Overview
- Japan will hold its annual August 15 ceremony in Tokyo with live addresses by Emperor Naruhito and the prime minister, broadcast by NHK.
- China has finalized a large-scale Victory Day parade on September 3 in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square featuring missiles, tanks and fighter jets.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend China’s parade, underscoring Beijing’s use of military pageantry to project regional power.
- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun recently urged Japan to deeply reflect on its wartime actions and accused it of concealing military expansion behind regional tensions.
- The divergent commemorations underscore enduring bilateral friction driven by conflicting interpretations of history and evolving defense postures.