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Reviewed Book: Mark Ramseyer, transtated by Nobukatsu Fujioka, Yumiko Yamamoto, Shunichi Fujiki, Yoshiaki Yano and Hiromichi Moteki, Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer
Reviewer: Jason Morgan(Associate Professor, Reitaku University)

Explanation by Hifumi Tomoko (Senior Researcher, International Research Institute of Controversial Histories)

The author Prof. Jason Morgan was born in 1977 in Louisiana, U.S.A., and is now an Associate Professor at the international faculty at Reitaku University. He obtained his Doctorate in Japanese history at the graduate school of the University of Wisconsin in 2016. His field of research ranges widely from Japanese history to history of the Oriental thinking and legal philosophy. He is interested in how history, historical thinking and legal philosophy affect each other through the process of comparing historical and legal awareness in various cultural spheres. In 2023, he published the paper “A Massacre in the Making: Separating Truth from Fiction about Nanking”. The link to the substack post is: https://substack.com/@jasonmmorgan/p-135460250

His book review covered now in this column is about the book Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer, of the Theory of Comfort Women Being Sexual Slaves, written by Professor Ramseyer, edited and translated by Fujioka Nobukatsu and Yamamoto Yumiko, and translated by Fujiki Shunichi, Yano Yoshiaki and Moteki Hiromichi. The five translators of this book are members of the International Research Institute of Controversial Histories, and the translation work was done as part of this institute’s project. We would like to extend our gratitude to Prof. Morgan, who introduced this great book and to the Bulletin of the Historical Awareness Research Committee, “Historical Awareness Research.”

Prof. Morgan states with a precise and keen perspective the historical significance of this book and explains how academic arguments should be made. In addition, Prof. Morgan emphasizes that through the translation of Prof. Ramseyer’s papers into Japanese, Prof. Ramseyer’s clear reasoning will surely be conveyed to the Japanese readers. Then, Prof. Morgan confidently states that the book Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer should be widely read to help understand the present situation of the “historical warfare” still going on today. And he concludes his review by saying that he hopes to have many other works by Prof. Ramseyer translated into such precise and easy to read Japanese and published in near future.

Review by Jason Morgan

Articled in "Historical Awareness Research" Vol.14, 2024by Historical Awareness Research Committee

The name of Professor J. Mark Ramseyer of Harvard Law School has now become well known in Japan. It all started with a mere eight-paged paper Professor Ramseyer posted on the website of the academic journal on law and economics, International Review of Law and Economics in December 2020. The paper was titled “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War.” In his paper, the professor contested the characterization of comfort women as sexual slaves, suggesting instead that their situation resembled an extension of a business model similar to “indentured servitude.” He employed economic “game theory” to support his analysis. Nothing happened immediately after the post.

Then, anti-Ramseyer campaign started when the news opinion website “Japan Forward” introduced the summary of the professor’s paper in English on January 12, 2021, and on the 28th of the same month, the Japanese newspaper The Sankei Shimbun published an explanation and a summary by Professor Fukui Yoshitaka at Aoyama Gakuin University.[i] First, in South Korea and then in the United States and other countries of the English-speaking sphere and Japan, a wave of hatred against Professor Ramseyer erupted and grew violently, materializing in various “accusations.”

“History revisionist,” “history denier,” “the same as the Holocaust deniers,” “white supremacist” and “racial discriminator,” etc. --all kinds of thinkable slanders and groundless accusations were made against Professor Ramseyer, demanding his apology for what he wrote and the withdrawal of his paper. A barrage of blackmail and threats poured against Professor Ramseyer, and he even received a death threat. The most shocking fact about the incidents was that those who led the anti-Ramseyer campaign and violently instigated the hate-movement were so-called “scholars” employed at universities in South Korea, Japan, the United States, Australia and Singapore. Thus, Professor Ramseyer came to be known in Japan through his study on comfort women and the chaotic confusion over that study.

Though many Japanese may know the name of Professor Ramseyer and may be aware that he has been studying the comfort women issue, only a few can describe correctly his ideas. Under such circumstances, the book Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer came along. The book is a collection of Professor Ramseyer’s papers which prove theoretically that comfort women played a part in the well-regulated prostitution business, based on the licensed private prostitution system as a legal business. Those women voluntarily entered into “indentured labor contracts” on the premise of the payment of high wages, which proved that there was no systematic or forced abduction of women on the part of the Japanese Government or military. The book was translated into Japanese. The editing and translation work was done by the Deputy Chairman of the Japan Society for History Textbook Reform Mr. Fujioka Nobukatsu and four other persons participated in the work. The translated book includes three papers written by Professor Ramseyer as the result of his research over the past thirty plus years and the fourth paper was rebuttal of his critics. The first paper was published in 1991 under the title “Indentured Prostitution in Imperial Japan: Credible Commitments in the Commercial Sex Industry”.[ii]

The second paper was “Comfort Women and the Professors.” The third paper was “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War”, which instantly made Professor Ramseyer famous. The fourth paper was “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War: A Response to my critics.”[iii]

One thing to regret is that the book does not include the paper “The Comfort Women Issue and the North Korean Connection,”[iv] co-authored by Professor Ramseyer and Professor Arima Tetsuo at Waseda University. In addition, the four papers were written over a period of more than thirty years and since they include refutation, there are some duplicate parts. But let me make it clear that duplications do not matter when it comes to the true value of Professor Ramseyer’s study. It is truly a blessing that Professor Ramseyer’s monumental study, though only part of it, was translated into Japanese for the first time for Japanese readers to appreciate.

Professor Ramseyer’s study is not just about comfort women. Together with Professor John Owen Haley, a predecessor of Professor Ramseyer in the field of study on history of the Japanese legal system by European and American scholars, Professor Ramseyer is known to everyone and has devoted his scholarly career to understanding the Japanese society and its legal system and history of legal economics, using the principles of the Chicago School of economics which applies the method of micro economics not only to economic issues but also to various other issues present in the society. I would like to urge those who become interested in Professor Ramseyer’s studies through the book Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer to read other papers written by the Professor, who is an expert on the Japanese legal and economic history.

In his 2020 paper “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War,” Professor Ramseyer argued – using game theory method associated with the Chicago School of economics – that comfort women worked under commercial contracts within a licensed prostitution system. The paper, unfortunately, provoked significant backlash and threats. Game theory, in simple terms, is a framework used to model strategic decision-making among multiple actors, each seeking to maximize their own benefit.  Professor Ramseyer applies the “game theory” concept of “credible commitments” to the relationship between comfort station owners and the women who worked there. According his analysis, owners sought to secure profit by establishing trust with the women. While the women, in turn, could increase their own expected payment by cooperating within the contractual framework; in this model, both parties are seen as pursuing mutually beneficial self-interest. Ramseyer thus argues, using microeconomic reasoning, that comfort women – or their families – chose participation in the licensed prostitution system as strategy to improve their lives within a limited set of option.

As clearly seen in the first and second papers in Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer, “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War” is a result of studies in which Professor Ramseyer has long been engaged that prove the effective combination of the contract system of comfort women and its rationality on one hand and the “game theory” in microeconomics on the other. His studies do not discuss ethical issues concerning prostitution nor do they deny the existence of comfort women. I cannot help wondering why then it caused such fuss as to induce the violent anti-Ramseyer campaign.

