A Japanese lawyer and founder of a Japanese civic group that aims to urge the Japanese government to return looted Chinese cultural relics told the Global Times on Sunday that they held a symposium in Tokyo on Saturday to discuss how Japan conducted archaeological surveys in China during wartime and later transported their "findings" to Japan under the guise of "academic research."

"Such cultural aggression must not remain obscured," the Japanese lawyer said.

According to an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Sunday, Keiichiro Ichinose, founder of the Japanese civic group "Movement for the Repatriation of Chinese Cultural Properties," said on Saturday that they held a symposium titled "Memories of Aggression: East Asian Archaeology and the Genealogy of Plunder," in Tokyo, urging the Japanese government to return artifacts looted during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), and the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression between 1931 and 1945.

During the symposium, Japanese scholars detailed how Japan conducted archaeological surveys in China during wartime, transferring what they found to Japan under the pretense of conducting research. "This constitutes cultural aggression," Ichinose stated. "Attendees were shocked - these long-concealed historical truths are rarely acknowledged in Japan. Such cultural aggression must not remain obscured."

According to Ichinose, the Japanese civic group launched a public petition demanding the Japanese government return looted Chinese artifacts. Key items targeted for repatriation include three stone lions seized from Sanxue Temple in Haicheng, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, two of which now stand at infamous Yasukuni Shrine's outer garden and one at the Yamagata Aritomo Memorial Museum in Tochigi Prefecture. Another is the Tang Dynasty Honglujing Stele, taken from Lüshun, Liaoning, after the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War and currently classified as "state property" in Tokyo's Fukiage Omiya Palace of Japan's Imperial Palace.

Despite persistent appeals since 2021, the movement's efforts have seen minimal progress, Ichinose noted.

"Few Japanese know this history. Most [Japanese] citizens wouldn't recognize these artifacts as war loot," Ichinose told the Global Times on Sunday. "But international law is clear: artifacts seized through war or force must be returned. This is a 20th-21st century global consensus. Without such accountability, true Japan-China friendship is impossible, though raising awareness requires sustained dialogue," Ichinose said.

Ichinose stated that through launching this petition, ordinary Japanese citizens can learn about this historical chapter. "The movement's fundamental goal is to return cultural artifacts to their rightful place," he emphasized. "Repatriating looted Chinese relics represents a moral reckoning with Japan's imperialist aggression and colonial legacy." Ichinose described the petition as "an effective instrument to expose this crucial historical issue."

In recent years, as the movement's efforts have gained traction, as growing numbers of Japanese citizens have voluntarily participated in its activities. While acknowledging that progress in compelling the Japanese government to return artifacts remains slow, Ichinose views this rising public awareness of historical truths as a significant achievement in itself.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Ichinose noted that Japan-China joint communique in 1972 - which expressed deep remorse for wartime atrocities by Japan - rings hollow amid ongoing historical obfuscation. Worse, Ichinose warned, Japan's recent missile base expansions in Okinawa and framing of China as a "threat" risk compounding old wounds with new tensions.

"Preventing the recurrence of war must begin with facing up to history," stressed Ichinose, emphasizing that civil society must also shoulder responsibility. He outlined a dual approach: first, through campaigns like the repatriation of cultural artifacts, to expose Japan's wartime plunder of Chinese relics and dismantle the collective historical amnesia in Japanese society, and second, to establish a China-Japan civil anti-war network, creating a grassroots consensus that "war must never again break out between our nations."

The Japanese activist further noted, "Through movements like cultural property restitution, we must enlighten more Japanese citizens about historical truths while fostering collaborative ties between Chinese and Japanese civil forces."

This August, Ichinose plans to visit North China's Shanxi Province and other places to document looted Chinese cultural relics, followed by an October China-Japan symposium in Tokyo to bolster bilateral civilian pressure for repatriation. Only by facing historical truths," he stressed, can Japan lay the groundwork for lasting friendship and regional peace.