KOBE, Japan, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- "The Nanjing Massacre is an eternal scar for the Chinese people. We overseas Chinese hope our Japanese friends and people around the world can really know about the tragedy," Lin Boyao, the protagonist of a documentary recently previewed in Japan's Kobe said at the screening.
The documentary, which focuses on Lin, an overseas Chinese in Japan, chronicled his life and efforts to gather evidence of the Nanjing Massacre and his pursuit of compensation for Chinese forced laborers during World War II.
Organized by the Kobe-Nanjing Heart-to-Heart Association, the preview screening took place on Tuesday at the Kobe Student Youth Center.
Although the documentary is still a work in progress, the organizers expedited the screening ahead of China's national memorial day on Dec. 13, providing an opportunity for viewers to engage with Lin's story and reflect on the historical tragedies.
"Nanjing Massacre is a lesson for humanity; such a catastrophe must never happen again," Lin emphasized during his address at the screening.
His words echoed the sentiments of many in the audience. Yoko Miyauchi, a representative of the Kobe-Nanjing Heart-to-Heart Association, shared her insights into the organization's longstanding commitment to uncovering the truths of the Nanjing Massacre.
Established in 1997, the association has dedicated itself to preserving historical memory, organizing over 20 trips to Nanjing for commemorative events and hosting survivors of the massacre for testimony sessions in Japan.
She also mentioned that members of the association would travel to Nanjing to participate in this year's national memorial ceremony.
The screening also highlighted concerns over historical revisionism in Japan, with some attendees expressing apprehension about the diminishing coverage of wartime atrocities in Japanese educational materials.
A local educator, Naoko Katsube, shared her reflections on the event. She recalled that 15 to 16 years ago, her school curriculum included excerpts from Terror in Minnie Vautrin's Nanjing: Diaries and Correspondence, 1937-38, a valuable historical record based on an eyewitness account of the massacre.
However, these materials are no longer taught, reflecting the Japanese education system's avoidance of historical truths, a trend that deeply troubles her.
In an interview, Lin expressed concern about the lack of awareness among many Japanese people about the Nanjing Massacre. "Despite efforts to spread the truth, many remain uninformed. We hope to pass this historical memory down through generations to prevent such tragedies from recurring."
"To remember history, cherish peace, use the past as a guide, and build a better future -- this is the attitude we should adopt toward history," remarked Zhu Chengshan, former curator of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre.
