A Japanese choir has staged a concert in Beijing, singing songs of war and peace as part of events marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in China's war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

The choir, whose name translates to "Rebirth of the Earth", is an amateur group dedicated to promoting China-Japan friendship. Its members are mostly seniors, with the oldest in their eighties. Their songs describe the suffering of war, and were composed based on interviews with Japanese veterans and war criminals. At the start of the concert, the choir leader read out a message in fluent Chinese, apologizing for Japan's wartime past.

"As we mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the war against fascism, we sincerely apologize for Japan's past invasion of China and brutality in its occupation... for the great pain Japan inflicted on the Chinese people," "Rebirth of the Earth" choir leader Himeda Mitsuyoshi said.