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Japanese PM Koizumi Expresses Heartfelt Apology over Aggression
Japanese PM Lays Wreath at War Memorial Hall
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed his heartfelt apology and condolences Monday to those Chinese who lost their lives in the war waged by Japan half a century ago.
After visiting the Lugou (Marco Polo) Bridge and the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Koizumi said to the press that he has come to understand the miseries of war more deeply after looking at this exhibition and offers heartfelt apology and condolences to the Chinese victims of Japanese aggression.
After his arrival in Beijing, Koizumi went straight to the Lugou bridge and then to the nearby Memorial Hall. After bowing he placed a wreath beneath a large statue and mourned in silence for a moment. The statue, entitled the "Great Wall of Bones and Flesh," depicts loyalist Chinese soldiers armed with guns.
Accompanied by the curator of the memorial hall, Koizumi listened carefully to his explanations about the exhibits which together show the history of the war and the atrocities committed by the Japanese troops.
Japanese PM Tours Lugou Bridge
Koizumi is the first head of Japanese government to present a wreath at the memorial and the first Prime Minister of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party to visit the memorial. He said Japan will face up to its actions and will not wage war again.
Japan will learn from its history, take a peaceful road and continue to coordinate and cooperate with the international community, he said.
The relations between Japan and China are vital for both countries and for the peace of Asia and the world at large, he said.
As Japanese prime minister, he will make all-out efforts for the further development of the friendship between the two countries, Koizumi said upon his conclusion of the visit to the Lugou Bridge and the memorial hall.
Japanese PM Lays Wreath at War Memorial Hall Junichiro Koizumi laid a wreath at the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in southwest Beijing to show mourning to those Chinese people who died during the war.
He is the first Japanese Prime Minister to have laid a wreath at the hall.
In May 1995, the then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama also visited the hall.
The hall is located near the Lugou (Marco Polo) Bridge, where the eight-year War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression started on July 7, 1937.
Japanese PM Writes on Visitor's Book at War Memorial Hall Junichiro Koizumi Monday wrote on the visitor's book at the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, asking for forgiveness.
The characters written by Koizumi are: "Zhong Shu." He explained that the words mean pleading for sympathy, understanding and forgiveness.
Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
Located in a town near the Lugou (Marco Polo) Bridge, some 15 kilometers southwest of Beijing, the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was open to the public in July 1987 to mark the 50th anniversary of the resistance war.
On July 7, 1937, Japanese military forces attacked the Chinese garrison at the Lugou (Marco Polo) Bridge. That day also marked the beginning of the Chinese people's heroic war of resistance against Japanese aggression.
Covering an area of 30,000 square meters, the hall consists of three parts including a data center and a main exhibition hall.
Some 1,000 relic items, dating from the "September 18 Incident" of 1931 to the final victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1945, are on display in the hall.
Some evidence revealing the Japanese aggressors' atrocities including their mass slaughter of Chinese people are also exhibited there.
Up to now, the memorial hall has received over 13 million visitors from home and abroad.
In May 1995, then Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama visited the hall.
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