in article 2tbirjF1tlj10U1@uni-berlin.de, m.yoshida at masa@yahoo.co.jp
wrote on 10/16/04 12:28 PM:

> 
>> Unfortunately, the denial of the Rape of Nanking and the denial of the war
>> crimes committed by leaders of the Imperial Army appears to be increasing,
>> as revisionist textbooks are now being approved by local schools and
>> right-wing politicians are becoming more powerful and more vocal.
> 
> Mr. Schaal
> 
> As an interesting perspective, see this:
> http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/articles/Askew.html
> 
> Masayuki

Mr. Masayuki,

I checked out the article, which discusses the history of research in the
Rape of Nanking. While obviously written to discount the Chinese version of
the Rape of Nanking, it does not do a convincing job of supporting the
Japanese Right Wing version either. It discusses the Chinese politics that
taints the Chinese version, but is almost silent on the corresponding
Japanese politics that taints the Japanese version. It clearly does not
support the position of Kaz et al. that "the Japanese were gentle in China."

At the end of the article, he made four conclusions. The first is that the
topic is a controversial one. The second is that too many Japanese
researchers are too ignorant of the facts. The third is that historians have
an obligation to examine the calmly. The fourth is that a dialogue between
historians working on the "Nanjing Incident" needs to be promoted. It
clearly does not support the position of Kaz et al. that "the Japanese were
gentle in China."

I must admit to reservations about the author (a gaijin scholar working in a
Japanese university) since he parrots the language of Japanese "scholars,"
who call it an "incident" instead of a "rape". I also have reservations
about the focus on how the Chinese are emotional about the topic while
conveniently ignoring Japanese emotional blinders in place.

Frankly, I don't see the situation getting any better.