Japan exposes its wrong attitude to history, ministry says

The Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Japan exposed a wrong attitude toward history after the country held back its funding for UNESCO this year in protest at the organization's listing of documents about the Nanjing Massacre.

"It is the obligation of international organization members to pay the fees. What Japan has said and done once again exposes its wrong attitude of not acknowledging the history," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular press conference in Beijing.

"Japan's behavior is irresponsible and it will fail to achieve its purpose," she said.

Japanese troops killed an estimated 300,000 civilians and unarmed soldiers as they rampaged through Nanjing in 1937.

UNESCO decided to include documents about the massacre in its "Memory of the World" program last year.

Hua said the massacre was a serious crime committed as a result of Japanese militarism during WWII as well as a historical fact recognized by the international community.

UNESCO's decision will help these documents play a positive role in remembering the history, cherishing peace and defending human dignity, she added.