Among Professor Ramseyer’s critics, some argue loudly, “There were no actual contracts exchanged between the comfort women and their employers, therefore Ramseyer is a fraud!” However, if you read his paper, it clearly indicates what was written in the contracts, because although he did not verify the “real” contract, he obtained many pieces of evidence from related sources of that time.

This means that among his critics there are those who did not read Professor Ramseyer’s papers or did not understand them. These people should not be allowed to criticize the professor’s papers or slander his personality.

Beside the professor’s four papers, the “Prologue: The fuss over the Ramseyer papers and the background: On the publication of the Japanese-versioned collection of my papers” is also worth reading. At the time when Professor Ramseyer was not only plagued by harassment but was also intimidated by death threats, he frequently contacted me about the situation. Hearing and witnessing the shameless conduct of the self-proclaimed “scholars,” I re-recognized the poor level of learning and civil consciousness of American universities and researchers. Professor Ramseyer had to endure long and merciless harassment since he published “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War,” but unlike many other scholars, he did not apologize neither did he admit non-existent fault and he did not withdraw his papers which he believes to be correct. It was Ramseyer’s pride as a scholar. I heartily admire his undaunted scholar’s spirit.

At the time when he was exposed to severe attacks and threats, there was no room for laughing and we were totally at a loss about how to cope with the dire situation. Thinking back, after the publication of the book Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer, we realize how comical the behavior of the “scholars” in the English-speaking sphere in the United States and elsewhere was. What is interesting here is that “scholars’” words and deeds and their unquestionable belief that they are right appear several times more ridiculous when they are translated into Japanese than in the original English texts. In fact, when I was reading the Prologue, “the fuss over Ramseyer’s papers and the background,” I could not help but laugh aloud several times. Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer will play a great role in helping readers understand the moral depravity of many scholars in the English-speaking sphere as scholars and humans.

I am very happy that through the publication of Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer, three other papers besides “Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War” were translated into Japanese and became easily accessible to the Japanese people. I have read all the papers included in the book in English. The translation team led by Mr. Fujioka did an excellent job, concisely grasping Professor Ramseyer’s intention and making the book a wonderful translation work. Thanks to their efforts, I am perfectly sure that Professor Ramseyer’s clear logic using the legal economic analysis will be understood by the Japanese readers. I pay my heart-felt respect to the translation and editing team.

To understand the present situation of the “historical controversial warfare” still being fought, the book Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer should be widely read. Although there may be some misspelling in the references in the note, what matters is that the results of the studies on Japanese legal history and economic system have been translated into precise and dutiful Japanese.

Lastly, let me conclude my review by stating my wish. My wish is that Professor Ramseyer’s many other studies will be translated into precise and easy-to-read Japanese and published like this book. Professor Ramseyer is well-known in Japan for his studies related to comfort women. And yet, as I mentioned in the beginning, his studies cover a vast array of topics and are very profound. From the bottom of my heart, I’m looking forward to the day when my wish comes true.

(Translated and edited by Fujioka Nobukatsu and Yamamoto Yumiko, translated by Fujiki Shunichi, Yano Yoshiaki and Moteki Hiromichi, [v] Heart Publisher, 2023, 1980 yen.)


[i] “Professor Ramseyer refutes the criticism, No evidence of forced abduction” The Sankei Newspaper, dated January 14, 2021 https://www.sankei.com/article/20220114-TGQAHT3XQZNLFEUAR7GJDHN62U/ (pay article)

[ii] J. Mark Ramseyer, “Indentured Prostitution in Imperial Japan: Credible Commitments in the Commercial Sex Industry,” Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, vol.7, No.1 (Spring, 1991), pp89-116 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/764879) was translated into Japanese in 1993. See Sono Hiroo “Geisha Contract—Credible Commitments in the Commercial Sex Industry,” “Hokudai Collection of Papers on Study of Law, Hokkaido University, Law Department, October 25, 1993  https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/15533/d1/44%283%29_p206-160.pdf

See p.109 of the volume under review for reference to the same translation.

[iii] In January 2024, several papers related to the comfort women issue written by Professor Ramseyer were translated into the Korean language and published in one volume, though contents are somewhat different.

[iv] “The comfort women issue and the North Korean connection,” co-authored by Professor Arima Tetsuo at Waseda University and Professor Mark Ramseyer at Graduate School, Harvard University and posted on “Social Science Research Network (SSRN) (digital academic magazine) on August 17, 2022. (The original text is written in English.)

[v] https://www.810.co.jp/hon/ISBN978-4-8024-0172-2.html

Reviewed by Miyamoto Fujiko, Guest Fellow, International Research Institute of Controversial Histories

During the Moon Jae-in administration amid storming anti-Japan sentiment and the crisis looming that the Federal Democratic Republic of Korea may arise, the South Korean people kept holding large-scale rallies at Gwanghwamun in Seoul every weekend to oust the Moon Jae-in administration during his term of office. Intellectuals held lectures across the country to wipe out the anti-Japan frame of mind that penetrated deeply the minds of the South Koreans. At universities, the Truth Forum was held to recognize the true historical facts. And to overcome the crisis of the Japan-South Korea relationships, in 2019, the book Anti-Japan Tribalism was published (2019, Miraesa) in South Korea. It revealed the root of the Japan-South Korea crisis and became a best seller with roughly 100,000 copies sold. Six scholars stood up for the publication. It was an epoch-making book, closely analyzing how astoundingly untrue the South Korean anti-Japan thinking was, based on historical facts from the respective perspectives of the scholars’ expertise. The book became a sensation in South Korea. Did the book change the South Korean people’s anti-Japan sentiment? In school education, textbooks still teach that Japan is a villain and anti-Japan education is going on, the same as ever. Nothing has changed. I myself feel that South Korean people’s deep-routed anti-Japan thinking is not easy to change at all. This is my impression after I have lived with my South Korean husband in the South Korean society for more than thirty years.

I always felt it puzzling why it is that while Japan ruled Taiwan longer than it did Korea and invested far larger amounts of money in Korea than in Taiwan, Taiwan is Japan-friendly, and Korea is anti-Japan. What made it so? Ms. Oh Sonfa’s book Why Anti-Japan South Korea Has No Future gave a perfect answer to my question. The analysis, composed of six chapters, is profound, precise and perfect. The view held by most Japanese intellectuals is that “Korean people who lived through the period of Japan’s Annexation of Korea are Japan-friendly, but from the postwar Syngman Rhee administration up to the present, through the anti-Japan policy and education implemented by consecutive Presidents, South Korea became an anti-Japan state.” However, Ms. Oh Sonfa pointed out, “South Korean anti-Japan principle is not a mere political policy. Importantly, South Korea started as a state, upholding anti-Japan principle as its just cause. The preamble to the South Korean Constitution itself is false and therefore, it distorted historical facts and chose to thoroughly teach and propagandize the distorted history to the people.”

This book was published in 2013, six years prior to Anti-Japan Tribalism. Anti-Japan Tribalism explains how the distorted contexts and facts differ in terms of the six typical anti-Japan themes. Ms. Oh Sonfa’s analysis of anti-Japan sentiment is done, by deeper exploration of the South Korean DNA, close tribal ties and the roots of the Korean way of thinking. What I have felt for many years while living in the Korean society was clearly explained in printed form. “This is it!” I fully sympathized with the book and felt truly great. I was profoundly amazed at Ms. Oh Sonfa’s analyzing power. It is superbly described in Chapter IV “Why anti-Japan sentiment cannot be wiped out.” “The bitter feeling toward the period of Japan’s rule is not the basis of anti-Japan but the fact that the despicable tribe (Japan) ruled the Koreans is unforgivable, which brews anti-Japan tribalism.”(p.137) Thus, Chapter IV unravels in an excellent way South Koreans’ deep psychology, something that no other scholar has done before.

