The Religious Affairs Bureau promised to investigate the case in depth together with the police after the outrage expressed by many netizens and because it hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.

According to reports, the Xuanzang temple commemorated Japanese officials Hisao Tani, Matsui Iwane, Takeshi Noda and Tanaka Junyoshi between 2018 and 2022, but withdrew the tablets last February due to a wake-up call.

In the context of the investigations, the abbot of the sanctuary was removed from his duties, three officials were sanctioned, and the site was closed for the duration of the investigation.

Apart from public unrest, the memorial center for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre spoke out against the event and stressed that the crimes committed by the Japanese invasion between 1931 and 1945 should never be forgotten.

Japanese troops invaded the city on December 13th, 1937, and for six weeks they killed thousands of innocents, looted and destroyed.

According to estimates, between 20,000 and 80,000 women, girls and elderly women were also raped and mutilated before they died.

Eight years ago, the Chinese parliament designated December 13th as the National Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, and the city became the first International City of Peace in China in September 2017.

pgh/llp/mem/ymr