Japanese Textbook Treatment of the Nanking Massacre

What are Japanese students being taught about the atrocities committed by the Japanese Army when it grabbed Nanking (Nanjing) in December 1937? In its November 22, 1996, issue Naigai KyÙiku, a periodical published by Jiji Press, reviewed middle school history textbooks for use in the 1997 school year (April 1997 to March 1998), and in its December 19, 1997, issue it reviewed high school history textbooks for use in 1998. Here are extracts on the start of the Sino-Japanese War and the capture of Nanking from the four most widely used texts.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

Shinpen--Atarashii shakai: Rekishi (New Social Studies: History, New Edition). Tokyo: TÙkyÙ Shoseki, 1998. Used by 41% of middle schools. From the section "The Start of the Sino-Japanese War" (p. 254):

Having brought Manchuria under its control, Japan advanced into northern China. The Sino-Japanese War began on July 7, 1937 (ShÙwa 12), with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, a clash between Japanese and Chinese armed forces at the Marco Polo Bridge on the outskirts of Peking (Beijing), without any declaration of war being issued. The fighting spread from northern China into central China, and at the end of the year the Japanese Army occupied the capital Nanking (Nanjing). In the process it killed an estimated 200,000 people, including women and children (the Great Nanking Massacre).

Chšgaku shakai: Rekishiteki bun'ya (Middle School Social Studies: The Field of History). Osaka: Œsaka Shoseki, 1998. Used by 19% of middle schools. From the section "The Sino-Japanese War" (pp. 252-53):

On July 7, 1937 (ShÙwa 12), Japanese troops clashed with Chinese troops near Peking (Beijing) at the Marco Polo Bridge. Acting while the attitude of the government was still ambivalent, the Japanese Army extended the battle into Shanghai. In this way an all-out war between Japan and China began in the absence of a declaration of war. China's Nationalist government formed an anti-Japanese national front with the Communist Party and fought to repel Japan's invasion.

The Japanese Army encountered fierce resistance everywhere. It is said to have killed 200,000 people after occupying Nanking (Nanjing), and it was censured by various foreign governments.¹ But the Japanese people were not informed of these facts.

Footnote 1. This is known as the Great Nanking Massacre Incident, and the Chinese authorities assert that more than 300,000 people were slaughtered. In addition, from around 1940 on, a three-pronged campaign to burn, kill, and plunder was set in motion against anti-Japanese strongholds in northern China, and it had a devastating impact on the lives and the livelihoods of the Chinese masses.

HIGH SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS

ShÙsetsu: Nihonshi kaiteiban (A Detailed Exposition of Japanese History, Revised Edition). Tokyo: Yamakawa Shuppansha, 1998. Used by 38% of high schools. From the section "The Sino-Japanese War" (pp. 323-24):

On July 7, 1937 (ShÙwa 12), shortly after the installation of Konoe Fumimaro's first cabinet, Japanese and Chinese forces clashed at the Marco Polo Bridge on the outskirts of Peking (Beijing)--the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. A local cease-fire agreement was reached, but because of factors including pressure from military hard-liners, the Konoe cabinet revised its policy line of no expansion and determined on an increase of troops. Military action escalated; the battle spread from the north to the south and, over time, throughout China.¹ In order to offer the maximum resistance, the Nationalist government engaged in its second joint operation with the Communist Party in late September, and an anti-Japanese national front was established. The Sino-Japanese War escalated in this way without any declaration of war. Japan sent in one big army after another. But while it managed at the end of the year to occupy the capital Nanking (Nanjing),² the Nationalist Army continued to put up resistance even as it retreated to Wuhan and then to Chungking (Chongqing) in the interior. As a result, peace efforts had no effect, and a long war seemed in the offing.

Footnote 1. Initially known as the "North China Incident," it was later renamed the "China Incident." While neither side had declared war, it developed into what was in fact an all-out war.

Footnote 2. On this occasion the Japanese forces killed many Chinese, including noncombatants, and after Japan's defeat this (the Nanking Incident) became a major issue at the Tokyo Trial.

Nihonshi B (Japanese History B). Tokyo: JikkyÙ Shuppan, 1998. Used by 7% of high schools. From the section "The Widening Spread of the Sino-Japanese War" (pp. 318-19):

Just after that, on July 7 [1937], fighting broke out between Japanese and Chinese forces at the Marco Polo Bridge outside of Peking (Beijing)--the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. A temporary cease-fire was reached on the scene, but the Konoe cabinet determined to send in troops with the idea of giving China a punch, suppressing the anti-Japanese movement, and securing northern Chinese resources and markets; this was called the "North China Incident." The fighting spread to Shanghai in August (the Second Shanghai Incident), and the affair was renamed the "China Incident" in September. Without declaring war, Japan embarked on an all-out invasion of China--the Sino-Japanese War.

Contrary to Japanese expectations that the country could be subdued with a single big thrust, China, which had forged an anti-Japanese national front, resisted fiercely. Japan sent in massive forces, and in December they occupied Nanking (Nanjing), the capital of the Nationalist government. On that occasion the Japanese troops killed many Chinese, including soldiers who had surrendered or been captured, and went on a rampage of looting, burning, and raping. This was internationally censured as the Great Nanking Massacre. In the few weeks before and after the occupation the number of deaths, including combatants, is estimated to have been at least one hundred and several tens of thousands.

© 1998 Japan Echo Inc.