Last week, a mayor in Japan made a comment that the atrocities committed during the Nanking Massacre didn't actually happen. The rape, torture, and murders were misreported. Whatever happened was just the normal run-of-the-mill stuff that happens in wars.
Not surprisingly, this caused an uproar in China, with people threatening not to support anything related to Japan.
Although Japan was quick to apologize and said the Mayor's comment represents his own view and not that of the national government, I do wish the country would just, once and for all, acknowledge this well-documented fact fully so that both countries can move on. By fully, I mean put it in their history textbooks so occurrences like this doesn’t happen again.
China and Japan represent the world's second and third largest economy. This issue rears its ugly head every so often; and each time it does, it pushes their relationship a step or two backwards. Japan’s economy has been stagnant for the last decade. A deeper relationship with China’s growing economy will only help.
It's not like the whole world doesn't already know what has occurred in Nanking. However, there are still high ranking officials in Japan who fervently denies that the rape, torture, and mass murders had actually occurred.
