The former soldier, whose diary discloses Japan's wartime atrocities in China, is remembered as a friend who upheld justice and bravely confessed to the wartime crimes of himself and his country. He died Tuesday at age 93 in Kyoto.

"He's gone to heaven with regained conscience and the Chinese people's understanding," said Zhan Hongge, an avid collector of historical documents about the Chinese people's eight-year war of resistance against Japanese aggressors."We wish him a good journey."

Shiro could set an example for other Japanese people, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang at a regular press conference.

Shiro Azuma was a soldier in the Japanese army that occupied Nanjing, then China's capital, in December 1937. In the following weeks they killed more than 300,000 unarmed Chinese soldiers and civilians.

After the war, he lamented his actions and made public the truth of Nanjing Massacre at various rallies in Japan. He offered sincere apology and showed deep remorse in a special trip to Nanjing in 1987.

Shiro also recorded the Japanese army's atrocities in his diary and had it published in 1987, which triggered Japanese rightist politicians' charge of"lying". He was brought to court in 1993 and lost the lawsuit. In 2000, the Japanese Supreme Court denied Shiro's appeal in which he sought to acknowledge the history of Japan's invasion of China.

"He who respects history will be respected by history"

The death of Shiro Azuma is a loss for those Japanese people who are brave to acknowledge the truth of history, and a loss for all the righteous people who are safeguarding the friendly ties between China and Japan, said Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.

"He who respects history will be respected by history," he told a large crowd of audience who gathered to mourn the Japanese veteran Wednesday.

Zhu will lead a delegation to Japan to attend Shiro Azuma's funeral Friday.

Duan Yueping, deputy curator of the memorial hall, was the first Nanjinger to receive Shiro in December 1987."A man of 75, he was dark-haired and in perfect health. But he looked saddened and gloomy all during the tour," said Duan."He later told me that remorse was pricking him and he feared the Nanjing people would hate him."

But Shiro finally won the sympathy and respect of the Chinese people with his own sincerity.

"He was a warrior fighting for justice; he was a sincere friend to the Chinese people; and he stood for the Japanese mainstream in respect of the attitude toward history," says Jing Shenghong, a professor of history at Nanjing Teachers' University.

"Shiro Azuma will be remembered for ever as a true friend of the Nanjingers and all the Chinese people," says Duan Yueping."We believe the peace-loving people in China and Japan will carry forward his tenacious spirit, expand consensus on historical issues and promote peace and friendship."

Deathbed confession

Shiro Azuma last visited China in 2004, and his diary and statements were widely publicized in Chinese press.

Even at his deathbed, Shiro was still regretting over his wartime mistakes.

"In our last meeting in 2003, he told me the sole desire in his life was to visit Nanjing again and make another apology," said Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Nanjing memorial."I was moved by his tenacity and discussed with his family members trying to arrange for his China tour."

But Shiro's desire never came true because his deteriorating health didn't allow such a tiring journey at all.

"Does the fact that your countryman was remorseful even at deathbed awaken the Japanese rightists to the truth of history?" said Zhou Shaoru, an ordinary citizen in Nanjing, in an interview with Xinhua Thursday.

"Mr. Shiro has gone, but he has left behind an important message: that hatred of the past is not impassable-- it is possible for China and Japan to get over wartime enmity and move towards reconciliation and friendship as long as the Japanese government sincerely retrospect history," said Prof. Zhang Lianhong, a researcher on the notorious Nanjing Massacre at Nanjing Teachers' University.

Japan's occupation of parts of China from 1931 to 1945 remains a sore point in the two countries' diplomatic ties.

Relations between China and Japan experienced a chill in 2005 due to controversial shrine visits by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the publishing of Japanese history textbooks that gloss over its wartime atrocities, and Japan's unilateral oilfield exploration, observers said.

China has repeated on many occasions its desire to enhance friendly communication and cooperation with Japan in such fields as politics, economy, culture and non-governmental sectors. Enditem