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4h ago

Japan to Hold Solemn 80th Surrender Ceremony as China Readies Military Victory Parade

China’s plan for a Sept. 3 military parade with missiles, tanks, fighter jets, foreign dignitaries including Vladimir Putin has heightened diplomatic frictions in East Asia.

FILE - People clad in outdated military uniforms walk towards the main hall of the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead, in Tokyo, Japan, on Aug. 15, 2024, as the country marks the 79th anniversary of its defeat in the World War II. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping is displayed on a screen as Type 99A2 Chinese battle tanks take part in a parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender during World War II held in front of Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, on Sept. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
Atomic bomb survivor, Fumiko Doi, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at Nagasaki Peace Park on April 21, 2025 in in Nagasaki, southern Japan. (AP Photo/Mayuko Ono)
FILE - Reiko Muto, a former nurse student, speaks on her experience during an interview with The Associated Press on Feb. 18, 2025, at St Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Overview

  • A national ceremony at Tokyo’s Budokan hall on Aug. 15 will feature Emperor Naruhito and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivering live remarks as Japan commemorates its WWII surrender.
  • China is preparing a large Victory Day event on Sept. 3 that will showcase missiles, tanks, fighter jets and host foreign dignitaries including Vladimir Putin.
  • Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun has called on Japan to deeply reflect on its wartime actions and warned against using regional tensions to conceal military expansion.
  • Recent visits by Japanese cabinet ministers to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine have fueled criticism from China and South Korea over the shrine’s association with wartime militarism.
  • With the number of WWII survivors dwindling, Japan is grappling with how to teach the war’s history amid rising revisionist pressures and fading firsthand testimonies.