China denounces Abe's defence to controversial shrine visit

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi today denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's defence of his controversial visit to the Yasukuni shrine, describing it as futile and only serving to expose erroneous perception of history.
"In China, there is an old saying: the more one tries to hide, the more one is exposed," Wang, who is attending the international conference on Syria in Montreux, Switzerland said.
"Abe's argument only suggests that he is still obstinately sticking to an erroneous historical perception which goes against both the conscience of human beings and the generally acknowledged truth on the world," he said.
Abe, who is participating in the World Economic Forum in Davos, visited the Yasukuni Shrine on December 26, 2013 to show respect to the dead Japanese militants.

His visit sparked strong protests from China and South Korea which suffered during Japanese invasions in the World War II.
Wang said even today the Yasukuni Shrine represents the notion that the aggression of Japan in World War II was "just", the Pacific War Japan launched was "self-defence" and the trial at the Far East International Military Tribunal was "illegitimate", as well as honoring 14 Class-A war criminals.

He said the real intention of Abe, who disregarded objections from other countries to visit the shrine and pay tribute, is to justify the aggression of Japan and beautify the war criminals, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"This is unacceptable to anyone with conscience and any country with a sense of justice. "Historical lessons should be learned. We call on the international community to work together and put an end to such behaviour, which attempts to take the history on a retrograding path," Wang said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also asked Japan to explain the purpose behind seeking to amend its constitution in response to Abe's recent appeal for more transparency in China's military budget.
"It is Japan that should increase transparency. It should explain to Asia and the international community the real purpose of amending its pacifist constitution and expanding its military force," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told media briefing here today.

Abe government has been trying to revise the pacifist constitution which came into force in 1947.