There is a sentence on page 142: “The Japanese tribe with natural savagery and aggressive traits humiliated the integrity of our sacred tribal blood.” Anti-Japan is a sentiment born out of anger which is almost a physiological response. I understand that this sentiment is used as a motive, in many newly made dramas, movies and musicals, and the people believe that they are true. This negative spiral aggravated South Koreans’ anti-Japan sentiment. Even if a decent scholar appears with the appeal, “That historical view is false and fabricated, and the truth is this!” The deep-rooted sense of value permeated to the bone will not change immediately. This is the reality.

However, even in South Korea as it is, it’s been five years since National Action to Abolish the Comfort Women Act led by Mr. Kim Byungheon started working to remove comfort woman statues and delete descriptions related to comfort women from the South Korean history textbooks. Things improved significantly compared to the early time of the movement and sea change was accomplished and the movement of the Korean Council for Justice was reduced in scale. Although President Yoon Suk-yeol was to face the peril of impeachment at the time when this book review was written, it is a great change in South Korea in recent years that President Yoon did not implement anti-Japan policy at the start of his administration. As mentioned earlier, all the consecutive Presidents carried out anti-Japan policy, but President Yoon did not do so for the national interest.

I am appalled by the totally outrageous anti-Japan policies of the consecutive Korean Presidents , who used every possible means to act against Japan. Ms. Oh Sonfa points out that the South Korean anti-Japan sentiment is much more extreme than the Chinese people’s.

I presume the author Oh wrote this book, worrying about the serious Korean situation in 2013. The details of her concerns are discussed in Chapter VI, covering many fields. However, I cannot help thinking that it is rather Japan that is plagued with violent crimes and serious social problems.

In fact, as I mentioned earlier, while the root of anti-Japan sentiments is deep and grave, on the other hand, if you go to bookstores in South Korea, there are many Japanese novels and manga translated into the Korean language, on TV, Japanese animations are broadcast almost endlessly and Japanese restaurants are everywhere. Through the recent expansion of the Internet, everyone can easily enjoy Japanese culture, songs and dramas and Japanese actors and talents are getting popular in South Korea. Among young people, there are many Japanese-friendly Youtubers and they attract many viewers. Even if the truth about the period of Japan’s Annexation of Korea is not taught at school, they can learn it on the Internet.

Especially at present, some say that J-POP has become more popular than K-POP. Acting in a Japan-friendly way used to be thought as evil, but this concept will gradually change through the Internet in a natural manner. Ms. Oh Sonfa was taught anti-Japan education and was anti-Japan just like other South Koreans. After she came to Japan, she had doubts about the Korean historical interpretations and devoured one book after another on Japan and South Korea histories and was gradually freed from the anti-Japan magic spell.

Ms. Oh Sonfa points out in this book that in the modern South Korean society “South Koreans do not try to view past Japan’s rule in the objective international circumstance and there are no books covering this topic.”. What will happen if this book Why Anti-Japan South Korea Has No Future is translated and published in South Korea? This book provides the most excellent analysis of South Korea and I personally wish that the book is published in South Korea some day soon. If that happens, South Korea will have future. And on the part of Japan, the self-deprecating view of history will be immediately abandoned.

Among many expressions that I truly sympathize with and feel appropriate in this book, I would like to introduce the following paragraph:

The Confucianist idea that the morally superior must always teach, educate and inspire the morally inferior forms the degrading-Japan view, which lies at the base of the Korean sense of tribal superiority tribe over Japan. Moreover, in South Korea, there is a concept of the superior tribe born out of the lesser Chinese principle that South Korea is the very authentic successor of the Sino-centrist idea. Therefore, the sense of tribal superiority over Japan is made all the more consolidated.

Such a sense seems to apply to those aged fifties and older. Young people seem to be less influenced by this sense. In either case, there is an urgent task to revise the biased South Korean history textbooks as soon as possible.    

Revieed Book: Historical Sources Unravel the Issue of “Mobilized Korean Workers,” published by Soshi-sha, 2024
Author: Nagatani Ryosuke
Reviewer: Tomoko Hifumi, Senior Reseacher, International Research Institute of Historical Controversies

This book is an epoch-making academic book, dealing with the disputed issue of Korean “mobilized workers.” Based on closely examined primary historical sources, it completely refutes the alleged “forced mobilization and forced labor” theory that during the war, Korean people were compulsorily mobilized from the Korean Peninsula and forced to work at Japanese coal and other mines.

Its author, Mr. Nagatani Ryosuke, is a researcher at the Historical Awareness Research Committee and a visiting researcher at the Reitaku University Study Center of International Issues. Mr. Nagatani was born in Kumamoto Prefecture in 1986 and graduated from the Department of Culture and History of Kumamoto University. He completed the doctoral course of Japan Study Institute at the graduate school of Hosei University and obtained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. After graduating from the graduate school of Hosei University, he joined the Historical Awareness Research Committee (President: Nishioka Tsutomu) and is actively engaged in studying mainly the issue of wartime Korean workers. He co-authored The True Nature of Wartime Korean Workers (published by the General Incorporated Foundation National Congress of Industrial Heritage).

The theory of “forced mobilization” and “forced labor” was ignited by the publication of a book titled The Record of Forced Mobilization of Koreans written by a person named Park Kyon-sik in 1965. At present, the historical examination on Park Kyon-sik’s arguments has proved to be largely problematic. Nevertheless, the theory of forced mobilization and forced labor has never been abandoned, but is still smoldering, often being used politically and is about to simmer at any moment. This has not remained an academic issue limited to the historical circles. In fact, in 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court ordered Shin-Nittetsu Sumi Kin (a Japanese steel company) to compensate former South Korean workers for the alleged forced labor during the war. After the Supreme Court decision, the number of lawsuits demanding compensation from Japanese companies increased and in all the lawsuits, the plaintiffs have won. It goes without saying that all of these court rulings are against the Agreement on the Settlement of Problems Concerning Properties and Claims and on Economic Co-operation between Japan and the Republic of Korea, concluded in 1965. Thus, historical issues tend to be used politically.

This book is composed of two parts.

The first part contains the refutation of the narrative of “forced mobilization” and “forced labor” of wartime Korean workers. Chapter One refutes the concept of “forced mobilization,” through the detailed explanation of the recruiting process based on historical sources and proves that most of the workers came to Japan voluntarily. Chapter Two refutes “forced labor.” Here, historical sources are concretely analyzed in terms of wages, meals and working hours.

The second part vividly describes how Korean workers worked and lived, based on the primary historical sources. Chapter Three shows the life and work of Korean workers based on “Tokko Geppo” (Special Higher Police Monthly Report), which was compiled by the Security Section of Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior. The entire picture of labor conflicts by Korean workers is shown. Chapter Four deals with Nisso Teshio Coal Mine in Hokkaido, Chapter Five describes Sado Gold Mine and Chapter Six takes up Mitsui Miike Coal Mines. Through these studies, it is verified that the idea of “forced labor” is not factual and historical facts are revealed from objective viewpoints.

This book clearly portrays this author’s scholarly attitudes totally focusing on the principles as a history scholar. He has been steadily unearthing primary sources and strictly analyzing and examining them—theories and views induced through such steady and reliable work prove to be certainly objective and irrefutable.

