Commemorative events highlight historical lessons

Such distortion has a lot to do with the Japanese rightists' false reading of history. Denying and beautifying Japan's wartime invasion, which inflicted considerable suffering on Asian neighbors such as China and the Republic of Korea, some of them still visit the Yasukuni Shrine where 14 A-class war criminals are enshrined, and play verbal games regarding the notorious Nanjing Massacre and the "comfort women". Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lightly referred to the women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army as "victims of human trafficking".

Besides, a host of Japanese right-wingers like to believe that the Japanese are superior to other Asian peoples, because Japan has been widely accepted by the West. Like US exceptionalism, Japan's biased perception of history needs to be corrected and readjusted, if it truly wants to be accepted into the Asian community.

The Chinese government, in contrast, has been magnanimous by inviting both its anti-Fascist allies such as the US and its former enemy Japan to the upcoming commemorative events. It would be a pity if US President Barack Obama or Abe fail to acknowledge Beijing's sincerity, or worse interpret the joint commemoration between China and Russia as a warning to them. European countries should also view the invitation to attend in the correct light.

The author is director of the Center for European Union Studies at Renmin University of China and a senior fellow of Charhar Institute.