All countries have responsibility to urge Japan to eliminate remnants of militarism: Chinese spokesperson

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- All countries have the responsibility and obligation to urge Japan to thoroughly eradicate the vestiges of militarism, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Monday, calling for joint efforts to safeguard the outcomes of World War II victory and the post-war international order.

Guo made the remarks after China had received a batch of Russian-provided evidence related to the infamous Unit 731, a Japanese germ-warfare unit that operated during World War II. The archive copies from Russia include trial records of Unit 731 members, investigation reports on the unit's crimes, and internal official correspondence of Soviet authorities, covering the period from 1939 to 1950.

The archive copies once again show that Unit 731 has committed monstrous crimes against humanity, which are backed by irrefutable evidence and must not be denied, Guo told a regular press briefing.

It is alarming that, despite these undeniable facts, right-wing forces in Japan continue to vehemently deny, downplay, or even whitewash acts of aggression and crimes against humanity, Guo noted.

"All countries have the responsibility and obligation to urge Japan to thoroughly eliminate the remnants of militarism, so that such tragedies are never repeated. Together, we must safeguard the outcomes of the victory in World War II and the post-war international order, and jointly uphold the hard-won peace and stability in the world," the spokesperson said.