Chinese family's mixed Japan memories on war anniversary(2)

Japanese cabinet members' worshipping of the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the day of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II, further strained the two countries' already tense relations.

Liu shares his grandfather's firm stand on defending China's territory and his anger over Japanese wartime atrocities, but his curiosities mounted as well on what exactly ordinary Japanese people thought about their shared past.

"I heard a lot about Japan and the war since I was a kid, but little of it came from the Japanese themselves," he explained.

Like many of his peers, Liu has built his knowledge of Japan and the eight-year war mostly from textbooks and TV. But unlike others, he has heard some different views on Japan within his family since he was a kid.

His youngest uncle, Liu Xing, studied mechanical engineering at Kobe University and later worked for a Japanese firm in the 1990s.

As much as he was deeply influenced by the war histories, Liu Xing also admired the advanced technology and efficiency of the Japanese.

"My uncle often told the family that Japan was an advanced country with polite people," said Liu Pinran. "Actually, my first impression about Japan was from the toy cars he brought me from there. I liked them so much and showed them off to my friends."

Confused by the family's different views on Japan, Liu Pinran decided to find answers by himself.

He was lucky enough to be recruited by CAMPUS Asia, a university student exchange program initiated by the governments of China, Japan and Korea of Republic since 2009, for a 12-day trip to Japan in July .

All 40 participants were majoring in international relations. They discussed controversial issues ranging from the Anti-Japanese War to disputes over the Diaoyu Islands, according to Liu.

"Misunderstanding between the two countries have long existed, but I found all the students eager to communicate and there were no extreme views during discussion," he said.

"For instance, Japanese students believe that their government officials above minister-level should stop visiting the Yasukuni Shrine. We came up with the idea of building a peace monument next to the shrine. Why not worship peace instead?"

While Japan routinely apologizes for its wartime actions, its politicians often anger the neighboring countries that bore the brunt of its colonial aggression by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, a Japanese memorial honoring war dead including top war criminals.