The China-Japan Friendship Association issued a statement on January 26, venting its "utmost indignation" over recent anti-China activities in Japan.

The statement lashed out at a Japanese right-wing gathering in Osaka on January 23 to deny the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, calling the rally a "wicked action aimed at distorting historical truth,

beautifying the Japanese invasion of China, disturbing and damaging Sino-Japanese relations."

The recent Japanese Supreme Court ruling that denied the appeal of veteran Japanese soldier Azuma Shiro is unjustifiable and essentially supports the right-wing extremists, according to the statement.

"The unparalleled atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers in Nanjing 62 years ago are a tragedy rarely seen in human history, and the truth of these actions has been proved with an abundance of irrefutable evidence," the statement stressed.

Any attempts to challenge the truth of the Nanjing Massacre or to deny Japan's invasion of China will deeply wound the Chinese people, grossly violate the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan, and the China-Japan Joint Declaration, as well as damage the long-term Sino-Japanese friendship, according to the statement.

History will judge these acts as foolish and they will be duly punished, said the statement. "We hope that the Japanese government will learn from the past, teach the truths of history to its citizens, take measures to stem the current trend of denying truth, and follow the road of peaceful development."

The China-Japan Friendship Association emphasized in the statement that it is willing to work toward the development of bilateral friendly relations of peace together with friendly organizations in Japan and the peace-loving Japanese people.