Question

Why is the Rape of Nanjing still considered a controversial subject today?

Answer 1

The Rape of Nanjing, widely known as the Nanjing Massacre is a very sensitive issue in China and also a controversial subject in Japan. There were mass killing and rapes committed by the troops of Japan against the people living in the then capital city of China, Nanjing (Nanking). It occurred during the second Sino-Japanese war. The Chinese civilians were brutally murdered by the army of Japan followed by widespread looting and rapes.

This massacre still remains a controversial political subject and a major hurdle in Sino-Japan relationship. Not only is this controversy, a central issue in the Sino-Japanese relations but also in the relationship of Japan with other Asia-Pacific nations like South Korea. At times, the Chinese government keeps exaggerating the death toll from the massacre and it has become a symbol of Nationalism for China and hence China introduced annual state commemoration in 2014.

This massacre is one of the reasons why the country of Beijing still accuses Tokyo for not apologizing properly for this mass killing while the Japanese government still claims that there was no crime and the killing was mostly military in nature. Therefore some forces in Japan still try to manipulate and deny the history and look at it very reluctantly.

Since the people have still not forgotten this incident, and China still marks the anniversary of the massacre every year, so the government is convincing both the countries to look into their future instead of digging into the past and remembering this unfortunate history.