Japan should respect UNESCO's decision

Among 47 new inscriptions, UNESCO added documents of the Nanjing Massacre to the Memory of the World Register on Friday. International recognition of the documentary heritage that testifies to the atrocities committed in the city is an important part of international efforts to preserve the collective memory of mankind and promote peace and justice.

Given the repeated denials and whitewashing of their country's past by Japanese nationalists, UNESCO's inclusion of the materials as part of the world's memory is an authoritative international refusal to condone the lies of Japanese far-rightists. From now on, any denial of the massacre is futile.

As a country that has yet to sincerely own up to its history of aggression in World War II, Japan tried to block the UNESCO move. Japan's foreign ministry said it was "extremely regrettable" and questioned the world body's neutrality and fairness, and even called for the process to be reformed.