AGEING former Japanese soldier Shiro Azuma said he felt enormous pain every day he was commanded to kill Chinese.
'How could such atrocities be committed by the Japanese?' the 87-year-old asked during a talk with about 150 educational workers at City University in Hong Kong.
Speaking at the top of his voice, Mr Azuma, visibly agitated, said: 'Sixty years ago, a Nanjing university professor, Gao Qingzu, told me the barbaric acts of the Japanese were a humiliation to 20th century civilisation. I felt deeply sorry at that moment.
'Every day was a living pain. Why could our army be so cruel and kill people like that? At that time, it was forbidden to show sympathy because people would despise me.' He did what he could when remorse filled his heart - he intentionally misfired at Chinese prisoners.
'My commander asked us to shoot - I shot somewhere else, pretending I missed the target.' However, the remorse did not last too long as he quickly remembered he was a soldier, and soldiers needed to be obedient.
'Then I realised that no matter who my enemies were, my duty was to shoot.