Society

China confirms some historical agreement with Japan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-02 19:52

BEIJING: Chinese and Japanese historians have reached some agreement on the history of Sino-Japanese relations, after the two sides completed the first phase of a joint-history study project, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Tuesday.

Responding to questions concerning the newly-released report by the historians, Ma said the two commissioners reached some agreement after thorough study and discussion of the history of the Sino-Japanese relations.

In the report released on January 31, the Japanese commissioners admitted the 1937-1945 Sino-Japanese war was an "act of aggression" committed by Japan that caused massive damage to the Chinese people. They also admitted that the 1937 Nanjing Massacre did occur and involved "mass killings", according to the China Daily.

The China-Japan joint-historical research project, launched in December 2006, was conducted by the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Japan Institute of International Affairs.

As the report included research papers by the two commissioners, Ma said the papers were written by the commissioners of each side and reflected the perceptions of the individual authors.