By IANS
Beijing: A 76-year-old man from China who was injured in a Japanese bombardment during the Second World War has sent a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe demanding an apology from Tokyo for the attacks.
Wen Zhong was wounded during the so-called “War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression” in Chengdu in Sichuan province, the China Daily reported.
He said his family took shelter under a door plank during the bombardment July 27, 1941. He claims the bombing caused loss of hearing in his left ear.
Japanese planes conducted more than 20 bombings from 1938 to 1941 in Chengdu, killing and injuring around 3,400 people.
In the biggest bombing July 27, 1941, now called “727 Massacre”, 108 Japanese planes were dispatched, and more than 300 bombs were dropped in the city.
Wen said his mother is now 100 years old but her memory of the time “still remains fresh”.
In 2006, bombing victims from Chongqing and Chengdu started demanding compensation from Japan. A total of 188 victims have taken part in the claim, and 24 lawsuits have been filed against Japan.
Japanese lawyer Ichinose Keiichirou, part of a lawyers’ delegation, arrived in Chengdu Dec 31, and met the Chinese victims.
However, Keiichirou said it was difficult to ask the Japanese government to recognise the bombings, because “as time goes by and witnesses die, there is a wall blocking the historic truth and Japanese government, which has to be removed by evidence”.