China expressed its strong indignation over Japanese defense minister's remarks on the Nanking Massacre on Friday, urging Tokyo to face up to history and not challenge the world order.

Tomomi Inada, who was appointed as the defense minister on Wednesday, denied the existence of killing competition during the tragedy that left an estimated 300,000 people dead in an interview with local media on Thursday.

By ignoring history and fact, Inada was simply trying to whitewash Japan's history of aggression, challenge the world order and call back the spirit of militarism, the defense ministry said in a written statement on Friday.

More than seven decades ago, the Japanese troops carried out the massacre in Nanjing during World War II, and even used people for killing competitions.

"The evidence is ironclad and undeniable," the ministry said.

"Taking the history as a mirror and one would know the future," it added, noting that facing up to the history is the basis for solving historical issues, and manipulating the history would only repeat the same mistake.

If history is denied, there will be no future for the China-Japan relationship, it said.