Many countries have made apology for and reflected on their wrongdoings of the past.

This year Britain returned cultural relics to Ethiopia, Germany made an official apology for the slaughter of civilians by a Nazi unit in Italy and France recently returned cultural heritage which it plundered in Senegal in 19th century.

This is an expression of the will of those countries not to commit the crimes again and a reflection of the international trend of promoting reconciliation and new development of relations among countries through the atonement for the past.

There is such a shameless country as Japan which swims against the trend.

Japan still refuses to admit, apologize for and make reparation for the monstrous crimes against the Korean people, other peoples of Asian countries and mankind.

Japan's past history is a crime-woven history of aggression, war, plunder and massacre.

In particular, Japan robbed Korea of its sovereign rights, a huge amount of natural resources and priceless cultural assets and destroyed them early in the last century. Its crimes are the worst ever known in history.

Japan's plunder of cultural assets started before its occupation of Korea and came to a climax during its 40-odd-year military rule.

During the occupation of Korea, the Japanese imperialists took to Japan valuable historic relics which the Korean people created and preserved for thousands of years and destroyed what it couldn't carry away. They blew up the Mausoleum of King Kyonghyo (31st King of Koryo) in Kaesong and robbed relics equivalent to over 10 oxcarts.

Displayed at the Ueno Museum in Tokyo are hundreds of cultural assets of Korea which Hirobumi Ito, the first resident-general of Korea, had taken to Japan.

Displayed or kept at the Tokyo National Museum, big and small museums, universities and temples are cultural relics of Korea such as ceramic wares, metal handicrafts, mother-of-pearl handiworks, Buddhist statues, drawings, books and printing types. The number of the cultural relics of Korea added to those under private ownership is hundreds of thousands.

The plunder of cultural assets of Korea by the Japanese imperialists is not mere property plunder by individuals but a hideous state-sponsored crime designed to obliterate the Korean nation by dint of the government power and military power and an unpardonable international crime contrary to international laws.

Over 70 years have passed since Japan's defeat. But it has no an iota of consciousness over the mucky atrocities including plunder of cultural relics. It is totally denying and whitewashing them.

Japan, not content with this, runs amuck to revive militarism with the revanchist ambition for reinvasion.

Japan's attempt to flee from the responsibility for its foul past doubles anti-Japanese sentiments of the Korean people and mankind with sore affliction and scars.