China and Japan: Between love and hate

Yano Koji first came to China in the early 2000s to study Chinese, and is now one of the most popular Japanese actors in China.

At first, he played many Japanese soldiers -- the archetypal "bad guys".

Gradually he was accepted by the Chinese audience, and now has tens of thousands of fans. He also has a Chinese wife and a daughter.

"As an actor, I am a conduit," he said. "Everyone who works between China and Japan could be a channel, and we could unite to make a difference, so that in spite of politics, the exchanges between Chinese and Japanese people continue."

Chinese director Lu Chuan was glad to see his movie "City of Life and Death" (2009) shown by Japan's largest online video platform niconico.jp. The film focuses on the Nanjing Massacre.

When the film was shown four years ago in a cinema in Tokyo, more than 40 police officers and several police cars safeguarded the event in case right-wing extremists caused trouble, Lu recalled.

The screening was a good start, Lu said, adding that he hoped the people from China and Japan could have more exchanges "to understand each other better."

Yang Haihui observed that in Japan, elderly people who knew the war better tend to be more friendly toward China than the younger generation.

"There might be many people in both countries who were like me in the past: disliking each other but without really knowing each other," he said.

A book written by Chinese TV host Bai Yansong, who made a program about Japan several years ago, reads: "Love or hatred, put it aside [...] Understand each other first. With enough understanding, everything is possible."