is a 2007 film by

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

filmmaker

Satoru Mizushima is a Japanese filmmaker and nationalist. He graduated from Waseda University majoring in German literature. He can often be seen and heard during nationalist rallies in Tokyo, especially during anti-Chinese protests. He denies Japan's destructive ...

about the 1937

Nanjing Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...

(Nanking Massacre).

Background and funding

Mizushima said he received more than 200 million

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

(US$1.8 million) in donations from 5,000 of his supporters in order to fund the film. The film was backed by

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...

figures including Tokyo governor

Shintaro Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer who was Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Japan Restoration Party, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. An ultranat ...

and was intended to expose what the filmmakers saw as propaganda aspects of the

. Less than a month before the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre, the director said in an interview that Japanese war criminals were

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

s who were made into scapegoats for war crimes as

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was nailed to the cross in order to bear the

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

s 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 Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

activities. The film was based on the work of Asia University professor

Shūdō Higashinakano is a Japanese historian. He is a professor of intellectual history at Asia University (Japan), Asia University who Nanjing Massacre denial, maintains that the Nanjing Massacre ("The Rape of Nanking") committed by Japanese troops during the Second ...

who has claimed the massacre was a hoax."Japan Nanking"
AP Archive. Hagashinakano 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. Mizushima said that the project was meant to counter the film ''

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

'', a 2007 American documentary, which he believed was "based on fabrications and gives a false impression" and which he perceives to be a "setup by China to control intelligence".

Plot

''The Truth about Nanjing'' is a three-part film. * The first section was "Seven condemned criminals" (The theme is

Class A war criminals The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conven ...

.) 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 The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial or the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946 to try leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against peace, conven ...

and executed on 23 December 1948 at

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was originally built in 1 ...

, Tokyo. The film focuses on

Iwane Matsui was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the commander of the expeditionary force sent to China in 1937. He was convicted of war crimes and executed by the Allies for his involvement in the Nanjing Massacre. Born in Nagoya, Matsui chose ...

'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 Kenkichi (written: 健吉, 謙吉, 鎌吉, 鍵吉 or 憲吉) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese weightlifter *, Japanese mathematician *, Japanese businessman *, Japanese nobleman *, Japanese spor ...

–

Jun Fujimaki Jun or JUN may refer to: People and anthroponymy * Jun (given name), a common Japanese given name * Jun (singer), a member of South Korean boy band U-KISS * Tomáš Jun, Czech footballer * A spelling of common Korean family name Jeon (Korean surn ...

–

Hideki Tōjō Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...

Minori Terada is a Japanese voice actor and actor. Life and career Terada was born in Tokyo, as first son of Masaaki Terada, a famous painter. In 1961, Terada begun to be an actor. Terada is known as a villain, such as Alien Metron in ''Ultraman Max'', an ...

–

Kōki Hirota was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1936 to 1937. Originally his name was . He was executed for war crimes committed during the Second Sino-Japanese War at the Tokyo Trials. Early life Hirota was ...

Shōhei Yamada was a Japanese era (年號, ''nengō'', lit. year name) of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Kōkoku and before Kentoku. This period spanned the years from December 1346 to July 1370. The Southern Court ...

–

Seishirō Itagaki was a Japanese military officer and politician who served as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and War Minister from 1938 to 1939. Itagaki was a main conspirator behind the Mukden Incident and held prestigious chief of ...

Kuniyasu Atsumi was a Japanese artist best known for his prints in the ukiyo-e style as a member of the Utagawa school. Life and career Few details are known of Kuniyasu's life. He was born in 1794 and had the given name Yasugorō. His teacher was the Utaga ...

–

Kenji Doihara was a Japanese army officer. As a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, he was instrumental in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. As a leading intelligence officer, he played a key role to the Japanese machinations that le ...

Baiken Jukkanji This is a list of characters from the ''Guilty Gear'' fighting game series. Creation and influences Daisuke Ishiwatari has cited Kazushi Hagiwara's manga ''Bastard!!'', and the fighting game '' Street Fighter II'' as influence to the ''Gui ...

