The Truth About Nanjing

Nanjing Massacre
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The Truth About Nanjing (南京の真実, Nankin no shinjitsu) is a 2007 film by Japanese far right filmmaker Satoru Mizushima that is widely considered to advocate for denial or revisionism of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre.^[1]

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Background and funding

Mizushima said he received more than 200 million yen (US$1.8 million) in donations from 5,000 of his supporters in order to fund the film.^[2] The film was backed by nationalistic figures including Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara^[3] and was intended to expose what the filmmakers saw as propaganda^[4] aspects of the Nanjing Massacre. Less than a month before the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre, the director said in an interview^[3] that Japanese war criminals were martyrs who were made into scapegoats for war crimes as Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross in order to bear the sins of the world, and they died bearing all of old Japan's good and bad parts. Contrary to the scholarly consensus, he also claimed that the Nanjing Massacre was a politically motivated frame-up by China and the numerous Western eyewitnesses whose accounts form the basis of the historical understanding of the Nanjing Massacre. These accounts were, according to the filmmakers, espionage activities.

The film was based on the work of Asia University professor Shūdō Higashinakano who has claimed the massacre was a hoax.^[2]^[5] Higashinakano was ordered by a Japanese court to pay compensation to a Chinese woman after he accused her of lying about being a victim of violence by the Japanese in Nanjing.^[2]

Mizushima said that the project was meant to counter the film Nanking, a 2007 American documentary, which he believed was "based on fabrications and gives a false impression"^[6] and which he perceives to be a "setup by China to control intelligence".^[4]

Plot

The Truth about Nanjing is a three-part film.

The first section was "Seven condemned criminals" (The theme is Class A war criminals.)

This part shows the last day of the seven people who were condemned to death in 1948 by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and executed on 23 December 1948 at Sugamo Prison, Tokyo. The film focuses on Iwane Matsui's campaign in Nanjing through flashbacks. Focus is put on each of the seven men.

The second section was for verification. (Documentary)
The third section was for America. (Drama)

Cast

The cast of the first part

Kenkichi Hamahata – Iwane Matsui
Jun Fujimaki – Hideki Tōjō
Minori Terada – Kōki Hirota
Shōhei Yamada – Seishirō Itagaki
Kuniyasu Atsumi – Kenji Doihara
Baiken Jukkanji – Akira Mutō
Akira Kubo – Heitarō Kimura
Kan Mikami – Shinshō Hanayama, Chaplain of Sugamo Prison
Kyōko Kamimura – Fumiko Matsui, wife of Iwane Matsui
Setsuko Karasuma – Shizuko Hirota, wife of Kōki Hirota

Reactions

Tokushi Kasahara, professor at Tsuru University, said other countries were making faithful documentaries and "it is shameful that Japan can only make this kind of film."^[2]

Support in Japan

Journalist Yoshiko Sakurai^[4] and a number of serving national-level Japanese politicians came out in support of the film.^[7]

House of Representatives:
House of Councillors:
- Shimpei Matsushita (independent)
- Yasuhiro Oe (Liberal Democratic Party)
- Nariaki Nakayama (Liberal Democratic Party)

References

^ "Japanese filmmaker to deny Nanjing massacre". Taipei Times. January 26, 2007. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Reynolds, Isabel (December 14, 2007). "Japanese filmmaker says 'Nanjing never happened'". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21.
^ ^a ^b "Archived". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012.^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b ^c Hongo, Jun (January 25, 2007). "Filmmaker to paint Nanjing slaughter as just myth". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^ Japan Nanking. AP Television. 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21 – via AP Archive.
^ Schilling, Mark (January 24, 2007). "Docs offer rival visions of Nanking". Variety. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^ McNeill, David (December 6, 2007). "Look back in anger". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2012.

External links

(in Japanese) 'Nankin No Shinjitsu' official website
'Nankin No Shinjitsu' official website in English
'The Truth of NANKING' official website in English and Japanese
"Film director brands Nanjing massacre a myth." Stuff.co.nz. Last updated January 1, 2009.

This page was last edited on 31 March 2024, at 06:45

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