Japan must face up to past

Reinterpretation of constitution and denials of facts show Abe and his cohorts have not learned the lessons of history

In a speech marking the 77th anniversary of the start of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) on Monday, President Xi Jinping criticized people who "beautify the history of aggression".

"Unfortunately, nearly 70 years after victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the anti-fascist war, there is still a minority group of people who ignore the historical facts, who ignore the tens of millions of lives lost in the war, who go against the tide of history, deny and even beautify the history of aggression and harm international mutual trust and create regional tension," Xi said in a nationally televised speech at Lugou Bridge, also known as the Marco Polo Bridge, in suburban Beijing.