Chinese newspapers mark Japanese surrender anniversary

 Commentaries, special reports and articles to commemorate the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender dominated coverage in many major Chinese newspapers on Friday.
On Aug. 15, 1945, former Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced in a radio address that the country would surrender to the Allies, marking the end of China's War Against Japanese Aggression, as well as World War II.
This day 69 years ago marked the final triumph of justice over evil in the world's anti-fascism war and it also opened a new epoch in which Asia took steps toward peace, said a commentary under the byline of Zhong Sheng, which was published in the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China.
However, the commentary went on, due repentance by Japan for its war crimes has yet to be fulfilled.
Headed by current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his administration, the thinking that once led Japan astray down the path of aggression is again spreading in the country and may push Japan in a dangerous direction, the article said.
The current Japanese administration's attempts to gloss over the nature of war was also seen in the country right before WWII, the newspaper warned, adding that such acts are in sheer defiance of international law and order.
"Justice will always prevail in the fight against evil, and those who perversely pursue a retrograde path will be doomed to failure," it said.
Also in the People's Daily, another commentary signed by the newspaper's commentator, Cao Pengcheng, noted that Japan's surrender 69 years ago was out of a mixed motive rather than sincere soul-searching, and the country failed to carry out thorough punishment of its wartime crimes.
It mentioned a recent refusal of the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 Class-A WWII war criminals, to enshrine the criminals at a separate site.
The shrine reportedly stated that Japan's engagement in past wars was for "self-preservation and self-defense."
"The war is over, but the call for peace never ends," the commentary said.
The article also criticized Japan's repeated attempts to overemphasize the trauma the war has caused the country.
"If the country never holds those who started the war accountable and never accepts or admits its culprit role in the war, how can it make others believe that it will not cause more aggression under the name of 'peace'?" the article asked.
"Even after the Nuremberg trials, Germany handed down thousands of guilty convictions for Nazi-related cases," it said, "However, Japan has done nothing in this regard, and some of the right-wing politicians are even trying to overturn the judgement of the Tokyo trials."
Japan announced that it is "no longer in the postwar period" in 1956, but with its continuous actions to shun its due responsibility, the country will never put an end to the "postwar period," it said.
"Only by facing up to its past can Japan return to being a 'normal country,'" according to the commentary.
The China Youth Daily on Friday also ran a commentary on its front page, stressing that enhancing China-Japan ties must be carried out on the basis of both sides' careful reflection on history.
"We denounce Japanese militaristic right-wing forces and will never initiate a war. But the good will of China-Japan friendship still needs proper strength in economy, armed forces and spirit to support it," it said.
It called for more study of Japan and WWII history by the Chinese public.
"How can Chinese people profoundly remember history if our understanding of Japan is largely confined to Japanese manga, Honda cars and Nikon cameras?" it said.
The newspaper also dedicated a whole page for a report titled "Evidence speaks" about historical documents kept in China about Japan's wartime atrocities.
The Friday edition of the PLA Daily, a newspaper administered by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), also used a page to review Japan's militaristic path during WWII.
"We hope Japanese militarism will never revive for good, but we feel worried about the words and acts of Japanese right-wing forces," said an article titled "Will Japan repeat its history?" and signed by Yuan Yang, a military scholar.
"We are willing to entertain an optimistic mind, but should also prepare ourselves well," it said.