China's Foreign Ministry said it had sent a protest note to Japan over its calls for countries around the world not to send representatives to China's major military parade on September 3, Reuters reported.
Beijing has demanded an explanation from Tokyo, ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular briefing. Japan must "completely break with militarism", he added.
On September 3, China is organizing a major military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender and the end of World War II in Asia. Russian President Vladimir Putin will be the guest of honor at the event, and because of this fact, "the possible participation of Russian troops" European ambassadors have announced that they may not attend the parade.
Meanwhile, videos have appeared on Chinese social media mocking Japan's World War II emperor Hirohito, part of a growing anti-Japanese sentiment in China ahead of the anniversary of the end of the war, Kyodo news agency reported.
These include photo collages of the late monarch, depicting him as a dog or a schoolgirl, which have sparked outrage in Tokyo.
Today, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi described the videos as "disturbing" and added that Japan has called on China through diplomatic channels to take action against them.
In communist China, social media posts are closely monitored by the authorities, and those deemed disturbing are often immediately deleted. The fact that these images have not yet been deleted suggests that they are tolerated by the Chinese government, Kyodo notes.