China declares public holiday to mark Japan’s surrender in second world war

China is making the 70th anniversary of the Japanese surrender in the second world war a public holiday, the government said on Wednesday, as Beijing prepares a massive military parade to mark the occasion.

September 3 has been officially declared “The 70th anniversary of Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese War and the World Anti-Fascist War Victory Commemoration Day”, referring to China’s name for the conflict.

The move was made “for the broad participation of the entire nation in the central and regional commemoration activities”, said a notice on the government’s official website.

Beijing is planning a huge military parade to commemorate victory over Japanese forces as well as the broader defeat of the Axis powers, with Russian troops expected to participate for the first time.

Grand military parades, as they are called in China, in the past have been held roughly once a decade on National Day for milestone anniversaries of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It will also be the first such parade reviewed by President Xi Jinping.

A final date for the event has not been announced, but the public holiday statement implies it will be on September 3, the day after Japan signed the official instrument of surrender in 1945.