Those who support “forced mobilization” and “forced labor” theories mainly depend on statements made by South Koreans as grounds for their conviction. Their testimonies alone are made much of and they are celebrated as “surviving witnesses.” Once objection or doubt is cast on their statements, they get so emotional and upset that they fiercely fight back, totally out of control, saying that their honor is damaged. Such tendency became more significant after the comfort women issue came up. Moreover, although the testimonies are primary sources, they are arbitrarily used or based on arbitrary interpretations. Among primary sources, they pick up only convenient ones that support their view and do not refer to what is inconvenient. They go even further, adding distorted interpretations in favor of their own view.

This author bravely challenges these ill trends in the history study society and strongly warns readers of the wrong and dangerous trend that influences history studies. Those who study history should not have prejudice or preoccupation. I would like to have those “forced mobilization” advocates pick up this book and sincerely look through all the primary sources and then try to refute it in an academic manner. Such an attitude will surely contribute to the sound development of learning. At the same time, this book will provide a good opportunity to start solving the deep-rooted and never-ending (because the South Korean side repeatedly brings back what has been once resolved to the table) historical issue.

In addition, to promote the true friendship between Japan and South Korea, I ardently hope that South Koreans soaked in anti-Japan thinking will read this book as a wake-up call. In a sense, South Koreans dyed with anti-Japan thinking can be called victims of the South Korean Government. On the other hand, I want Japanese people who have been made the perpetrators of “forced mobilization and forced labor” to read this book, by all means. Even if they don’t read through pages, just take up this book in hand and read the table of contents and feel the dubious claim of the “forced mobilization and forced labor.” Not to refute at the right time means a defeat in historical issue warfare and leaves far bigger regrets than armed forces and military wars. Knowing the truth is the stronger foundation of national strength, more important than the possession of armed or military forces. 

Making of The Rape of Nanking: A Big Lie from World War ll English Edition | by M Kanzako and Akira Kashima | Jan 6, 2021

This book review is written by one of the authors and it also serves as an introduction to the book.  In Canada, Canadians believe that Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking (November 1997) is true history, therefore, the author, a Japanese Canadian, was determined to publish this book in search of the true facts of history. The two authors kept in close contact with Kenichi Ara and other historians in Japan, who should be called the leading authority in the study of the Nanking Incident, to make sure that there were no errors in the description. Research into the Nanjing Massacre is progressing in Japan. It is now proven that the so-called Nanjing Incident, which was allegedly committed by the Japanese military in violation of the international law, never took place. In 2023, we learned that no historical documents have been found to substantiate the Nanjing Incident and the Japanese government made a cabinet decision stating that there was no evidence to substantiate the case.

Making of The Rape of Nanking: A Big Lie from World War ll

This book, co-authored by Kanzako Mikiko and Kashima Akira, examines in detail the distortions and fabrications of facts contained in Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking (November 1997). Several such rebuttals to Chang's book have already been published in Japanese, but this is probably the first such book to be published in English.

The publication of Chang’s book is of great significance, because it became a bestseller in North America and many people still believe in its claims.

There must have been Japanese people who felt guilty about having roots in Japan, the country that "sneaked in" at Pearl Harbor. And once again, Japanese Canadians and Japanese living in Canada must live forever with a sense of guilt and need of atonement[MM1]  based on the lie that "300,000 civilians in Nanjing were massacred." This must not happen. That is why we need to learn history.

"Making of The Rape of Nanking: A Big Lie from World War II" has been published privately but can be purchased from Amazon.  The book is concise and to the point, and the photographs at the end of the book give a first-hand look at what the city of Nanking was like at the time. This book is the first step in the reader's own process of thinking for themselves.

 [MM1]Both words are good, but you can say it in this way: “sense of guilt and need of atonement (redemption)”.

Review :

Immediately after publishing 『Making of The Rape of Nanking: A Big Lie from World War ll』,I had my family member read the book for feedback. His first reaction after reading it was, "This is not for high school students!" That was his honest reaction to graphic descriptions directly quoted from the book and its unbearable depiction of barbaric acts. I also had my friend, Mr. N, a former high school history teacher, read the book, and he also said that it was not for high school students.

We would like to present here some of the descriptions from textbooks used in Ontario high schools.

Japanese leaders ordered intense bombings of civilian targets, causing millions of casualties. Brutality was just as common on the ground. The Chinese capital city of Nanjing endured a massacre that lasted six long weeks. During this time, Japanese soldiers raped and murdered as many as 300 000 Chinese soldiers and civilians. The Japanese also used chemical weapons during the war. These atrocities caused the United States and other Western countries to begin to harden their attitudes toward Japan.

( “Creating Canada: A History 1914 to the Present”, 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill Ryerson 2014, Unit 3, pg. 278)

The basic outline of the incident in the above textbook passage, referring to six weeks of indiscriminate killing of Chinese soldiers , massacres of civilians, mass rape, 300,000 victims, matches Chan’s book.

"When I taught at high school, this kind of content wasn't in the curriculum," says Mr. N. He also seemed to find it hard to believe that such descriptions would appear in high school textbooks. I sincerely hope that by reading this book, Mr. N, a teacher of history, will become interested in the Nanking Incident and think about it for himself.

Besides high school students, the author's intended audience for “Making of The Rape of Nanking: A Big Lie from World War ll” was the Japanese Canadians who were not familiar with history. The ideal reader for this book happened to be the author's friend, Ms.M.  Her parents are Japanese who immigrated to Canada from Japan, and Ms. M. was born in Canada. She was one of the people who supported the passage of the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day Bill, which was submitted to the Ontario Legislature in 2017. She must have believed in Japan's atrocities without a doubt. When I told her about this book, she was simply astonished, and asked, "Oh! The Nanjing Massacre was a lie?"

China's information warfare has spread beyond Asia to the rest of the world. Naturally, the United States and Canada are no exception. In Canada, the Ontario Legislature passed a motion to mark the Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day in 2017. This motion is not legally binding, and furthermore, barely over a dozen of the 124 provincial assembly members participated in the vote, which was a poor move. However, the fact that the “motion was passed” is a very effective weapon in information and history warfare. In 2018, the Nanjing Massacre Victims Monument was erected in a cemetery in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since the monument was erected, a memorial service has been held there every December.

The idea for this book came from a previously published booklet about the comfort women. We launched the project to publish this book motivated by a strong desire to clarify the problems with the Chang book and to get as many people as possible to read it. We are too small to stand up to such a large-scale, long-term, and powerful propaganda, but we cannot help but do something to free ourselves from the spell of this cunning deception. There was no choice but to take action when good people like Ms. M and Mr. N, and the high school students who knew nothing, were being deceived.

The focus of this book is on Chang's fabrication because the book is well known among the general public in the English-speaking world and is highly regarded by historians and academics. This book is a short account, but it is designed to provide easy access to first-class sources such as Minnie Vautrin's diary and the records of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trials) for readers who want to know more about the details. I want people, especially young people, to understand how important it is to develop the ability to think for themselves and discern between fact and fiction.

We are very grateful to Jason M. Morgan, Associate Professor at Reitaku University, who is well-known for his search for true historical facts related to World War II, for his review of 『Making of The Rape of Nanking: A Big Lie from World War ll』*.

“There are no taboos, dogmas, or epithets in historical work. Truth is the only standard, and the only goal.”

