A Foreign Ministry spokesperson yesterday responded to both a resolution passed by Japan's lower legislature and the country's annual white paper on defense, which refers to China's military modernization.

Kong Quan said Japan should reflect on its militarist past, draw lessons from it and properly handle the problems left over by it, adding that it was groundless and irresponsible for Japan to exaggerate a so-called "China threat."

In the resolution passed by Japan's House of Representatives yesterday on the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, lawmakers repeated regret for its wartime history. It was supported overwhelmingly, though communists and some conservatives opposed it.

Kong said the war of aggression initiated by Japanese militarists brought immeasurable misfortune and disaster to people in China and other Asian countries, as well as to the people of Japan.

He said it was regretful that some political forces in Japan endeavored to deny, put less emphasis on or even glorify past aggression.

The annual national defense white paper issued by Japan's cabinet on Tuesday said it should be alert to the modernization of China's military and attentive to the movements of Chinese naval vessels.

Kong said such a practice brought harm to both sides' efforts to establish mutual trust on security.

"It misleads the public, results in suspicion of each other and harms Sino-Japanese relations," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2005)