Japanese govt ignores historical lessons, whitewashes past crimes: Russia

Moscow, April 25 (IANS) The Japanese government, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, ignores historical lessons and whitewashes past crimes, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said.

Speaking at a regular press briefing on Friday, Zakharova said Japanese militarists committed horrific crimes during World War II.

Takaichi's recent move of sending offerings to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japanese militarism and wartime aggression, demonstrated the Takaichi administration's disregard for the feelings of the people of neighbouring countries who suffered at the hands of militaristic Japan during World War II, she said.

This once again shows her administration's "absolute ignoring of the lessons of history, and the whitewashing of the most brutal, monstrous crimes of the past," Zakharova said.

She urged Japan to fully acknowledge the results of World War II and abandon its policy of accelerating remilitarisation, reports Xinhua news agency.

Commenting on Japan's easing of arms export restrictions, Zakharova said the move represents a deliberate departure from the country's pacifist principles enshrined in its constitution.

Regarding the Japanese combat troops' participation in the US-Philippine joint military exercises, she said Russia has consistently expressed its concerns regarding Japan's expansion of military activity within the framework of its alliance with the United States, adding that such steps only increase tensions in the Asia Pacific region.

More than 100 Japanese government officials and lawmakers on Wednesday worshipped the notorious Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, a symbol of Japanese militarism and wartime aggression, on the occasion of its spring festival.

The visits came a day after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual "masakaki" tree offering in her capacity as prime minister to the controversial shrine that honours 14 convicted Class-A Japanese war criminals from World War II alongside the war dead.

On Wednesday morning, the second day of the shrine's three-day ceremony, Haruko Arimura, chairperson of the General Council of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), visited the war-linked shrine and made a monetary offering on behalf of Takaichi in her capacity as LDP president.

Minoru Kiuchi, Japan's minister of state for economic and fiscal policy, also visited the shrine on the same day, becoming the first member of Takaichi's cabinet to do so while a cross-party group of over 120 Japanese lawmakers paid a collective visit.

The controversial moves drew widespread criticism in Japan.