Why does the Japanese government deny the Nanjing Massacre and the Unit 731 biological warfare incident? Are they afraid of Chinese retaliation?

Fun fact: The tradition of the Japanese Prime Minister publicly visiting the Yasukuni Shrine began in 1985, and from that year onwards, Sino-Japanese relations began to deteriorate. After all, the war had ended decades ago, and the process was complicated. China's stance was also clear: you have changed, and you have acknowledged your mistakes. We cannot forget the past, but we also do not dwell on it. For the sake of peace, and for the development of the people and the nation, everyone should look forward. However, Japan has chosen to revisit the past, actively digging up old grievances and even altering the historical record, turning black into white. Well, if you insist on revisiting the past, we will accompany you all the way, and in the process, help Japan recall what it looked like back then. The Japanese are notorious for caring about their reputation and are very concerned about international influence. They know about all the anti-Japanese propaganda dramas produced domestically, but they won’t be fazed by them, as these are merely for domestic consumption and won’t affect them. However, the Nanjing Massacre and Unit 731 are different—these are real historical events. If handled improperly, decades of whitewashing efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could all go to waste. The Japanese government isn't actually afraid of Chinese retaliation; if they were, they wouldn't deny it. What they fear is negative international criticism. But there's nothing they can do about it. China's current international image is that of a gentle, harmless panda—large in size but completely non-aggressive. Minor skirmishes and friction are unlikely to provoke it. But if someone crosses the line, they will quickly realise a terrifying truth. — The panda is a bear, not a cat.

To be honest, those who deny the Nanjing Massacre and whitewash the crimes of Unit 731, whether they are Japanese or individuals with ulterior motives, are utterly repulsive. 300,000 unarmed Chinese people were slaughtered in pools of blood, and Nanjing was reduced to a hellish wasteland through burning, killing, and looting. This is irrefutable evidence certified by the International Court of Justice and the truth that countless survivors have shouted about their entire lives, bearing the scars of their ordeal. Unit 731 used living humans as experimental subjects, freezing off limbs, injecting pathogens, and dissecting internal organs. The yellowed experiment reports and the bones in the ruins—which of these does not condemn the crimes against humanity committed by these demons? Yet there are still some who feign ignorance. They say, ‘The number is disputed,’ as if the 300,000 innocent souls were just a numbers game in their eyes? They say, ‘That was the norm in war,’ as if using unborn children in pregnant women for live experiments was also ‘the norm.’ Even more absurdly, some call this ‘historical revisionism,’ which is nothing more than hiding a militarist agenda, trying to wipe the bloodstained history clean so that future generations forget the shameful deeds of their ancestors. This is not ‘forgetting hatred.’ This is urinating on the graves of the victims, offering flowers at the tombstones of the executioners. What they fear is not ‘retribution,’ but the truth exposing their façade of being a ‘civilised nation,’ fearing that future generations will discover their ancestors were beasts in human form, and that this guilt will become an obstacle to their aspirations for dignity. What is most infuriating is that they are still feeding their children this poisoned milk powder—textbooks that erase atrocities, politicians who visit the Yasukuni Shrine every year to worship war criminals. Isn't this an attempt to raise an entire generation of historical illiterates, so that the seeds of evil can sprout secretly? Don't talk to me about ‘looking forward.’ Those who lack the courage to confront the past have no right to discuss the future. For such people, there is no need for politeness. We must point our fingers at them and tell them: The blood debt you owe will not be forgiven until it is repaid; the dark history you hide will never be whitewashed as long as even one person remembers it!