In the three years and eight months, the colony's people were subjected to great suffering. But this history is not well known to most of the Japanese public.
People tend to remember more what happened in their neighbourhood.
What most Japanese people experienced during the war was the American B-29 bomber attacks on their cities and the deaths of their relatives. It is difficult for the Japanese public to see themselves as invaders because that role was played outside the country. The tour was organized by Yukio Wani, a Japanese history teacher. The group first learnt the basic history of Hong Kong at the Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui. On the second day, they attended a demonstration staged by the Hong Kong Reparation Association and joined its 600 members in demanding a full apology and compensation for the Hong Kong war victims.