Since the 1990s, more politicians have joined their ranks, fueling the trend to rewrite Japanese wartime history. The Association for the Advancement of an Unbiased View of History, in particular, vowed to seek a new view of history, a view that is different from those established under the influence of the U.S. occupiers and the Soviet Union.

While standing firmly against blaming Japan for war crimes, the association does all it can to whitewash the atrocities committed by Japanese aggressors. It launched a nationwide campaign to remove the topic of "comfort women," or sex slaves for the Japanese military during World War II, from history textbooks. It also published articles denying the Nanjing Massacre, biochemical warfare and the exploitation of Chinese laborers.

At the end of 1996, it established an editorial committee to work on a new history textbook. In 2001, the history textbook was published with the approval of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. As it was rarely used in Japanese schools, the editorial committee came up with a revised version in 2005. These moves triggered widespread concerns in East Asia about Japan's evaluation of wartime history.

Japanese politicians' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Class A war criminals along with other Japanese war dead, have also long been a point of contention. Given the special status of the shrine, it is easy to understand the political consequences of the formal visits paid by Japanese politicians, especially the prime minister.

It should be admitted that the issue concerning Japan's evaluation of history has been haunting China and Japan and East Asia at large since the end of World War II. Attempts to shun responsibility for its aggression and deny historical facts have persisted in Japan. These irresponsible acts not only run counter to the common interests of China and Japan but also hurt the feelings of the Chinese people. As a result, the two countries have yet to resolve their differences over historical issues, which have adversely affected the development of bilateral relations.

Out of the impasse

There is no denying that China and Japan have done a lot to resolve their differences over historical issues. The efforts of the two countries' politicians culminated in the adoption of a series of landmark political documents such as the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship and Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration.

Then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued an apology statement on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II on August 5, 1995. It stated, "During a certain period in the not too distant past, Japan, following a mistaken national policy, advanced along the road to war, only to ensnare the Japanese people in a fateful crisis, and, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. In the hope that no such mistake be made in the future, I regard, in a spirit of humility, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology. Allow me also to express my feelings of profound mourning for all victims, both at home and abroad, of that history."

The Murayama statement is taken as an explicit expression of the Japanese Government's view of wartime history. Despite their different political backgrounds, successive Japanese prime ministers, including current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have upheld this position. While showing concerns over the controversial shrine visits, we should bear in mind that most Japanese are peace-loving, whereas those who attempt to revive militarism only represent a small fraction of Japanese society.