China marks Nanjing massacre amid tense Japan ties
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Paramilitary policemen carry wreaths as they march during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since Japan's Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", when Japanese troops killed more than 300,000 people, local media reported. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Paramilitary policemen carry wreaths as they march during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Paramilitary policemen carry wreaths as they march during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Skeletons of victims of the Nanjing Massacre are seen at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Skeletons of victims of the Nanjing Massacre are seen at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Police officers stand as they attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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People attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Schoolchildren lay flowers during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Schoolchildren attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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People attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A survivor of the Nanjing Massacre reacts during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since Japan's Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", when Japanese troops killed more than 300,000 people, local media reported. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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A paramilitary policeman stands as he attends a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since Japan's Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", when Japanese troops killed more than 300,000 people, local media reported. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Paramilitary policemen carry wreaths as they march during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since Japan's Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", when Japanese troops killed more than 300,000 people, local media reported. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Paramilitary policemen carry wreaths as they march during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Paramilitary policemen carry wreaths as they march during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Skeletons of victims of the Nanjing Massacre are seen at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Skeletons of victims of the Nanjing Massacre are seen at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Police officers stand as they attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
People attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Schoolchildren lay flowers during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Schoolchildren attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
People attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since the Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", in which China says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then the national capital. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A survivor of the Nanjing Massacre reacts during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since Japan's Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", when Japanese troops killed more than 300,000 people, local media reported. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
A paramilitary policeman stands as he attends a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nanjing Massacre at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, Jiangsu province, Dec 13, 2012. China marked 75 years since Japan's Nanjing massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", when Japanese troops killed more than 300,000 people, local media reported. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
NANJING, China (AFP) - Sirens wailed in China's Nanjing city on Thursday, 75 years after Japanese troops embarked on mass killing and rape, as a modern-day territorial row between the two saw Tokyo scrambling fighter jets.
The two countries - the world's second- and third-largest economies - have extensive trade and business links, but the weight of Japan's wartime atrocities still bears heavily on their relationship.
Nearly 10,000 people sang the Chinese national anthem at a commemoration at the Nanjing Massacre Museum, as soldiers in dress uniforms carried memorial wreaths across a stage and officials urged remembrance of the past.
Beforehand, an elderly woman cried as she placed flowers by the names of family members listed among the victims on a grey stone wall, and a group of Chinese and Japanese Buddhist monks chanted sutras to pray for world peace.
