Japanese war criminals' memorial tablets found in Nanjing temple
Tablets of several notorious Japanese war criminals were found in a temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, in February.
Religious authorities in east Chinese city of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, said today they will start an investigation into the discovery of the memorial tablets of Japanese war criminals in a Buddhist temple.
A netizen claimed that he found the tablets of several notorious Japanese war criminals, including Hisao Tani, a commander of the Japanese army's sixth division during China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945), at Xuanzang Temple in Jiuhua Mountain Park in February.
The war criminals committed mass murders, rapes, looting and wanton destruction during the Nanjing Massacre in 1937 when around 300,000 Chinese people were killed.
The religious affairs bureau of Xuanwu District in Nanjing said they visited the temple with police yesterday. The temple had removed the tablets after the discovery in February. The bureau will look into the matter that has "hurt Chinese people's feelings" and announce results later.
Netizens were overwhelmingly shocked and outraged by the discovery, with many saying it was hard to believe it happened in Nanjing where innocent civilians were ruthlessly mass murdered by Japanese invaders.
