"Koizumi's visit to the shrine has greatly hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, the Nanjing people and the victims of the Nanjing Massacre," said Zhu Chengshan, director of the hall.

Upon hearing the news of Koizumi's visit to the shrine in disregard of strong opposition from its neighbouring countries, including China and the Republic of Korea (ROK), people in Nanjing were greatly shocked and angered.

More than 60 years ago, the Japanese soldiers killed over 300,000 people in Nanjing during the notorious and brutal Nanjing Massacre.

At the meeting, several victims of the Nanjing Massacre denounced the wrongful action by the Japanese leader and recalled their own experiences.

"I can still remember clearly the bloody scene in those days when the whole city was almost immersed in blood for days and corpses could be seen everywhere. It was such a horrible scene that it appeared in my dreams for a long time afterwards," said Luo Zhongyang, 81, one of the survivors of the massacre.

Yang Shaorong, 88, one of the victims, recalled his suffering and expressed indignation. "The Japanese Prime Minister's visit to the shrine is an insult to us victims."

Scholars from the three countries also expressed their views on the incident.

"Koizumi must recognize the seriousness of his action and apologize to the people of victimized countries in Asia, including China and the Republic of Korea," said Lim Ki-won, president of Daejon Seogu Literature from ROK, who flew from ROK to attend the protest meeting.

He added that the historical fact of Japan's invasion and aggression of other countries can never be denied and that the Japanese Government must respect the feelings of the victims if they do not wish to repeat the tragedy.

(China Daily 08/15/2001)