Some people say the documentary "Yasukuni Shrine" will test the maturity of the Chinese people.

Then, should it be shown in China?

As little as a year ago, debate about whether the documentary "Yasukuni Shrine" could be shown to the Japanese public caused a stir in Japan and finally developed into a public incident.

Japanese reporters have continued to ask Li Ying, director of the documentary, "When will 'Yasukuni Shrine' be released in China?"

Li, a Chinese director living in Japan, hoped to build a platform for Chinese and Japanese people to exchange views through the documentary. He said, "The Japanese not only want the documentary to be released in China, but also want to see how the Chinese react after watching it."

When "Yasukuni Shrine" was released to the public in Japan two years ago, China's domestic media were already paying a great deal of attention to Li and his documentary.

On August 15 2006, CCTV prime show Oriental Horizon broadcast a 45-minute long special program, in which the host Bai Yansong talked about Li and his film "Yasukuni Shrine." At that time, the then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had already visited the Yasukuni Shrine on six consecutive occasions.

Li originally hoped that the documentary could be released in China and Japan at the same time or be simultaneously shown for a certain period to trigger a social issue which could be discussed by both sides.

The Japanese media also continued to ask Li, "When will the documentary be released in China? We care very much about the reaction of the Chinese public, including college students, after watching it. Chinese and Japanese people can discuss and exchange views about the documentary."

In response to some people's concern that the documentary may increase the antipathy of the Chinese public and further impact China-Japan "friendly relations," famous Chinese media mogul Hong Huang said she thought that this underestimated the Chinese public, that Chinese people need more high-quality information of this type and that Li's documentary actually aims to encourage people to reflect calmly.

Kato Yoshikazu, a columnist for the online Chinese version of the UK's Financial Times, and Yamaguchi Naoki, head of the Japanese academic exchange society in Beijing, also have no such concern because the documentary recorded Japanese from all circles of life, including elderly Japanese soldiers who wore old Japanese army uniforms, raised their arms and shouted out loudly "Long Live His Majesty the Emperor," as well as young Japanese who protested against honoring the Yasukuni Shrine.

"This documentary aims not simply to judge right and wrong, but to make people reflect on why the Yasukuni Shrine issue is so complicated," said Kato Yoshikazu. He added, "The Chinese should also seriously watch and cherish 'Yasukuni Shrine,' which was co-produced by a Chinese director and his Japanese partners. It would be a pity if the film could not be released to the Chinese public."

In an unprecedented move, All Japanese congressmen were invited to watch the documentary before its release in Japan

In response to the ban on showing "Yasukuni Shrine, the then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda responded that it would be a real pity if the film was banned from being shown simply because of the intentional harassment by some people or for some special reasons.

The documentary "Yasukuni Shrine" was first released to the Japanese public on May 3 2008, Japan's Constitution Memorial Day.

Youth Weekend contributes to this story.

By People's Daily Online