Japanese : https://i-rich.org/?p=2450
Ara Kenichi
Advisor, International Research Institute of Controversial Histories
When the description of the Nanjing incident began to appear in school textbooks in 1982, following the influence from neighboring countries clause, supposedly it was due to the “don’t-rock-the board” mentality toward China on the part of the Japanese Government. Now, however, the Nanjing incident is being used as the due cause for the Chinese people to attack Japanese people in China as well as the vital weapon in the intelligence warfare prior to the looming Taiwan emergency.
On December 13 last year, while Japanese schools in China were either closed or classes were held online, the Chinese Embassy in Japan called on people to remember the Nanjing incident victims, causing us Japanese to worry about Japanese children in China. The film Dead to Rights, whose screening in China began on July 25 this year, became a box office hit. The film showed scenes such as a baby being violently hit or a crucified Chinese soldier being stabbed with a bayonet, causing an acute rise of the Chinese hatred against the Japanese and further increase of worries among Japanese.
On December 13 last year, the Ryukyu Shimpo Newspaper posted a military diary of a soldier engaged in the battle of Nanjing on its front and second pages. Young people from Okinawa Prefecture were mobilized as the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out and deployed in the battle of Nanjing. The soldier’s military diary described well-known facts, but it was reported as if the soldier himself had witnessed the alleged massacre and the editorial of the Ryukyu Shimpo read that a massacre incident may happen again at any time, further asserting, “Think of the present situation. The allied U.S.-Japan military drills openly use commercial harbors, ports, airports and public roads. Urging the preparation for ‘emergency,’ the Self Defense Forces bases are being enlarged,” citing opposition to the military drills. On the TBS radio program “Ogiue Chiki Session,” aired on September 26 this year, journalist Aoki Osamu, touching the issues of “the battle of Okinawa and the Nanjing incident,” said that in the Nanjing incident the Japanese Army killed Chinese for the country and in the battle of Okinawa the Japanese Army brutally killed its own people for the just cause of protecting its own people.” Clearly, Okinawa is being made a target.
These cases show that the Chinese intelligence warfare using the Nanjing incident has deeply permeated public discourse, overwhelming Japan. These are not isolated incidents: on September 17, the Chinese Embassy in Japan invited one hundred and fifty guests to the preview of the film Dead to Rights. Some of the invited guests talked about the Japanese atrocities proving that the Chinese intelligence warfare in Tokyo has been openly staged. Dead to Rights is shown in the United States, Canada and many other countries in the world. Americans shed tears and generations unfamiliar with the Rape of Nanking hold the prejudice that the Japanese people are extremely cruel and such phenomena are seen elsewhere across the world.
In the prewar years, propaganda war or intelligence warfare in today’s terms was reported almost every month as extremely important in general magazines. After Japan’s defeat, the topic of armament became a taboo, and the propaganda war itself was forgotten. Under such circumstances, Japan is left totally vulnerable to operations of disruption.
While examining the Japanese Government’s actions over the recent years regarding the Nanjing incident, we can see that on April 3, 2023, at the House of Councilors’ Committee on Audit, Councilor Wada Masamune said, “Are there any documents kept within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which provide the grounds for the incident?” Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa answered, “’War History Series Sino Japanese War Japanese Army Operation (1)’ made by the governmental organization carries the relevant article.” Councilor Wada strongly refuted the statement, saying, “I have read all the related papers, but there was no specific description that the Japanese military intentionally killed Chinese.” He questioned the Minister again on April 24 to confirm it.
While the Foreign Minister kept making excuses, on January 26, 2024, Councilor Kamiya Sohei submitted a written question to the cabinet, asking, “If the War History Series Sino-Japanese War, Army Operation (1) is the basis, the Ministry’s website lacks the ground.” The Government answered that it did not solely depend on the war history series but made an overall decision. Councilor Kamiya submitted another written question to the cabinet on February 28. On May 13, 2025, Councilor Hamada Satoshi submitted a written question to the cabinet, asking, “Is there any official document to verify that the Japanese Army directed murder of noncombatants or acts of plunder?” The government did not answer. On June 17, he submitted another written question to the cabinet, but the government evaded the answer, saying, “Since it is not specifically clear what you mean, it is difficult to answer your question.”
In the first place, the neighboring countries clause was not made on the grounds of the Nanjing incident. Therefore, like a textbook made by Jiyu-sha, textbooks came to pass the authorization procedure without the description of the Nanjing incident. It is now clear that the post on the MOFA website was baseless. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan would not delete the article in question on the website but keeps admitting to the existence of the Nanjing incident.
When information came out related to the making of the film Dead to Rights, the story of negatives of photos taken by the Japanese Army being carried out by Nanjing citizens, it was understood that the film is based on the sixteen photographs submitted to the Nanjing military court held in 1947. The negatives of sixteen photos were supposed to have been carried out by Nanjing citizens and submitted to the Nanjing military court, and the court recognized them as valid evidence. However, some were totally unrealistic as photos taken during the rigorously cold winter in Nanjing. Since there was no record showing that photos were taken by the Japanese Army, clearly it was a fake story. Seventy years later, when China tried to register the 16 photos as UNESCO World Heritage, they were denied. At the time when the film was to be shown in China, doubts were pointed out on the Internet and “Sunday Sound Argument” column of the Sankei Newspaper dated August 6 shed light on the dubiousness of the film. And yet, the Japan’s Foreign Ministry would not do anything about it.
It was more than forty years ago when the Foreign Ministry forcibly spotlighted Nanjing incident. The Nanjing incident is not misjudgment like the removal of the sanctions against the Tiananmen incident or Emperor’s visit to China, but it is a case where Japan recognized as a fact at China’s insistence a questionable event without any ground. None of those concerned at the time are alive today. Japanese ministry’s Asian Bureau was changed to Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. The Foreign Minister does not need to adhere to the past. The Ministry must protect the Japanese nationals in China and cope with the intelligence warfare staged by China. Based on the conclusive facts, Japan should immediately change its policy toward the Nanjing incident. There is no time to hesitate.