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70th anniversary of Japan's WW2 surrender

People gather around a statue symbolising Korean “comfort women” made to work in Japanese wartime military brothels, in Berlin in 2020, in protest against the German city’s decision to rescind approval for it to stand there. The authorities later changed their stance and the statue is still in place. Photo: Kyodo

Why does a South Korean fringe group agree with Japan on WWII ‘comfort women’?

End Comfort Women Fraud group, who say there’s evidence of women signing contracts to work in brothels for Japanese military during colonial rule, are travelling to Germany, hoping a statue of a ‘comfort woman’ can be removed.

25 Jun 2022 - 4:35PMvideocam

Will Japan PM be man with Midas touch in Unesco gold mine row with Korea?

22 Jan 2022 - 3:33PMvideocam

UK man’s diary unveils horrors of Japan internment camp

25 Oct 2020 - 9:30PMvideocam

Mystery of tortured Chinese in Japan unearthed in WWII document trove

The 11 fabric traders in Osaka were suspected of being spies for Chinese Nationalists. They were beaten, burned and starved in detention. Six later died.

6 Sep 2020 - 8:24AMvideocam

Journals and notebooks of a Japanese official dating from the post-war period on display in 2019. Photo: Kyodo

Japan renews claim on Russia-held Kuril Islands

Tokyo had refrained from claiming ownership of the islands last year amid hopes Shinzo Abe and Vladimir Putin would break the deadlock in the territorial dispute.

19 May 2020 - 10:52PMvideocam

Nirvana to starvation: Canadians who defended wartime Hong Kong

Alfred Babin was among a little known group of soldiers who fought for Hong Kong and spent years in a Japanese prisoner camp. His son says these 1,975 Canadians deserve greater recognition.

14 Nov 2019 - 10:23AM

Godzilla at 65: still wreaking havoc, but now a reminder of Japan’s anxious past

As one of Japan’s biggest pop-culture exports celebrates its 65th birthday, the monster’s backstory prompts memories of the nation’s harrowing struggle with nuclear conflict.

3 Nov 2019 - 9:46PM

A still from 2016’s Shin Godzilla. Photo: Handout

Japanese minister becomes first in two years to visit Yasukuni Shrine

Cabinet member Seiichi Eto pays his respects to the nation’s war dead at site seen abroad as symbol of Japan’s past militarism.

18 Oct 2019 - 2:14PM

Patriotism vs pay packet: Japan-Korea tensions test migrant workers

Japan has offered myriad opportunities for young South Koreans struggling to secure a foot on the career ladder in recent years, but diplomatic tensions between the two neighbours threaten to derail the plans of some jobseekers.

27 Sep 2019 - 5:31PM

Flags of our fathers: a Japanese couple’s incredible story

Inspired by the recovery of her grandfather’s ‘Yosegaki Hinomaru’ flag, a woman and her husband have since helped send scores of second world war flags home to loved ones.

19 Jan 2018 - 6:05PM

Rex and Keiko Ziak operate the Obon Society, a humanitarian initiative to reunite the flags of fallen Japanese soldiers with their surviving families. Photo: Handout

Japan identifies submarines seized and sunk after second world war

8 Sep 2017 - 9:16PM

The I-58 submarine at Sasebo in 1946. Photo: National Archives

Cultural exchange could unite mainland China and Taiwan on Japan war history experience, Hong Kong forum participants say

It is politically unrealistic for the mainland and Taiwan to jointly write an official history of their resistance against Japanese invasion, three academics said on Tuesday at a forum to mark the 70th anniversary of China’s liberation from the island nation during the second world war.

8 Oct 2015 - 6:03AM

Proud Chinese air force colonel takes military parade’s armed helicopters on detour for hometown fly-past

11 Sep 2015 - 2:04PM

Beijing military parade a 'bikini show' of China's technology but sensitive parts were hidden, expert says

7 Sep 2015 - 11:05PMvideocam

Wheeled armored assault vehicles attend the military parade on Thursday in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

'What reconciliation?' Chinese WW2 veteran refuses Japanese firm's offer to pay for his forced labour

6 Sep 2015 - 3:21PM

Liu Shili, a former forced labourer attending a local conference on Japan's role during the second world war.Photo: David Wong

Jiang Zemin has how many fingers? Twitter jokes and blocked Weibo posts abound as China holds grand parade

4 Sep 2015 - 6:34PM

Fifty shades of grey: smog returns to Beijing after clean-up creates weeks of ‘parade blue’

4 Sep 2015 - 11:04PM

Air China launches live in-flight TV broadcasts by streaming Beijing’s military parade

4 Sep 2015 - 3:06PM

Passengers on Thursday's Air China flight from Beijing to the city of Sanya, on Hainan Island, were the first to watch a live in-flight TV broadcast. Photo: China News Service

'We absolutely support the decision': China's military units back Xi Jinping's plan to cut 300,000 troops

4 Sep 2015 - 4:42PM

Senior Taiwan politician faces more protests, criticism for attending war anniversary parade

4 Sep 2015 - 6:44PM

From Taiwan to the United States: How the world covered Beijing's military parade

21 Jun 2018 - 3:17PM

The guard of honor of the three services of the Chinese People's Liberation Army attends a military parade in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua

Peace and stability can only be guaranteed through a strong military

The impressive military parade that was the centrepiece of events in Beijing yesterday marking the 70th anniversary of Japan's second world war defeat was replete with meaning.

4 Sep 2015 - 2:03AM

Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects troops in his purpose-made limousine. Photo: EPA

Awe and peace: As world witnesses massive display of military power in Beijing, Xi Jinping vows to cut 300,000 troops and peaceful intent

4 Sep 2015 - 11:22AM

China demonstrates its military might with war parade, as observers say President Xi Jinping plans to boost PLA's combat ability

23 Jan 2018 - 11:54AM

Xi Jinping says China will be guarantor of world peace as he downplays parade’s military muscle

China pledged to be a guarantor of postwar peace and order and downsize its armed forces during Thursday’s grand parade – downplaying concerns over how Beijing will apply its military muscle.

3 Sep 2015 - 8:12PMvideocam

China's President Xi Jinping (centre at rear) gestures as he delivers a speech behind Russia's President Vladimir Putin (right), South Korea's President Park Geun-hye (centre) and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev (left) during a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II. Photo: AFP

China says troop cuts will happen by 2017 and further military reforms on way

3 Sep 2015 - 8:41PM

PLA navy soldiers roll on their armoured vehicles to Tiananmen Square during the military parade on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

'All the frustrations leading up to parade were worth it' – what residents and visitors thought

3 Sep 2015 - 5:52PM

The 12 military ‘hits’ and ‘misses’ of China’s historic parade

3 Sep 2015 - 6:41PM

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70th anniversary of Japan's WW2 surrender

On September 3, 2015, China hosted a massive military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of Tokyo's defeat in the second world war, as well as the broader defeat of the Axis powers led at the time by Germany. Tokyo's wartime record is a sensitive issue for Asian neighbours, which have been seeking contrition for past aggression - some of which Japan has disputed or denied. Japan occupied parts of China from the 1930s until the end of the second world war, and Beijing says millions died as imperial Japanese troops stormed across Asia. Japan signed the official instrument of surrender on September 2, 1945.

last updated:

9 September, 2024