Fandom vs flag: why young Chinese embrace Japanese pop culture but reject war-era symbols

Young Chinese people enjoy Japanese pop culture such as anime and music, but many draw a firm line at symbols of Japanese militarism. That line was tested recently at Moscow State University, where Chinese students confronted a classmate wearing Japan’s rising sun flag in class and called for his repatriation, state-run newspaper Global Times reported on Sunday. Many countries, including China, view the flag as a symbol of Japanese militarism and aggression. Japan’s Self-Defence Forces still use