– Akira Mutō *

Akira Kubo is a Japanese actor who has appeared in over 70 films since 1952. He starred in the film ''Arashi'', which was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival. Selected filmography * ''Arashi'' (1956) as Saburo Mizusawa * ''Snow Coun ...

–

Heitarō Kimura was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging. Biography Kimura was born in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo, but was raised in Hiroshima prefecture, which he considered to be h ...

Kan Mikami is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter and actor. His music, heavily influenced by American blues, was popular in Japan in the 1970s. He re-wrote the lyric of the song "Yume wa Yoru Hiraku" for his cover version in 1972, which was banned for its ...

– Shinshō Hanayama, Chaplain of

* Kyōko Kamimura – Fumiko Matsui, wife of

Setsuko Karasuma is an actress and model born on 3 February 1955 in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. She attended Chukyo University, but left before finishing. She is employed by the From First Production talent agency. Karasuma made her debut as a Clarion Girl in ...

– Shizuko Hirota, wife of

Reactions

Tokushi Kasahara is a Japanese historian. He is a professor emeritus at Tsuru University and his area of expertise is modern Chinese history. Life and career He was born in Gunma Prefecture and graduated from Gunma Prefectural Maebashi High School and the depar ...

, professor at

Tsuru University Tsuru University (都留文科大学 ''Tsuru Bunka Daigaku'', literally Tsuru University of Humanities) is a small municipal university located in Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The university has around 3,000 students and 85 faculty. ...

, said other countries were making faithful documentaries and "it is shameful that Japan can only make this kind of film."Reynolds, Isabel (December 14, 2007)
"Japanese filmmaker says "Nanjing never happened""
Reuters.

Support in Japan

Journalist

Yoshiko Sakurai is a Japanese journalist, TV presenter, and writer. She is also president of the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals, established in 2007. Life Sakurai was born to Japanese parents in Vietnam. After returning with her family to Japan, sh ...

and a number of serving national-level Japanese politicians came out in support of the film. *

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

: **

Shingo Nishimura Shingo Nishimura (July 7, 1948 - ) is a Japanese politician, former member of House of Representatives, Japan. Background and career A native of Sakai, Osaka and graduate of Kyoto University Faculty of Law, Nishimura was elected to the Diet for ...

(Independent) **

Jin Matsubara is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). He was appointed Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety and Minis ...

(

Democratic Party of Japan The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016. The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic Part ...

) **

Tōru Toida is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. Early life and education Toida was born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo. He graduate with a degree ...

( Liberal Democratic Party) ** Atsushi Watanabe ( Liberal Democratic Party) ** Masaaki Akaike ( Liberal Democratic Party) **

Eiichiro Washio is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Niigata, Niigata and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he worked at Ernst & Young ShinNihon fro ...

(

) **

Hirofumi Ryu is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). Career A native of Fukuoka city and graduate of the Faculty of Letters at Keio University, Ryu was elected ...

(

) **

Yohei Matsumoto is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Setagaya, Tokyo and graduate of Keio University, he worked at Sanwa Bank, (now part of The Bank of ...

(

) **

Tomomi Inada is a Japanese lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Japanese House of Representatives, representing the 1st Fukui Prefecture since September 2005. She previously served as the 14th Japanese Minister of Defense from August 2016 to Jul ...

( Liberal Democratic Party) *

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

: ** Shimpei Matsushita (independent) ** Yasuhiro Oe ( Liberal Democratic Party) **

Nariaki Nakayama is a Japanese politician who has served as leader of Kibō no Tō from 2019 to 2021. He served as Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in the Cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi and later as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, ...

( Liberal Democratic Party)

References

External links

'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 Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). It is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff was founded in 20 ...

''. Last updated January 1, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Truth about Nanjing, The Japanese war films Nanjing Massacre films Documentary films about Japanese war crimes 2007 films Historical negationism 2000s Japanese films

Background and funding

Plot

Cast

Reactions

Support in Japan

See also

References

External links