Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received heavy criticisms from Chinese newspapers after his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine and paid homage to Japanese leaders who were convicted as war criminals during World War II, according to a Reuters report.
Abe's visit to the Shrine Thursday, December 26, to pay homage to Japanese leaders and soldiers infuriated China and South Korea. The two countries were once occupied by Japanese forces during World War II until it ended in 1942.
In an editorial titled "Abe's paying homage to the devils makes people outraged" by the People's Liberation Army Daily, China's military newspaper, said Abe's visit had "seriously undermined the stability of the region."
"On one hand, Abe is paying homage to war criminals, and on the other hand, he talks about improving relations with China, South Korea and other countries. It is simply a sham, a mouthful of lies," the editorial went. "Today, the Chinese people have the ability to defend peace and they have a greater ability to stop all provocative militarism."
Hua Chunying, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said that the action of the Japanese Prime Minister "has already attracted the Chinese people's ire and denunciation."
"How can a person who is not willing to face up to their own history, to facts, win the trust of the international community or cause people to believe he has a role to play in maintaining regional and global peace and stability?" Hua said at a daily news briefing.
In another tabloid, The Global Times, which is also owned by the People's Daily, urged China to shut its door to Abe and other Japanese officials who have visited the shrine this year, the report said.
"If condemnations are China's only recourse, then the nation is giving up its international political rights easily," the tabloid said. "Ineffective countermeasures will make China be seen as a 'paper tiger' in the eyes of the rest of the world."
"In the eyes of China, Abe, behaving like a political villain, is much like the terrorists and fascists on the commonly seen blacklists," the tabloid added.
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