China's State Archives Administration has finished releasing 45 handwritten confessions by Japanese war criminals of the War of Aggression against China online.

The 45 criminals were among over one thousand Japanese war criminals who went into China's custody between 1950 and 1956. After returning to Japan, many of those soldiers made great efforts to promote a healthy relationship between China and Japan.

In 1956, 45 Japanese war criminals received military trials under the Supreme People's Court. More than four thousand pieces of evidence were brought forth while more than one hundred witnesses were present.

All 45 criminals pleaded guilty. They were later sent to a prison in Fushun, a city in north China. In March 1963, every prisoner except for one who died in prison, was sent back to Japan.

The repatriated Japanese soldiers formed an association that aimed to promote China-Japan friendship. The highest-ranking officer of the 45 on trial, Fujita Shigeru, became the association's director.

The association published a book revealing the crimes of militarism and tried to find the bodies of Chinese laborers who were forced to work in Japan during the war.

Shigeru also led a team to give speeches around Japan, telling his own experiences and asking citizens to remember the war. He noted that there would be no hope for Japan if history was left behind. He also visited China a number of times to help foster friendship between Japanese and Chinese people before he died in 1982.

In 1988, the association erected a memorial for the Chinese victims of the war. Since then, the repatriated Japanese soldiers and their descendants have visited the memorial many times to commemorate those killed in the war.

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