I went to Japan for a 12 months exchange last year and it's language is soooo not like chinese, but it's heaps interesting to learn and idk how long your exchange is going to be for but its actually pretty easy to pick up the japanese language and learn phrases etc :) I cant tell you about chinese schools but in Japan they are so different from westerenized schools e. G they take their shoes off when they enter their school and put special slippers on, they don't move around to their next class - the teachers move around, the students clean the school (its actually fun though), etc etc but the people and students etc are so nice and you get treated like a popstar lols. Seriously though, I totally recommend Japan, it's the best experience, you make lifelong friends, learn japanese and their country is beautiful and whacky, its crazy :P.
I'd say Japan, always wanted to see Tokyo before. XD.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.