The Japanese Denial
From the 1970's until 1990, Japan officially began to lie about the Nanking Massacre. Right wing politicians created three types of denial when they came to power in 1972: they distorted the facts, disputed the extent of the Massacre, and even denied the events completely. The Japan Ministry of Education headed the attempts to distort and rewrite the history books. Certain words were replaced, such as "aggression" with "advancing." The entire massacre was re-labeled a "minor incident," or the "Nanking Incident." The Japanese history books even claimed that the massacre occurred because Japanese soldiers were frustrated with the strength of the Chinese army.
During this period, some Japanese citizens came to believe the massacre had been a great exaggeration. The book, Nanking Incident, by Hata Ikuhiko claims that there were only 38,000 to 42,000 victims, whereas most sources state there were over 300,000 victims. This text is considered the text for history classes on the issue by the Japan Ministry of Education.
Perhaps the most outrageous claim was of an absolute denial of the atrocity. The Journey to China sparked the publication of two articles, "Reply to Katsuichi Honda," and "The Phantom of the Nanking Massacre," both declaring that the massacre never happened. They were printed in the March and April edition of Every Gentlemen. In addition, the book, "Fabrication of Nanking Massacre," by Massaki Tanaka, also denied the massacre and blamed the Chinese for the war.
View Image - A civilian about to be beheaded.
In 1990, Japanese government officials formally denied the Nanking Massacre by stating that it was a lie. On November 10, 1990, the deputy Japanese Consul in Houston told Americans that according to Japanese sources, the massacre never occurred. Shintaro Ishihara, a Japanese writer and politician, was quoted by Playboy, "People say that the Japanese made a holocaust there, but that is not true. It is a story made up by the Chinese." This treatment of the Massacre continued for five more years.
On August fifteenth, 1995, the fiftieth anniversary of the Massacre, the Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama gave the first clear and formal apology for the Japanese actions during the war. He apologized for the wrongful aggression and the great suffering in Asia. He offered his "heartfelt" apology to all survivors and to the relatives and friends of the victims. That day, the prime minister and the Japanese Emperor Akihito pronounced statements of mourning at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan. The emperor offered his condolences and hopes that the atrocities of such a war will never be repeated.
Chinese people are beginning to accept Japan's formal apologies and they believe the apologies are a step in the right direction. However, the Chinese are still afraid and suspicious of the Japanese, and await concrete compensations. In the past, they have not made much a fuss over the Massacre. They have been too humiliated and ashamed of the events, and, perhaps, were more interested in future economic prosperity than their gruesome past. Daniel Kwan, who put together a Los Angeles photography exhibit on the Massacre, claimed the Chinese are too involved with, "a desire to focus on making money to pay for their Rolexes and Mercedes, rather than something so unpleasant."
Other countries from around the world also have suspicions of the Japanese apologies. Some British and Australian veterans accuse Murayama of making the apologies too personal and telling only his feelings. They claim the apologies are meaningless and cloudy, and that they are not directly from the nation of Japan. They will only be satisfied after compensations are paid. Until now, America has been fairly quiet.
As a result of both the dying witnesses and the fiftieth anniversary of the Massacre, there have been many efforts to raise awareness of the Nanking Massacre around the world. However, it is extremely difficult for the older generation of Chinese who lived through the massacre to teach others about it. They are trying very hard to put their past behind them, and telling about the horrible events is painful to them. The also do not want to tell children about the atrocities, as the horrid facts may hurt the children or give them wrong ideas about the Japanese. However, there are other individuals from all over the world who are concerned about the awareness in future generations and are trying to bring out the truth.
This small minority is trying to teach those who received a warped education in the Japanese schools. A video has been released to teach Japanese youth. Three army officials were recorded, speaking about the brutalities. Even though the video was broadcasted on national television, this attempt met with little success.
A memorial hall has been erected in Nanking in remembrance of the victims and to raise awareness of the Nanking Massacre. Built in the 1980's, it is located near a site where thousands of bodies were buried, called a "pit of ten thousand corpses," or "wan ren keng."
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