Naoyuki Maniwa, a member of the Koto City Assembly, criticized Japanese politicians who claimed there was no record of the massacres of Chinese and Korean following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.

"I believe that a society that cannot confront its own history cannot face its present problems. The widespread hate against specific ethnic groups in Japan today, in my opinion, stems from how we face our history," said Maniwa.

"The Japanese government must acknowledge the historical facts and apologize to the victims and their families. It is Japan's responsibility to pass down the historical facts of aggression to future generations … This, in turn, is about passing on human dignity to future generations," he said.