Global Times: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said previously that “Having renounced all rights and claims under the ‘Treaty of San Francisco,’ we are not in a position to recognize Taiwan’s legal status.” On November 28, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi when asked about whether it means that Japan does not recognize China’s sovereignty over Taiwan repeated what’s said in the “Treaty of San Francisco,” and said that “Our government’s basic position on Taiwan is as stated in the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, and nothing more and nothing less.” What’s your comment?

Lin Jian: The Japanese side keeps hiding and fudging its position on the Taiwan question. Whenever asked, the Japanese side simply would not mention the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender—all of which made clear that Taiwan be restored to China, nor the four political documents that serve as the political foundation of China-Japan relations, nor the political commitment made by the Japanese government to the one-China principle. All the Japanese side has done is dodging the issue by claiming that its position “remains unchanged.” Not even once has the Japanese side fully articulated what exactly that position is.

Perhaps what the Japanese side would not clarify is not just its position on the Taiwan question. Today, December 1, marks the 82nd anniversary of the Cairo Declaration. This document, together with a series of other international legal instruments, stipulates China’s sovereignty over Taiwan, and they are vital outcomes of the World Anti-Fascist War and an integral part of the postwar international order. Japan has an obligation under international law to observe those documents, which is the prerequisite for Japan to be readmitted to the international community after the war. But the Japanese side does not even mention a word about those instruments with full effect under international law, and instead keeps quoting a document that excludes China and some other Asian countries who suffered the most from Japanese aggression and colonialism. That is a clear sign of oblivion to the horrible memory of Japan’s militarist aggression, a serious disregard for the history of the World Anti-Fascist War, and a blatant challenge to the authority of the UN and the postwar international order. The Japanese side has in recent years been revamping the security and defense policies, beefing up the defense budget year after year and seeking to revise its three non-nuclear principles. Some forces in Japan have been trying hard to break free from the Pacifist Constitution and Japan’s legal obligations as a defeated country in WWII. They never truly learned the lessons from history, never truly did any soul-searching about Japan’s war atrocities or looked at them squarely, and never truly sought to prevent the revival of militarism in Japan. They hope that by whitewashing and not mentioning the true history, they could somehow make the world forget and release Japan from its obligations, but the world will not be deceived.

The course of history must not be reversed, and the bottom line of peace must not be crossed. Japan prevaricated to downplay the situation while continuing down the wrong path. China would absolutely not accept that. On issues of principle, an evasive attitude will not get the Japanese side anywhere. We urge the Japanese side to learn the lessons of history, do soul-searching, take seriously what it has heard from the Chinese side, simply retract the erroneous remarks as it should and take practical steps to honor its political commitments to China.