There is no statute of limitations on the search for true historical facts. Ultimately, history should be written only by those who seek the truth and are willing to tell the truth.

The author believes that if Japan becomes vibrant, the world will become healthy and peaceful. Our hope is that Japan will be revived as a truly independent and sovereign nation. In the process, Japan's history should be reclaimed by the Japanese people without the interference from other countries. We have no use for political consideration or government-sponsored scholars.  

* Jason Morgan, A Massacre in the Making: Separating Truth from Fiction about Nanking, Jul 26, 2023,

Reviewed Book : The Comfort Women Hoax: A Fake Memoir, North Korean Spies, and Hit Squads in the Academic Swamp
Reviewer : Robert Eldrige

Explanation

Robert D. Eldridge, who wrote a book review of Comfort Women Hoax was born in New Jersey, USA in 1968. He earned his doctorate in Japanese Political and Diplomatic History from the Graduate School of Law, Kobe University, in 1999. He is a prominent scholar on the Okinawa issue; he wrote The Origin of the Okinawa Issue—Okinawa in the Postwar US-Japan Relationship 1945-1952 (published by Nagoya University Publishing Society) and won the special award of the Asian-Pacific Awards. Later, he worked as an assistant professor at Osaka University and became deputy director of the diplomatic policy department of the United States Marine Corps in Japan.

In February 2015, at the height of the Henoko struggle*, a man was arrested, leading the protest in front of Camp Schwab, was arrested on the charge of violation of the special criminal law. The legality of this arrest was disputed over whether he crossed the yellow line separating the base and the road. The man argued that he had not crossed the line and the Okinawan media reported that his arrest was illegal. However, the camera installed at the base recorded him crossing the line. Eldridge, unable to leave Okinawa filled with lies and deceptions as it is, sent the image caught by the camera to an anchor of a YouTube program the following March and the scene in question was shown to the public. Although the recorded image was non-confidential, the U.S. Marine Corps succumbed to the anti-United States power in Okinawa and dismissed Eldridge from his post, citing that his revealed inappropriately his confidential duties through a private route.

Eldridge, learning from this experience that lies and deceptions overrule the truth, presumably wrote this book review to warn people of the crisis. He says, “For one having intelligence, nothing is more sinful than to lack courage to do the right thing using intelligence.” He just wanted to give a strong warning that if scholars lack conscience and courage, their attempts to improve and advance the society and culture would only bring deterioration and decay. strongly warn that study for improving and progressing society and culture reversibly invites deterioration and decay of society because scholars lack conscience and courage. Moreover, he wanted conscientious scholars and journalists to endeavor harder for justice.

Body of Review :

The Comfort Women Hoax exposes the lies and myths of the comfort women issue and ends the myths surrounding it. This is done through meticulous, multilanguage, and multiarchival research and cross-disciplinary cooperation. Meanwhile, the book calls for the restoration of integrity and honesty in academia and an end to canceling and censorship. Cont'd...(JAPAN Forward)

Author : Rhee Young-hoon
Book : Anti-Japan Tribalism

The book entitled Anti-Japan Tribalism was published in July 2019. It sold 110,000 copies in South Korea and became a bestseller selling over 400,000 copies in Japan. The leading author, Principal Lee Young-hoon used the term ethnicism, not nationalism, stating that the Anti-Japan Tribalism means “animosity regarding the neighboring Japan as evil.” Unchanging hostility allows no objective discussion and in it, lies play the role of a totem uniting the ethnicity. At the time of the publication of this book, South Korea was exposed to the stormy anti-Japan policy under the Moon Jae-in administration and the Japan-South Korea relationship was the worst ever. School textbooks were decorated with the statues of the so-called mobilized workers and comfort women right from the front page and the town and TV broadcasting were uniformly painted with anti-Japanese colors. Former President Park Geun-hye and many political dignitaries in her government were imprisoned and things became so critical that many feared that the Federal Democratic Republic of Goryeo, upheld by North Korea, might emerge at any moment. At such a critical time the book Antil-Japanese Ethnicism emerged, like a savior. To prevent the Korean Peninsula from becoming red, it was urgent to recover the Japan-South Korea relationship, which was on the brink of bankruptcy. In order to resume the normal relationship, seminars were held everywhere, inviting scholars and experts. To enlighten the Korean people, conservative patriots desperately endeavored, purchasing tens of copies of the book.

The prologue written by Principal Lee Young-hoon at the beginning of the book was particularly sensational. The title of the prologue says, “liar nation, liar politics, liar study, liar trial, and Anti-Japan Tribalism.” Many Japanese would have felt emotionally moved and relieved after many years of frustrated despair about to burst by the heroic act of the South Korean scholar who has excellently expressed what Japanese have been feeling. I quote a part of it here: “The people of this country don’t regard lies as lies while history and sociology studies in this country are a breeding ground for lies, and universities in this country are factories producing lies.” I cannot help but appreciate these candid and forthright sentences, which convey the high-leveled conscience of the scholars pursuing the truth.

In South Korea, in 1965 and onward, elementary, junior and senior high school textbooks have been teaching that the period under the Japanese rule was that of “seven deprivations.” Namely, they were deprivations of king, sovereignty, land, language, personal names, life and natural resources. Most of the South Koreans believe so. Textbooks teach so, and dramas and movies depict so. Under such circumstances, if Japanese try to tell the truth, there is absolutely no room for objective argument and there are only emotion-ridden reactions. The six co-authors of the book have superbly rejected the untruth and explained the true history based on verified sources.

South Koreans intentionally add the word “forcible” to “mobilization” and blindly believe that the Japanese military arbitrarily took Koreans to mainland Japan and forced them into slave-like labor. Mr. Lee woo-youn, who revealed the lie of forcibly mobilized workers, points out that the root of this grave issue was the book Record of Forcibly Mobilized Korean Workers written by Park Kyon-sik, a teacher at Korean University in Japan, related to the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) in 1965, revealing that the South Korean education society has been creating school textbooks for sixty years based on this book without any verification of its validity.

Mr. Joung An-ki, co-author of this book and former Professor at Korea University wrote what the Army Special Volunteers (Korean soldiers) were really like. He stated that all because Army special volunteers trained by the Imperial Japanese Army pledged allegiance to the Emperor, they served the Republic of Korea faithfully and patriotically after independence and with the excellent leadership in the battleground, they were able to prevent the International Communist forces from advancing southward in the Korean War. He clearly stated that with the knowledge and technology which were absent during the Joseon Dynasty, former Japanese Army special volunteer Korean soldiers, equipped with diligence and sense of responsibility, played the important role in establishing the Republic of Korea. At the same time, such history proves how greatly the Japanese predecessors ruled Korea. This book will surely clear the air regarding the general South Korean concept of “merciless Japanese villains robbing land, rice, life and chastity” and help recover the Japanese predecessors’ honor. As mentioned above, the book became a bestseller with sales of over 110,000 copies. Unfortunately, however, history textbooks carrying lies are still used as they are and lies are taught daily at South Korean elementary, junior and senior high schools. Thinking of such lamentable situations, I cannot help but wish sincerely that this book would be read further by many more people. First, more politicians, journalists and educators should read this book. I extend my heart-felt gratitude to the six co-authors of the epoch-making book Anti-Japan Tribalism. Let me mention one more thing. The term “colonial rule” is seen here and there in the book. Fact is that Japan gave everything and contributed to Korea in every possible way. The term “colony” implies exploitation of the land and making people obey the rule. I would like to have the term “colonial rule” replaced with a better expression. Then, this book would leave nothing whatsoever to be desired.

