After hearing that September 3rd had been established as the anniversary to commemorate the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the 95 year old chairman of the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies Association in Japan, Kobayashi Hirosumi, said that China had made a great contribution to the World Anti-Fascist War, and it was significant to have an anniversary like this to help younger generations learn more about war, and stop war forever.

In 1939, Kobayashi had just passed the Monks Bar exam after graduating from high school. He was able to open a monks' law office and keep his position as abbot. However, Kobayashi was recruited the next year, and forced to go to war.

On June 19, 1941, Kobayashi and his team were conducting an operation in a village near Qingdao when he was lcaptured by the Eighth Route army. After he woke up, he found himself lying on a stretcher. Instead of killing him, soldiers of the Eighth Route took good care of Kobayashi and treated him like their own brother. Kobayashi had witnessed a lot of massacres by the Japanese army, and he began to feel ashamed and regretful. He began to realize that Japan was the instigator of the aggression, while the Communist Party of China was leading the Chinese people to fight a war of national liberation. Kobayashi became a part of the Anti-Japanese War together with the Chinese people in the fight against the invasion.

On Sept. 18, 1941, Kobayashi founded the Anti-war Alliance of the Jiaodong branch with two other Japanese soldiers, and officially became a member of the Eighth Route. They wrote and passed out anti-war flyers with other alliances, and encouraged Japanese troops to surrender. He returned to Japan in December 1955.

In 2005, Kobayashi was invited to the 60th anniversary of the World Anti-Fascist War and the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression as a leading member of the delegation of Japanese veterans anti-war alliance. On his return Kobayashi made many speeches in Japan on the rapid development of China.

Soon it will be the 69th anniversary of the Anti-Japanese War. Kobayashi is still making his contribution to a peaceful and friendly China-Japan relationship. He told journalists: "My only dream is to let all my offspring know the truth of the invasion and the hard-won peace between China and Japan. We should all cherish this friendly relationship and avoid wars in the future."

Kobayashi is very concerned about the political situation in Japan, urging that no Japanese politicians should ever visit the Yasukuni Shrine which honors class-A war criminals. Their visits symbolize the invasive history of Japan and the impenitence of the Japanese towards their wrong doing in WWII.

This article is edited and translated from 《“让更多日本人了解侵略历史”》，Source: People's Daily, author: Liu Junguo