SCMP special report: Love, hate and the post-war paradox of China-Japan relations

Ahead of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, marking the end of the Sino-Japanese war and the global fight against fascism, we look at the profound changes of the post-war period and how they continue to affect China’s place in the world. In the second part of this series, Shi Jiangtao looks at the often contradictory sentiments in relations between the two countries.

Eighty years after the end of World War II, a harrowing cinematic portrayal of Japanese wartime atrocities during the 1937 Nanking massacre has reignited memories of historical trauma that resonate deeply across China.