Book : Japanese / English (Link to Amazon)

Book : Comfort Women Hoax: A Fake Memoir, North Korean Spies, and Hit Squads in the Academic Swamp

Reviewer : Robert Eldrige.

Explanation

Robert D. Eldridge, who wrote a book review of Comfort Women Hoax was born in New Jersey, USA in 1968. He earned his doctorate in Japanese Political and Diplomatic History from the Graduate School of Law, Kobe University, in 1999. He is a prominent scholar on the Okinawa issue; he wrote The Origin of the Okinawa Issue—Okinawa in the Postwar US-Japan Relationship 1945-1952 (published by Nagoya University Publishing Society) and won the special award of the Asian-Pacific Awards. Later, he worked as an assistant professor at Osaka University and became deputy director of the diplomatic policy department of the United States Marine Corps in Japan.

In February 2015, at the height of the Henoko struggle*, a man was arrested, leading the protest in front of Camp Schwab, was arrested on the charge of violation of the special criminal law. The legality of this arrest was disputed over whether he crossed the yellow line separating the base and the road. The man argued that he had not crossed the line and the Okinawan media reported that his arrest was illegal. However, the camera installed at the base recorded him crossing the line. Eldridge, unable to leave Okinawa filled with lies and deceptions as it is, sent the image caught by the camera to an anchor of a YouTube program the following March and the scene in question was shown to the public. Although the recorded image was non-confidential, the U.S. Marine Corps succumbed to the anti-United States power in Okinawa and dismissed Eldridge from his post, citing that his revealed inappropriately his confidential duties through a private route. Eldridge, learning from this experience that lies and deceptions overrule the truth, presumably wrote this book review to warn people of the crisis. He says, “For one having intelligence, nothing is more sinful than to lack courage to do the right thing using intelligence.” He just wanted to give a strong warning that if scholars lack conscience and courage, their attempts to improve and advance the society and culture would only bring deterioration and decay. strongly warn that study for improving and progressing society and culture reversibly invites deterioration and decay of society because scholars lack conscience and courage. Moreover, he wanted conscientious scholars and journalists to endeavor harder for justice.

Body of the review placed in Japan Forward.

The Comfort Women Hoax exposes the lies and myths of the comfort women issue and ends the myths surrounding it. This is done through meticulous, multilanguage, and multiarchival research and cross-disciplinary cooperation. Meanwhile, the book calls for the restoration of integrity and honesty in academia and an end to canceling and censorship.

I have never gone from anger to laughter as fast as I have when I was reading the new book, The Comfort Women Hoax, by J Mark Ramseyer and Jason Morgan.  ......

Cont'd (Japan Forward)

Book : Harvard Professor Tells Us the Truth about the Comfort Women Issue (Subtitle: Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War), written by John Mark Ramseyer, translated by Lee Woo-youn and Lew Seok-choon, published by Media Watch Company

Reviewer : Kunitoshi Matsuki, Senior Researcher, iRICH

Introduction: This book was written by Harvard University Professor Mark Ramseyer and published on January 3, 2024, by a South Korean publisher in the Korean language. The title reads Harvard Professor Tells Us the Truth about the Comfort Women Issue (subtitle: Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War). This book was translated into the Korean language by Mr. Lee Woo-youn of Naksungdae Institute of Economic Research and Mr. Lew Seok-choon of Yonsei University.

As mentioned in the book review, together with the Japanese translation book Complete Refutation by Prof. Ramseyer of the Comfort Women-Sex Slaves Theory published in 2023 (Heart Publishers), the book is an epoch-making study on the comfort women. Professor Ramseyer’s thorough study has been translated into the Korean language and published in South Korea, which will surely have tremendous influence over the South Korean public opinions.

Regarding the book review of the Japanese version of the book, Professor Ramseyer’s Complete Refutation, please refer to the review by Jason Morgan mentioned above in the introduction to a recent study of international controversial histories.

The reviewer Matsuki is a fellow at our International Research Institute of Controversial Histories. He has lived in South Korea for four and a half years, working as a representative of a general trading company and is well experienced and knowledgeable about Korea. He has written two books, The Fact is Japan’s Annexation of Korea Saved South Korea (WAC inc.), and Gunkanjima [Battleship Island] A World Heritage Site Soiled by Korea (Heart Publishers), as well as many more Korean-related writings.

The Korean people’s eccentric and emotional responses Matsuki mentions in his review should be widely recognized worldwide and in this respect, hopefully this review will help to spread his observations all over the world.

The significance of the concurrent publications of Professor Ramseyer’s papers in Japan and South Korea

The book titled Harvard Professor Ramseyer’s Complete Refutation of Comfort Women Being Sexual Slaves (hereinafter, Complete Refutation), published by Heart Publishers in 2013, contains the professor’s papers that completely refuted the theory of comfort women being sexual slaves.  It was published on December 13, 2023, in Japan and the publication of the same book translated into the Korean language followed on January 3, 2024. The title of the Korean version of the book is Harvard Professor Tells Us the Truth about the Comfort Women Issue with the subtitle Contracting for Sex in the Pacific War (hereinafter The Truth about the Comfort Women Issue).

The structure and contents of the book are nearly identical to Complete Refutation and the only difference is that in the last chapter of the Korean book, a paper entitled “Connection with North Korea”, co-authored by Professor Ramseyer and the former Waseda University Professor Arima Tetsuo is added.

The translation into the Korean language of Prof. Ramseyer’s papers was done by Mr. Lee woo-youn, researcher at Naksungdae Institute of Economic Research and Mr. Lew Seok-choon of Yonsei University. Mr. Lee woo-youn is one of the authors of the book Anti-Japanese Ethnicism published in Korea in 2019 and as an economist, he objectively analyzes the development stages of the Korean economy and highly praises the governance by Japan. From December 2019 onward, he has been single-handedly conducting regular demonstrations asking for “the removal of the comfort woman statue, the suspension of the anti-Japan Wednesday meeting and the dissolution of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance (The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan). He is truly a man of action.

The other translator, Mr. Lew Seok-choon, is a sociology doctor. He studies the period of Japan’s rule of the Korean Peninsula from the perspective of “developmental sociology” while maintaining a balanced and impartial viewpoint. As mentioned later, during his lecture at Yonsei University, he talked about the “truth about the Japanese rule,” and as a result, he was expelled from his teaching job, indicted by the anti-Japan forces and is now fighting his case in the court.

The successful publication at this time of The Truth about the Comfort Women Issue owes much to both translators for their passion and sense of duty. The significance of what Ramseyer papers say in refutation of the comfort women-related lies being known to the general Korean public is enormous. The publication of this book will be epoch-making and a significant step toward the complete resolution of the comfort women issue.

Customarily, for decades, the comfort women issue in South Korea has been treated as a “sacred region,” which no one is allowed to deny. If one dares to tell the truth about the comfort women who were in fact prostitutes, one is surely condemned as a traitor for defaming the victimized comfort women and worse still, is completely ostracized socially.

The author and editor of Anti-Japanese Ethnicism (Miraesa, 2019), Mr. Rhee Young-hoon, professor emeritus of Seoul University said in 2004, “Military comfort women were professional prostitutes.  What scholar in his right mind would assert that Korean Governor’s Office forcibly mobilized them?” He was perfectly right in saying so. However, he was asked to resign from the professorship by the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan. In September of the same year, he was forced to perform a Korean-style humiliating bow-down on the ground to comfort women.

