There has been much bad blood between the countries. Japan was one of many imperial powers that tried repeatedly (and succeeded) to exploit China. Often times, the Japanese abused those that they conquered fairly badly, as happened during World War II. Read the history books and see if you don't think that the Chinese aren't at least a little justified.

A lot of it is historical due to the various atrocities committed by the Japanese when they occupied portions of China. The other reason is political because China is positioning itself as the super power in Asia and trying to minimize Japan's influence in in the region.

As for the everyday person, if they're old enough, they'll have memories of the brutal occupation of China by Japan. Incidents such as the Rape of Na...

A lot of it is historical due to the various atrocities committed by the Japanese when they occupied portions of China. The other reason is political because China is positioning itself as the super power in Asia and trying to minimize Japan's influence in in the region.

As for the everyday person, if they're old enough, they'll have memories of the brutal occupation of China by Japan. Incidents such as the Rape of Nanking don't get as much attention as the crimes committed by the Nazis against the Jews, but were just as horrible. The Japanese also have their own version of Dr Mengele who committed terrible experiments against live human subjects in China.

Most of the younger generation might have heard stories from their parents, but for the most part, they don't have any negative emotions towards the Japanese. Lots of people in China use Japanese products all the time and conduct business with Japanese people and companies. In fact, Japan is one of the largest investors in China after the Taiwanese.

This issue gets more attention because now and then, the Chinese government will stir up anti-Japanese sentiment. Japan is sometimes to blame because they still have politicians in Japan who are trying to rewrite history and claim that some of the horrible war crimes committed by Japan didn't happen. I guess it's their own version of the Holocaust deniers.