BEIJING - China applauded an exhibition on the Nanjing Massacre jointly organized by groups from Nanjing, China and Hiroshima, Japan, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Referring to the exhibition that kicked off on July 15 in Hiroshima, Lu Kang said this year marks the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, in which the Japanese militarists committed serious crimes during the Second World War.

The painful history should never be forgotten, he said, and called on Japan to learn from the history to avoid war, safeguard peace and shape the future.