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What is the Alleged Nanking Massacre?

The alleged Nanking Massacre, commonly known as the Rape of Nanking, is the name of a genocidal war crime said to have been committed by the Japanese military in the city of Nanking (Nanjing), the then capital of the Republic of China, after it fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on December 13, 1937. There is a dispute about whether it really occurred or not.

Massacre affirmationists claim that during the occupation of Nanking, the Japanese army committed numerous atrocities such as rape, looting, arson and the execution of prisoners of war and civilians. They say that the Japanese massacred about 300,000 Chinese people in Nanking during the six weeks after the Japanese occupation of the city. On the outer wall of the Nanking Massacre Memorial Museum in China is written "300,000" as the number of the massacre victims. Many Chinese children visit there every year to be planted anti-Japanese feeling in their hearts.

  Massacre denialists claim that newspapers, photos, documentary films, records and testimonies in those days all tell the Nanking Massacre of 300,000 people, a large-scale massacre or even a small-scale massacre, did not take place. According to denialists, the so-called Nanking Massacre was a fabrication and false propaganda spread by Chinese Nationalists and Communists for their political purpose.

Today, we have numerous reliable pieces of evidence showing that the massacre did not actually occur. Firstly, I will give a brief explanation of what actually occurred in Nanking, and then, show the details.
What Actually Occurred in Nanking
In 1937, to end the China Incident, the Japanese military advanced on China and fought against Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese military in Nanking. During the battle, every civilian who remained in the city took refuge in the Safety Zone, which was specially set up within the walls of Nanking. The Japanese military did not attack it, and no civilian was killed.

  Until the time of the Japanese occupation of Nanking, the Chinese military had committed numerous bad deeds such as plunder and rape among citizens. The citizens who had abhorred them welcomed the entry of the Japanese military into Nanking, giving cheers and rejoicing (see the picture at the top of this page).

Just before the Japanese occupation, the population of the city was about 200,000. One month after the occupation, many Chinese citizens came back to Nanking learning that peace had returned, and the population increased to about 250,000. Newspapers in those days had numerous photos of Chinese citizens who had come back to Nanking and lived peacefully, buying, selling and smiling with Japanese soldiers.

In the battle of Nanking, many Chinese soldiers discarded their military uniforms to run away, killed Chinese civilians to take off civilian clothes, and hid themselves among Nanking citizens. Some Westerners remaining in Nanking sheltered Chinese military officers secretly, breaking the agreement with the Japanese military to be neutral. Many of the Chinese soldiers not only hid weapons to prepare urban warfare, but also raped Chinese women and put it on an act of Japanese soldiers for anti-Japanese maneuvering purpose. The Japanese military found out these illegitimate soldiers, and there were those who were executed by the Japanese military; however, these executions were recognized as legitimate under international law.

It is also a fact that there were around ten or several tens cases of small crimes such as plunder and rape committed by Japanese soldiers in Nanking. However, these were similar to the crimes which soldiers of other countries also committed in occupied territories, and the Japanese criminals were strictly punished.

  There were such things, but the Japanese military did not massacre anyone in Nanking. The Japanese military rather did many humane aid activities to Nanking citizens and POWs. There was no single Chinese citizen who starved to death under the Japanese occupation. Seeing these Japanese activities and being moved by them, there were even Chinese POWs who later joined Wang Jingwei’s pro-Japanese government.

Those who committed atrocities were Chinese soldiers. Many Chinese soldiers discarded their military uniforms and chose to hide themselves among Nanking citizens. Since they couldn't be naked, they killed civilians to take off their civilian clothes. Espy, the American vice-consul at Nanking, and others witnessed these scenes. Those who massacred Chinese people were Chinese soldiers.
The Chinese military in those days was rather a crowd of robbers, than to be called a disciplined military. They plundered Chinese settlements for foods, raped women and burnt the villages. Civilians who were killed in and around Nanking were mostly killed by the Chinese military. There are many testimonies about it. The Chinese government has been putting these Chinese soldiers’ atrocities on an act of the Japanese military to establish the government authority over Chinese people.