China again criticizes denial of Nanking Massacre

China on Thursday said that any attempt to falsify or deny the history of the Imperial Japanese Army's invasion of China will be "unpopular."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on the Japan-China Friendship Association's resolution to protest Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura's remarks on the Nanking Massacre.

In a meeting with a Chinese delegation from Nanjing on Feb. 20, Kawamura said he believes that only "conventional acts of combat" took place in the city at the time, denying that mass murder or rape of civilians occurred.

According to media reports, the Japan-China Friendship Association in Japan recently passed a resolution requesting that Kawamura retract his erroneous remarks and acknowledge the correct perception of history.

The resolution said Kawamura's denial of the World War II-era Nanking Massacre not only distorted historical fact, but also damaged the sister-city relations between Nagoya and Nanjing as well as the mutual trust between the people of the two countries.

"We have taken note of the voice of justice from Japan, which shows that any attempt to falsify or deny the history of the Imperial Japanese Army's invasion of China will be unpopular," said Hong.

The Nanking Massacre occurred in December 1937, when Japanese troops occupied Nanjing, then-capital of China. More than 300,000 Chinese were killed by Japanese soldiers during the occupation.