has been committed toa thorough introspection concerning atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers.

Jin Guangfu, vice-chairman of the city's commission of the Jiu San (September 3) Society, said that the Osaka gathering is not only a blatant denial of the massacre, but deeply hurts the Chinese people's feelings and seriously undermines Sino-Japanese friendship.

On December 21, 1937, Azuma Shiro, one of the Japanese soldierswho massacred some 300,000 people in Nanjing, recorded the atrocities in his wartime diary. The Japanese Supreme Court overruled his appeal.

Shiro said that manipulation of historical facts by right-wing activists is doomed to fail.

"Japan's right-wing forces have been trying to negate historical facts," said Lou Zhongyang, 79, who survived the massacre. "They are real liars."

Lou recalled that he saw a raft of civilians killed by Japaneses oldiers in a river. Lou narrowly escaped, but he saw more than 20,000 people killed by Japanese soldiers in one day. "Now the Japanese right-wing forces are hurting us again by trying to deny these atrocities."

Invading Japanese troops massacred about 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers, and raped more than 20,000 local women in Nanjing in December 1937, according to Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Memorial Hall to Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. "The people of Nanjing will never forget these atrocities," said Zhu.

People in the city have also presented letters of protests against the Osaka gathering to the Osaka City government, the Osaka International Peace Center and the Japanese Supreme Court.