Many Chinese on Wednesday mourned the death for Japanese veteran Shiro Azuma, saying that it was a loss for those who safeguard friendly ties between China and Japan.

Azuma served in the Japanese army during the notorious Nanjing Massacre in 1937, and fifty years later he published his wartime diary to reveal the atrocities committed by Japanese troops in the holocaust.

Invading Japanese troops occupied Nanjing on Dec. 13, 1937 and launched a six-week long massacre. Historical records show that more than 300,000 Chinese people, not only disarmed soldiers but also civilians, were slaughtered.

After the war, Azuma lamented his actions in the war and made public the truth of Nanjing Massacre at various rallies in his country.

He also offered sincere apology and showed deep remorse in a special trip to Nanjing in 1987.

However, Azuma has suffered abuse and threats from right-wing Japanese groups since his diary was published.

Accused by right-wing politicians of lying, Azuma was brought to court in 1993 and lost. In 2000, the Japanese Supreme Court denied Azuma's appeal, in which he sought to acknowledge the history of the invasion of China.

Azuma died of cancer at the age of 93 in Kyoto on Tuesday.

"The death of Azuma Shiro is a loss for those Japanese people who dare to acknowledge the truth of history and a loss for all 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," Zhu said.

The 77-year-old Jiang Fugen, a survivor in the Nanjing Massacre, told Xinhua that he had thought in the past that Azuma was just playing a "show" by coming to Nanjing and offering apologies.

"But he came here one time after another against all difficulties to show his remorse and stuck to fighting the Japanese right-wing in court, I was deeply touched by his spirit and forgave him from the bottom of my heart," he said.

The penitent war veteran had been to China several times to speak about the Nanjing Massacre and show his remorse for war atrocities. In his final years, he revisited China, including Nanjing.

His diary was also published in Chinese.

Together with the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders and a Japan-based committee, Azuma collected evidence to prove the truth of his diary, denouncing Japanese right-wing activists who attempt to deny the slaughter.

Professor Jing Shenghong at the History Department of the Nanjing Normal University, who had much contact with Azuma, said, "He was a warrior fighting for justice; he was a sincere friend to Chinese people; and he stood for the Japanese mainstream in respect of the attitude toward history."

Relations between China and Japan reached a nadir since the bilateral ties were normalized in 1972, diplomatic observers said.

The two Asian powers experienced a chill in relations in 2005 due to controversial shrine visits by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the publishing of Japanese history textbooks that gloss over its war time atrocities, and Japan's unilateral oil field exploration, observers said.