Japanese Groups Gather for Mourning Nanjing Massacre VictimsSeveral Japanese groups from Osaka, Kobe, Nagasaki and other Japanese cities gathered in Nanjing Tuesday to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre.The Japanese participants, gathering at the Memorial Hall to Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, called upon everyone to take this past event as a warning and create a peaceful new century. Yamaochi Sayoko, secretary general of a Japanese organization for supporting Azuma Shiro, a former Japanese soldier, said that 63 years ago, the Japanese war plane took off from Nagasaki and launched the first bombing in Nanjing, which indicated the beginning of the Nanjing Massacre. She said the mourning of the massacre victims is aimed at preventing the reoccurrence of the tragedy. Azuma Shiro, an 88-year-old former soldier, published his wartime diary and disclosed the true facts of the Japanese invasion. The Japanese Supreme Court has overruled his appeal in which he sought to acknowledge the history of Japan's invasion of China. Matsuo Katamaki, head of another Japanese group, said Japanese right-wing forces have been attempting to deny historical facts and the act violates the wishes of the Japanese people and people from other countries around the world for peace in the new century. She urged the Japanese people to remember the lessons of history and keep away from war forever. |
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