BEIJING, June 26 -- As China and Japan commemorated the repatriation of more than 1 million Japanese emigrants from China after World War II, the nation again urged Japan to put bilateral relations back on track.

    "We hope the Japanese Government takes a responsible attitude towards Sino-Japanese ties and gets bilateral relations back on the path of sound development," said State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan at a forum on China-Japan relations, part of the commemorations marking the 60th anniversary of the repatriation.

    On May 7, 1946, nine months after Japan surrendered to the Allies, about 2,500 Japanese, victims of their country's colonial expansion, began their voyage home from Huludao, marking the beginning of a repatriation effort that lasted into 1948.

    Limited by shortages of natural resources, Japan turned to a national policy of emigration and colonization in the early part of last century. This movement saw a surge after 1931 when the Japanese army occupied the northeast part of China.

    By the end of World War II, there were more than 2 million Japanese emigrants in China, most of whom were farmers in the northeast, according to researchers.

    Tang said Sino-Japanese relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in Asia and even the world.

    "We can't change history. But we should be responsible for the future, be responsible for the welfare of our children," Tang said.

    Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, Liaoning Governor Zhang Wenyue and Tomiichi Murayama, former Prime Minister of Japan, took part in the forum.

    "The repatriation demonstrated the generosity and humanitarianism of the Chinese people, and many Japanese are deeply grateful for it," said Murayama.

    Murayama also expressed his worries about current Sino-Japanese relations and said he hopes the Japanese Government could treat its relations with China and other neighbouring countries seriously.

    He was backed by Muraoda Kyuhei, chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Association.

    Kyuhei said the major obstacle in China-Japan relations was the Japanese leaders' insistence on visiting the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

    (Source: China Daily)