China called for renewed reflection on the legacy of the Tokyo Trials on Sunday, the 80th anniversary of its opening, and warned that their relevance has significantly grown amid rising Japanese neo-militarism.

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry criticized efforts by right-wing forces in Japan to whitewash wartime aggression, revive the military-industrial sector, push for constitutional revision and accelerate remilitarization. The spokesperson said that as such trends gain momentum in Japan, revisiting the Tokyo Trials carries greater contemporary significance.

The Tokyo Trials convened on May 3, 1946, almost one year after Japan announced its unconditional surrender in World War II. In the following two and a half years, the tribunal, consisting of judges from 11 countries, revealed and addressed Japan's inhuman and anti-civilization war crimes committed during its fascist expansion, and sentenced 25 Class-A war criminals, including Hideki Tojo, to death or imprisonment.

The Foreign Ministry said the trials implemented the principles of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration, reflecting the collective will of victorious nations and victims, upholding the purposes of the United Nations, and safeguarding the outcomes of World War II.

At the same time, the ministry criticized Japan's current security trajectory, saying "the remnants of militarism have not been eradicated" and are showing signs of resurgence. It accused some Japanese right-wing groups of denying or distorting the conclusions of the Tokyo Trials, beautifying acts of aggression, and revising history textbooks to promote a misleading historical narrative.

The ministry also denounced Japanese politicians' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class-A war criminals are enshrined, as well as efforts to expand military capabilities, deploy offensive weapons, and amend Japan's pacifist constitution, saying these actions have departed from Japan's postwar commitment to pacifism.

"Against the backdrop of the growing influence of 'neo-militarism' in Japan, revisiting the background, conclusions and principles of the Tokyo Trials is of greater practical importance," the ministry said.

It also referenced the Nuremberg Trials, saying the two landmark tribunals together consigned fascist war criminals to lasting historical condemnation.

"The historical justice embodied in these trials must not be denied, their legal authority must not be challenged, and the foundations of the postwar international order they established must not be shaken," the ministry said, warning that forgetting past suffering could invite future disaster.

It added that any attempt to overturn the verdicts of aggression would face firm opposition from peace-loving people worldwide and be judged again by history.