Opinion | China’s Victory Day parade heralds new vision but old wounds linger

At China’s Victory Day parade last week, President Xi Jinping warned that the world stands at a crossroads – between peace and war. He urged nations to learn from history to prevent a repeat of the catastrophe that engulfed the world eight decades ago.

In the lead-up to the commemoration, concerns intensified over Japan’s perceived lack of genuine remorse for its wartime actions. Japanese officials continued to visit the shrine that honours the war dead, including military figures convicted of war crimes, raising regional sensitivities.

Tensions escalated when Beijing protested against Tokyo’s decision to allow a Taiwanese minister’s visit to Japan, a move seen as undermining Chinese sovereignty.

The rise of right-wing nationalism in Japan, including the revival of rhetoric linked to its fascist past, has only reinforced fears that the lessons of the second world war have yet to be fully absorbed.

Back in May, Russia held its annual military parade to commemorate the end of World War II, which Xi attended. Like China, Russia continues to challenge the Western narrative that frames the defeat of fascism as a primarily Western victory. Both nations insist they, too, were instrumental – and position themselves on the right side of history.