China decries Japanese defense minister's visit to Yasukuni Shrine

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of National Defense on Friday expressed strong opposition to the Japanese defense minister's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, and lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side.

Wu Qian, the ministry's spokesperson, made the remarks when commenting on Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi's visit to the shrine on Aug. 13.

Wu said that the visit by the Japanese defense minister to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 convicted Class-A Japanese war criminals from WWII, once again reflects Japan's wrong attitude towards its history of aggression and its sinister intention of challenging the post-war international order.

China urges Japan to seriously reflect on its history of aggression, keep in mind the historical lessons, correct its mistakes and gain the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions, he said.

The Japanese defense department has recently taken negative actions on China-related issues, Wu said, adding that it colluded with countries outside the region to smear China's defense policy and military development, conducted targeted military exercises, intervened in the Taiwan question which is purely China's domestic affairs and carried out provocative actions in the South China Sea.

China urges Japan to abandon the Cold War mentality, and work with China, by following the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, to promote the development of China-Japan defense relations on the right track, Wu said.