Archives throw light on Japan's dark history

On Dec 13, the 12th national memorial day for victims of the Nanjing Massacre, history spoke again — this time through newly declassified archives received from Russia. The National Archives Administration of China released declassified archives given by Russia, including records of Soviet interrogations of members of Japan's notorious Unit 731, investigations of the unit's crimes and official Soviet correspondence. These archives complement the evidence preserved in China, forming a more complete body of proof of the heinous acts of Japan's biological warfare unit.

Some of the archives are being made public for the first time. During interrogation, Japanese war criminals admitted to preparing and carrying out germ warfare, crimes that flagrantly violate international conventions. They are irrefutable evidence of the atrocities committed by Unit 731 and leave no scope for denial.

Yet, denial has only become louder. In recent years, historical revisionism in Japan has intensified, and voices denying, downplaying or even glorifying Japan's wartime aggression have grown shriller. The current Japanese government bears a strong right-wing imprint, persists in glorifying war criminals and denies the country's history of aggression.