Japanese customers must apologise for their country's wartime occupation of China before getting a seat at a restaurant in the region formerly known as Manchuria, Japan's Kyodo news agency reports.
No Japanese had tried to enter the restaurant in the city of Jilin, north-eastern China, since it introduced the apology policy and hung a sign that says: "Japanese people barred from entry."
"We totally welcome those Japanese customers who can correctly view history," the manager was quoted as saying. "But as for those customers who still refuse to admit to history, we want to say we don't like them."
Reuters reports that staff at the Western-style restaurant were told to ask Japanese customers to give their views of Japan's 1931-45 occupation of parts of China, including the north-east, and to turn away those who did not apologise and share the owner's opinions, Kyodo said.
Many Chinese feel Japan has never owned up to atrocities committed during its occupation.
The 1948 Tokyo war crimes tribunal found Japanese troops killed 155,000 people, mainly women and children. China has repeatedly asked Japan to "correctly" view history to repair ties between the two countries, which this year have sunk to their lowest point in decades.
