Why do some Chinese people hate the Japanese so much? Which war did this stem from?

Answer 1

The Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945) which was the war of Chinese fighting the Japanese invaders, cost the total military and non-military deaths of the Chinese at most 35 million.

In the Massacre / Rape of Nanking in 1937, 300,000 Chinese died. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East stated that 20,000 -80,000 women aged seven to the elderly were raped. Rapes were often performed in public during the day, sometimes in front of spouses or family members. A large number of them were systematized in a process where soldiers would search door-to-door for young girls, with many women taken captive and gang raped. The women were then killed immediately after the rape, often by mutilation.

According to some testimonies, other women were forced into military prostitution as "comfort women". There are even stories of Japanese troops forcing families to commit acts of incest: sons were forced to rape their mothers, fathers were forced to rape daughters. One pregnant woman who was gang-raped by Japanese soldiers gave birth only a few hours later; miraculously, the baby was perfectly healthy (Robert B. Edgerton, Warriors of the Rising Sun). Monks who had declared a life of celibacy were forced to rape women for the amusement of the Japanese. Instances of Chinese men being forced to commit sex with corpses were not unheard of. Any resistance would be met with summary executions. While the rape peaked immediately following the fall of the city, it continued for the duration of the Japanese occupation.

There are elements in Japan nowadays who tried to gloss over this part of the history, putting question marks over the death tolls and even whether the Rape of Nanking actually happened. History books for primary schools are white-washed to refer to the invasion as 'incidents'.

Koizumi, the current Prime Minister of Japan pays annual visit each year of his tenure to the Yasukuni Shrine where 14 Class A war criminals were enshrined. Some of his successors also vowed to continue with the visit.

What would you think if German government permits history textbooks which says the Nazis never invaded other European countries? What would you feel if the German Chancellor mourns the death of Hilter every year? I heard that there's a law in Germany which makes it an offence to publicly deny holocaust. There's no such law in Japan hence with the white-washed history textbooks and the PM's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, future generations of Japanese will only get a paler and more distorted understanding of what happened back then, until the day they honestly believe that Japan never invaded China.

I don't think Chinese hate Japanese civilians. But Chinese do hate Japanese who keep trying to white-wash the atrocities at the Sino-Japanese war and Japanese politicians who keep visiting the Yasukuni Shrine.

Answer 2

I agree with those that claim that the Chinese hatred for the Japanese stemmed mostly from World War II. Here's a fact for you: some of the Japanese soldiers who invaded China came up with a gruesome game. Soldiers would compete against one another by throwing Chinese babies in the air and stabbing it with a sword as it landed down. Scores are based on how accurate each pierce is, though I'm not sure about the specifics of scoring. I think that alone is enough to cause hatred for centuries.

Answer 3

There's probably a lot of reason why the chinese hate the japanese but it really is just the older generation. Stemming possibly form the jap occupation in WWII of many asian countires(primarily chinese there). But going back futhe rin history, I'll say it was when the japanese established "manchukuo" in manchuria in the 30s placing PuYi, the last chinese emperor as a puppet head.

Answer 4

WWII, and before it. The Chinese and Japanes fought a brutal war before WWII, and it just sort of blended right into WWII. In this war, the Japanese brutally invaded all of Indo-China, and most of the Pacific. They were absolutely heartless. They raped 20,000 women in Nanking, China. They brutally murdered thousands of civilians across Indo-China. Their atrocities were as bad as those of the Germans, their Allies in the war. In today's Japan, most of the people still are not being taught the truth of the brutality that their ancestors dealt out to the world around them. They used live human beings tied to posts for bayonet practice. They forced captured US Soldiers on the Bataan Death March - march until you fall dead.......it goes on and on and on.
Does that explain it? And don't buy the spin that some Japanese put on it. They still believe they are a superior race.

Answer 5

World War II, during the Rape of Nanking, "the Japanese army committed numerous atrocities, such as rape, looting, arson and the execution of prisoners of war and civilians. Although the executions began under the pretext of eliminating Chinese soldiers disguised as civilians, a large number of innocent men were wrongfully identified as enemy combatants and killed. A large number of women and children were also killed, as rape and murder became more widespread." That's why alot of Chinese hate the japanese. I have a friend who hates sushi b/c he hates Japanese people and just about anything about the Japanese.

Answer 6

I think it started from when the Japanese parted from China. But most Japanese and Chinese people that I know get along fine.

Answer 7

It was in World War 2 that Japan occupied some of Chinese islands and some are still disputable even now.

Answer 8

The Japanese invaded the hell out of Asia just prior to WW2. The Japanese had recently been brought into the industrial age after years of shutting off its ports to the world and forcing itself to remain in the Feudal Age well into the 1800's. Once they were brought back to their rightful place in time, they realized they did not have the resources to sustain modern advances, so they attacked many Asian nations to get more resources.

Answer 9

It is not so much a war, but the belief that the ancient empire must be restored to what its old greatness. This includes other Asian countries like Korea. Many believe that China suffers, becuase the country is not whole. If only it can become whole again then the country will prosper.

Answer 10

i don't think many chinese people hate the japanese as much now or in this generation. but the previous previous generation hated them because japan tried to take over china and in doing so they wiped out a lot of villages.