October 1, 2025
People’s Campaign for the Truth of Nanjing, President Ara Kenichi
International Research Institute of Controversial Histories, President Sugihara Seishiro
On July 25 this year, a film titled Dead to Rights was shown in China. Later, on July 31, the People’s Republic of China’s Embassy in Japan posted on X that Dead to Rights immediately became a box-office hit and a day after the opening of the movie, the box-office revenue exceeded 100 million renminbi. A video was also posted on the X, showing children forced to see the film shedding tears with their parents or showing violent hostility against Japan. On the same day, July 31, a Japanese mother and her child were attacked, and the mother was beaten in Suzhou City. Certain X posts reported that the incident was influenced by the film.
Dead to Rights tells the story of seven Nanjing citizens stealing photographs of massacre shot by the Japanese Army at the time of the surrender of Nanjing. However, there was no unit in the Japanese Army assigned to film the battleground scenes and the sixteen photos are far from mid-winter scenes of Nanjing at the time of the war, which rudimentarily leads to the conclusion that those photos have nothing to do with the battle of Nanjing.
In addition, on September 18 this year, another film titled 731, featuring the Japanese Kwantung Army’s Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department (a.k.a. Unit 731), was shown to the public. According to the production website, the film is intended to reveal the atrocities committed by the Japanese Army invading China, adapting several pieces of historical facts. One horrendous scene after another is said to be shown so that children under 18 need to be given special care after seeing the film.
Reportedly, another anti-Japanese film called Dongji Rescue was made and released in China.
Regarding Dead to Rights, the following must be pointed out. It is true that in 1937, a battle of Nanjing did take place, and it must be admitted that at that time certain imprudent Japanese soldiers committed unlawful acts such as killing, injuring or plundering noncombatants. Sadly, however, such illegal acts against noncombatants of the enemy are commonplace practice in every battleground in the world. So, it is not fair to single out and blame the case of the battle of Nanjing.
The Nanjing Incident, which did not happen but nonetheless is claimed to have happened, refers to the alleged mass-murdering of noncombatant common citizens, with the difference of intentionally, in a planned manner, systematically or negligently without a system. However, it is academically completely proved that in the battle of Nanjing, such an incident of unlawful mass murder of common citizens did not occur.
Besides the academic level, at a political level, in 2012, the then Mayor of Nagoya City Kawamura Takashi said, “There was a battle of Nanjing, but there was no Nanjing Incident.” City of Nanjing, the then sister city of Nagoya, protested Kawamura’s statement and so did the Chinese Government. Mayor Kawamura did not withdraw his statement, but neither Nanjing City or the Chinese Government could deny it and as a result, this issue has been settled politically.
Regarding the film of 731, the following must be pointed out. Although piece-meal historical facts are somewhat reflected in the depicted content of the film, eighty years after the war ended, it is politically impermissible to make a film representing history in a horrific way and to show the film publicly. From the perspective of Japan, for example, in 1937, an incident took place in which a Chinese unit formed under the Japanese Army started a rebellion and killed common Japanese citizens. If a film is made depicting atrocious scenes based on historical facts and is shown to the public, even in Japan, where freedom of expression is granted, the Japanese Government will try to prevent the film from being shown to the public, considering the atrocity and the anti-Chinese effect. Even if such a film is made, there will be no prospect of making profit out of the film. Consequently, no such attempt will be made.
As seen so far, in coping with any attempt to make and show a film which unilaterally incites anti-Japanese or anti-Chinese sentiment, the Government is responsible to prevent it. This is the responsibility of any state and government in the world in the 21st century for the sake of world peace and happiness of humankind.
However, in China, it seems that no attempt is made to restrict the making and showing of such a violent film. We must say that China’s action is against the 21st century’s world peace and human happiness.
In China, the rule of the Chinese Communist Party over the Chinese people is not based on any due process to obtain the people’s consignment, so the Party lacks the lawful grounds for governing the Chinese people. Therefore, domestically, the Party needs to oppress people beyond the necessary limit and internationally it is obliged to overly incite hostility and imbue people with hostility.
Regarding the personnel promotional management, the Chinese Communist Party should either take a people’s ballot or remotely near exercise of voting within the Party so that the reform may guarantee the legitimacy of the Chinese Party’s ruling of the Chinese people.
On the other hand, the Japanese Government must strongly protest the fact that such a film is made and is shown publicly. Why is it that the Japanese Government has not yet taken any action against it? It is irresponsible lack of action, damaging world peace and human happiness.
On top of that, the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding the non-existent “Nanjing Incident,” has been posting since 2007 that “The Japanese Government thinks it cannot be denied that after the Japanese Army entered the walled City of Nanjing in 1937, killing of noncombatants and acts of plunder took place. However, as to the number of victims, there are various accounts, and the Japanese Government thinks it difficult to acknowledge which is the correct number.” We simply wonder how this inaction can be justified.
In the battle of Nanjing, despite the differences as to whether the Japanese Army acted intentionally or in a planned manner, or systematically or non-systematically, the Nanjing incident in which allegedly noncombatant Nanjing citizens were mass-murdered unlawfully did not happen, which is proved perfectly academically. Nevertheless, the misleading depiction as if the Nanjing Incident had happened is left unchanged on the official website. Under such circumstances, Japan may lose the grounds for duly protesting films such as Dead to Rights.
On April 3, 2023, at the House of Councilors’ Committee on Audit, in response to the then Councilor Wada Masamune’s question, the Government replied to the effect that regarding the battle of Nanjing, there were no historical sources found to prove the existence of the “Nanjing Incident.” If so, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately either correct or delete the description related to the battle of Nanjing.
We, the People’s Campaign for the Truth of Nanjing and the International Research Institute of Controversial Histories, in unison, send this statement to the Chinese and the Japanese Governments.