Ms. Park Yu-ha, professor emeritus of Yonsei University, wrote in her book Comfort Women of the Empire, published in 2013 (Ppuriwaipari, 2013) the truth that “Japanese soldiers and comfort women were in comradely relationship.” She was sued by former comfort women for libel at the district court, she lost one suit after another, and it took her ten years to finally win the verdict of not guilty at the Supreme Court in April 2024.

Moreover, Mr. Lew Seok-choon, one of the translators of the Ramseyer papers, during his lecture on developmental sociology logically explained that stories regarded as “common sense” in South Korea such as “40% of farmland was robbed by Japan,” “Rice was exploited,” “Young people were forcibly taken and forced into slave-like labor,” and “Women were taken to join Volunteer Corps and made comfort women,” were in fact far from the truth of the Japanese rule. Feeling outrage over his views, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance and former comfort women sued Mr. Lew for libel. Mr. Lew Seok-choon partially won in the first trial, but both the plaintiffs and the defendant appealed to the higher court, and the lawsuit is still going on.

When Professor Ramseyer’ paper was posted in the English news site of the Sankei Newspaper on January 12, 2021, the entire South Korea turned into a mayhem. What a disgrace for Korean people that a Harvard scholar revealed the “truth” of the comfort women issue! Korean public broadcasting KBS, equivalent to Japan’s NHK, fiercely attacked this revelation, day after day.

The general Korean public, instigated by the fanatic media, without understanding the contents of the paper written in English, emotionally labelled Professor Ramseyer “Japanese with blue eyes” and bombarded him with all manners of abusive language.

Why, on earth, do such totally unreasonable situations occur in Korea, totally nullifying the freedom of study and damaging human rights?

Essentially, the “history” has been changed arbitrarily in China and Korea every time the government changes and it is impossible there to present the “true history” through examination, investigation and verification. To them, “history” is a means of self-justification, and it is utmost important to make up “history to be” that is convenient to them and push it forward on and on. Let me show a concrete example.

According to Mr. Matsumoto Koji, former Ministry of Industry and Trade official who once served as counselor at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, at a seminar held by “Japan-South Korea Joint Study Society of History Textbook” established in 1991, Professor Yoon Sei-tetsu of Seoul University reportedly said, “Respecting the position of victimized South Korea, if Japan abandons its insistent and stubborn attitudes sticking to the truth and rewrites the textbook, the issue will be solved.” Mr. Matsumoto points out that scholars representing South Korea and appearing in front of Japanese mostly have the same way of thinking as the professor.

As made clear so far, in the Korean society, even if a scholar proves something based on historical facts, Koreans would never be persuaded into admitting it if it is different from what they think is right. On top of that, the comfort women issue has been within the “untouchable sacred territory” for long. They become hysterical at the mere mention of the truth and instantly require bowing-down on the ground and apology and resort to lawsuits. Irrationality like the one displayed in the witch hunts of the Middle Ages has found its own way in Korea.

How, then, can we overcome such a situation? The only way would be for those telling the truth to cross the national boundaries and act together hand in hand. In this sense, the concurrent publications and sales of Ramseyer’s books Complete Refutation and The Truth about the Comfort Women Issue in Japan and South Korea were an excellent feat.

Japanese and South Korean scholars on the comfort women issue should continue to deepen the mutual bond and strongly appeal in unison to the peoples of Japan and South Korea and to the world about revealing the true history. Only then, South Korean common sense will become non-common sense and a day will surely come when the Koreans will accept the truth about the comfort women issue.

Of course, that will not be an easy way to take, particularly in South Korea, still dominated by anti-Japan feelings. The publishers must have felt life-threatening fear when they released all Ramseyer papers in a book.

However, if we become daunted to face the fearful conflict, we cannot move forward. The publication of the Truth about the Comfort Women, exposing the true nature of comfort women into daylight can become a great breakthrough in solving the comfort women issue.

In concluding this review, I would like to extend my heart-felt respect to Mr. Lee woo-youn and Mr. Lew Seok-choon, who translated this book and to Media Watch Company, the publisher of this book, for their courage and determination.  

Reviewer : Yano Yoshiaki Senior Researcher, iRICH

Book : Kim Byeong-heon Red Wednesday—Lies of Comfort Women Campaign Alive for 30 Years

Explanation

Reviewer Yano is a fellow at the International Research Institute of Controversial Histories who teaches at Gifu Women’s College, Nippon Keizai University and elsewhere as visiting professor after he served in Japan Self-Defense Forces as Lieutenant General. Based on his professional experiences covering security issues, Mr. Yano has made many suggestions regarding international conflicts in the world and Japanese domestic controversial histories from the viewpoint of Japan. He is the President of General Incorporated Foundation Japan Security Forum.

His review was written to promote the sale of the book Red Wednesday right after its publication.

Author Mr. Kim Byeong-heon, in his capacity of a scholar and activist, exposed lies spread by the former Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, currently the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan and has been disseminating the truth in the area of speech and action. His brave fight, which he started alone, has moved many Korean people into forming a large movement. At times, he and his movement overwhelmed the Korean Council for Justice during rallies held to blame Japan for the alleged forced abduction of “comfort women.” In addition, Mr. Kim Byeong-heon acted as a Korean far and wide outside South Korea, visiting the “Anti-freedom of Expression Exhibit” held in Nagoya, Japan, and saying “no” to the comfort woman statue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., at the very time when a comfort woman statue was established there.

Regarding Mr. Kim Byeong-heon’s assertions and activities, reviewer Yano stated that they not only help Japanese people learn the true history but also, they are counterattacks against the false education provided in South Korea and traitor-like actions within South Korea regarding the policy toward North Korea.

In addition, the reviewer states that the book emphasizes the important fact that by resolving these issues, a true friendship will sprout between Japan and South Korea and that through future-oriented development, the democratic camp will outdo the communist power. The publication of this book in Japanese will not only satisfy the conservative Japanese but will also become a good opportunity for sensible researchers and experts in Japan, South Korea and the world over to unite as one and address the concerns expressed by Mr. Kim, hopefully this book will be translated into many more languages and published in many more countries.

Book Review

One pending issue between Japan and South Korea makes me unconvinced and indignant as a Japanese. It is the so-called “comfort women” issue, which, together with a lie made up by a Japanese man named Yoshida Seiji and the false reporting by the Asahi Newspaper, deplorably developed into an international issue.

In the first place, no system of “military comfort women” existed. What did exist were prostitutes working for the military, regulated by a legal licensed prostitution system and brothel owners who employed them at their businesses. More than half of these prostitutes were Japanese, but none of the former Japanese prostitutes demanded compensation from the Japanese Government, neither did they file lawsuit against the former Japanese military on the charge of forced abduction.

This issue became critical in the relations between Japan and South Korea because the extreme-left powers in South Korea, such as the former Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, currently the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, adhering to the North Korean Juche Idea, have been conducting anti-Japan activities within Korea. Their assertion has proved to be political propaganda, exaggerating lies made up in Japan and piling up more fallacies, through study by Japanese researchers.

An essential characteristic of this book is that President Kim Byeong-heon of the Korean History Textbook Research Institute, one of the conscientious scholars in Korea, speaks for the Japanese people who have been hurt and dishonored by unduly criticism and defamations inflected upon them in the past.

