Beijing says Tokyo must ‘make the right choice’ as Japan remembers WWII

On the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Tokyo to face up to its history and “make the right choice” regarding Taiwan.

“A series of international documents … clearly defined Japan’s war responsibilities and required Japan to return the territories it had stolen from China, including Taiwan,” Wang said on Friday on the sidelines of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Anning, in southwest China’s Yunnan province.

“This is an unchallengeable outcome of the world’s victory in the anti-fascist war and an important part of the post-war international order.”

He added that some forces in Japan still tried to “glorify aggression, deny it, distort history and even whitewash the war criminals of that time”.

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Hiroshima 80 years on: Japan keeps legacy of the first atomic bomb attack alive

Hiroshima 80 years on: Japan keeps legacy of the first atomic bomb attack alive

“Only by facing history squarely can one earn respect … We urge Japan to make the right choice,” Wang said.