The 80th Memorial Day of the Nanjing Massacre is coming up on Wednesday. To mourn this tragic event, one of the darkest parts of the human history, let everyone remember the past and cherish peace.  CCTV documentaries have interviewed some Japanese WWII survivors, “Young Militarists” who promised to live or die together with the Japanese Empire but found themselves abandoned by their country after Japan was defeated in the war. 

Today let us hear the story of Yukiko Yamabe, a former “Young Militarist” who joined China's Democratic United Army as a medic when she was 17 years old.

Within a week of Japan’s defeat, she was already feeling more positive about her Chinese comrades. She was particularly impressed by one fresh-faced soldier, who borrowed a wok and returned it a couple of days later with a big turnip inside.

"So love and goodwill between people still existed during that cruel and inhuman time," Yukiko Yamabe said.

Later, when a notice was posted by the army that the young soldier served in, asking for volunteer medics, Yukiko Yamabe put her name down.

Yukiko Yamabe met a lot of other Japanese in the Chinese army unit. Many, she assumes, had only joined up out of necessity.

There are lots of people who have witnessed history like Yukiko Yamabe.

Turning back to 80 years ago, what do they remember of that time? What do they think of today’s world? And what kind of world do they want to bequeath to Japan and China going forward?

Let's hear their recounting of history together.