"I saw the sufferings of the Chinese people today with my own eyes," said Takahashi Yoshiku, a Japanese student from Hiroshima University, before a huge picture depicting a scene from China's anti-Japanese war in a memorial museum located beside the Lugou Bridge in southwest Beijing.
The museum exhibits items used during the anti-Japanese war and pictures about China's resistance against the Japanese aggressors and their atrocities.
The bridge, which was once acclaimed by the legendary Italian traveler Marco Polo as "the best and most unique bridge in China", is also the site where China's anti-Japanese war broke out in 1937.
Yoshiku visited the museum together with some other Japanese students majoring in Chinese.
"In Hiroshima, we talk about the atomic bomb and about our past sufferings. However, we simply ignore the sufferings inflicted by Japan on others. Their sufferings were much greater than ours.
"What we saw today is taboo in Japan. However, we should face up to history," said Aoki Katzutomo, another Hiroshima student.
Tanaka Kentaro, his eyes sparkling with tears, nodded in agreement.
"That part of history is usually glossed over in our textbooks, and I had mixed feelings when viewing the exhibition.
"Truth speaks louder than words. These things are evidence of history," said Guo Chungui, their teacher, who accompanied them here.
Norio Sasaki, a minister of the Katsuyama branch of Rissho Kosei- Kai, a Buddhist organization in Japan, expressed similar opinions. He was leading a group of high school students to visit the site.
"My hometown is Hiroshima. I experienced the war, and I hated it. As parents, we have the responsibility to let our children know the historical truth. So we selected this particular day to bring them here. I hope they will understand the cruelty of war and cherish peace. And I also hope Japan will enjoy lasting peace with all Asian nations." He said.
August 15, the day marking Japan's unconditional surrender in 1945, also reminds Chinese people every year of their unbearable past during Japan's aggression.
"We organize activities to commemorate the anti-Japanese war at every significant date and in so doing we hope to educate our youngsters," said Zhang Chenjun, head of the museum.
The museum receives some 600,000 visitors every year, and altogether more than 10 million people have visited here since its founding in 1987.
Liu Xipeng, a 64-year-old veteran who once served as a child soldier in the war, brought his grandson here.
"I want him to understand what war is, and know its cruelty," the old man said, referring to his grandson, who is to be admitted to a military academy based in east China's Anhui Province.
The young soldier-to-be said, "We were invaded by Japan because we were poor and backward at that time, so China must become rich and strong to defend itself."
Wang Ziyan, another old man who joined the anti-Japanese guerrillas in 1942, also came here from north China's Hebei Province to recall the old days, saying, "That was a hard time. The Chinese sacrificed so many lives during the Japanese invasion. "
"However, Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi has gone so far as to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, which houses the memorial tablets of war criminals," he noted.
"This represents a revival of militarism, and the action is against the trend of history. It has severely hurt our Chinese people's feelings," Wang said.
Statistics show that the anti-Japanese war claimed 35 million lives and brought about property losses totaling US$600 billion to the Chinese side.
(People's Daily 08/16/2001)
