A Japanese delegation that recently visited China said at a sharing session in Tokyo on Sunday that the trip gave them a more direct understanding of the history of the war between China and Japan, as well as contemporary China. The trip highlighted the importance of facing Japan's past aggression and learning about China through firsthand exchanges.

The 31-member delegation, comprising high school and university students as well as working adults, visited Beijing and Shenyang in Northeast China's Liaoning province from Aug 24 to 30.

Hiroshi Onishi, who headed the delegation and is vice-chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Association and professor emeritus at Keio University, said the program covered wartime history, technological development and exchanges with Chinese university students.

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Several participants said visits to war museums and memorials deepened their understanding of the suffering caused by Japanese aggression and differences in the two countries' war memories.

Jun Kato, a Keio University student visiting China for the first time, toured the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, the 9.18 Historical Museum in Shenyang and the Pingdingshan Massacre Memorial Hall in Fushun, Liaoning province.

"The Japanese side must accept the historical fact that our ancestors were perpetrators of aggression," Kato said. "I believe we must face up to this fact."

Yo Kato, a university student majoring in history, was struck by differences in how the war is presented in the two countries.

Compared with the relatively "soft" presentations he had encountered in Japan, he said, some memorial sites in China more directly showed the damage caused by the war. This allowed him to view the history from a different perspective.

When Japan looks back on the war each August, public discussion tends to focus on the period after 1941, although the war between China and Japan had already been going on for years, Onishi noted.

The trip also challenged some participants' previous impressions of contemporary China.

In Beijing, second-year high school student Ei Hanyu observed demonstrations of autonomous driving and robotics and said she was impressed by China's technological development.

Kato said information he received before the trip had raised concerns about China's air quality, but what he encountered in Beijing and Shenyang differed from what he had imagined.

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During exchanges with Chinese university students, the Japanese youth used translation apps to overcome language barriers and talked about topics ranging from anime to social media trends. The experience made Kato realize that the everyday lives of young people were not as distant as he had imagined.

Yoshitaka Tanaka, vice-chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Association and a researcher on China, said a week-long visit could show only a small part of China, but firsthand contact could offer perspectives beyond media coverage and preconceived impressions.

The visit came as China-Japan relations have faced serious difficulties following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks on Taiwan.

The program grew out of the China Encyclopedia Test, launched by the Japan-China Friendship Association in 2014 to promote knowledge of China, particularly among young people. The latest visit was the third such trip for high-performing participants.

Contact the writers at houjunjie@chinadaily.com.cn