In this book, Mr. Kim Byeong-heon has proved, beyond doubt, that assertions made by the extreme-left powers within Korea without any public or material proof, sometimes distorting documents, using them to their convenience and ignoring the true situation at the time cannot stand his examination by historical study, through his own logical analysis based on reliable evidence and available data from that period. 

Mr. Kim’s criticism targets the statements made by self-proclaimed “former comfort women” which form the basis for the leftist assertions, the judgment by the judicial branch, the Coomaraswamy Report, descriptions in Korean school textbooks and Hosaka Yuji’s assertion at the defamation lawsuit against Mr. Kim, ranging far and wide and covering almost all the points of argument brought by the ultra-left powers. Thus, the extreme-left arguments are perfectly refuted.

In this respect, this book is extremely delightful for Japanese to read. However, to overly emphasize his arguments would be unfair to Mr. Kim. Mr. Kim deeply regrets that false assertions made by the extreme-left powers became the justification for the judgment by the Seoul Central District Court and unabashedly appear in school textbooks as historical facts.

In this book Mr. Kim writes, “Judge wrote totally false judgment, textbook authors write wrong history in textbooks and schools teach children wrong history. What a shame!”

I can feel Mr. Kim’s fear as a true patriot between the lines: if things go on like this, South Korea will be branded as a liar in the international community and face a life or death crisis.

Mr. Kim is not just a writer or researcher. He is also a man of action who represents the National Action to Abolish the Comfort Women Act. Since January 8, 1992, Wednesday meeting aiming to solve the comfort women issue has been held every week in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.

On December 14, 2011, celebrating the 1,000th Wednesday meeting, a comfort woman statue called “A statue of a girl of peace” was installed. Thus, as the namesake of this book’s title, the “Red Wednesday meeting” became customary, organized by the extreme-left powers to criticize the forced abduction of “comfort women.”

However, Mr. Kim Byong-heon started a noble action. On July 14, 2021, the day of the 1,500th Wednesday meeting, he staged a one-man demonstration against this customary meeting. I cannot help but admire and respect this courage and strength to act alone. Mr. Kim is truly worthy to be called a genuine intellectual embodying the true Korean spirit and pride.

Nowadays, at the “Red Wednesday” meeting, those who join Mr. Kim in his protest are majority while the numbers of the extreme-left protestors diminished to become a minority, having lost their past momentum. Finally, time has come for the patient voices of justice of Mr. Kim, his sympathizers, and supporters to be heard and justly appreciated.

The situation in northeastern Asia is getting more and more tense, especially with the deepening conflict between the United States and China over the Taiwan Strait and the frequent missile launches by North Korea. Under such circumstances, the alliances between Japan and Korea and among Japan, Korea and the United States will surely become vital in security and other fields.

I would like to strongly recommend this book to the readers in Japan and South Korea as a monumental academic work, which contributes toward the mutual understanding between Japan and South Korea and building a trustful relationship, ahead of the time.  

Reviewer : Kenichi ARA Councelor iRICH

Book : Bernhard Sindberg The Schindler of Nanjing, written by Peter Harmsen (Casemate Publishers, 2024)

Explanation

This book is a biography of Bernhard Sindberg, a Dane, who was living in Shanghai when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out. As the war front expanded toward Nanjing, the Danish company he was working for, fearing potential damages if the war reached its cement factory then under construction in the suburbs of Nanjing, sent Bernhard Sindberg to the factory early in December and placed him in charge of the business until March of the next year.

According to the summary stated on the book’s title page, when the alleged massacre was being committed within the walled city of Nanjing, Sindberg accepted ten thousand refugees near the factory and protected them from the Japanese military oppression. Thus, he is said to have been an Asian counterpart of Oskar Schindler, who saved Jews from the Holocaust.

Sindberg was a little known twenty-six years old young man at that time and there was not much to mention about him. So, this biography covers mostly events that happened at the early stage of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Later, Sindberg was naturalized in the United States and fought in the Pacific War. He died in Los Angeles in 1983.

The author Peter Harmsen studied history at the National Taiwan University. He is fluent in the Chinese language and worked for over twenty years as a correspondent of a news agency in East Asia. During those years, he wrote three books on the early stage of the Second Sino-Japanese War, including Shanghai, 1937, which became a best seller. Along the line of writing, this book was written and published in 2024 by Casemate Publishers in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Reviewer Ara Kenichi was born in 1944 in Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku University. At present, regarding the issue of the Nanjing incident, he is considered the top scholar or among the top scholars in that field. Therefore, this review has gravity. While in high school, Ara read Dai kaigun o omou (Think of the Great Navy) written by Ito Masanori and felt disheartened by the fact that Japan did not possess armed forces. Then, he came to study the history of Showa and Japan after the War. In the process, he became critical of the actions of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru, who excluded former military men when creating the National Police Reserve. His books on military history are Nanjing Incident: 48 Japanese Testimonies (Shogaku-kan, 2002), Reexamination: What Really Happened in Nanjing (Tokuma-shoten, 2007), The Second Sino-Japanese War Was Plotted by Germany—Mystery Ensconced in the Battle of Shanghai and German Military Advisors (Shogaku-kan, 2008), Secret Record: Coup d’etat Plan by Japan Defense Army (Kodan-sha, 2013) and many others.

Book review

What happened in the vicinity of Tsitsashan Temple

The name of Bernhard Sindberg has been known to those who studied the Nanjing Incident. “Document of the Nanking Safety Zone Number 60 Memorandum by Tsitsashan Temple”, submitted to the Tokyo Trials states: “Since the fall of Nanking, refugees have been coming here for shelter and aid, in hundreds daily. As this is written we have already about 20,400 people under the roof of this temple, mostly women and children. ...Beginning from January 4, we will briefly describe the daily outrages: January 4, a truck arrived with Japanese soldiers...” There were 24 and more cases of rape, 3 cases of murder and many cases of looting. “About January 20, a new detachment of troops arrived...The Lieutenant in charge of the new soldiers is a good man. Since his arrival things have been a good deal better.” This memorandum was submitted to the International Committee of the Nanjing Safety Zone by Bernhard Sindberg.

Although “Documents of the Nanking Safety Zone Number 60 Memorandum” was not read aloud in the court, when Reverend Magee took the stand, he stated that when he went to the cement factory at Tsitsashan in February 1938, a village master told him that there were 10,000 refugees in the factory and Japanese soldiers came there to demand women and when refused, they resorted to violence. Besides, the Dane told him that a man headed for the walled city of Nanking but was found killed in the city.

In the early 1990s, a record of Reverend Magee’s visit to Tsitsashan was revealed. According to the record, around February, the number of refugees at the temple of Tsitsashan was reduced to 1,000, but instead, refugees at the cement factory increased to 10,000 and Sindberg took care of them. According to Sindberg and the villagers in the area, 700 to 800 civilians were killed, and uncountable women were raped, but the invaders were still asking for more women and some people were killed.

“Documents of the Nanking Safety Zone” and the Japanese military movements

First point to mention is that “Documents of the Nanking Safety Zone” was a record of propaganda operations conducted by missionaries in Nanjing at that time and thus it cannot be considered a factual record. Besides, if we examine the Japanese military movements at that time, Magee’s statement and the record of the visit to Tsitsashan contradict the established facts.

Nanjing fell on December 13, and the troops that had advanced to Nanjing were ordered to move to a new deployment on the 20th. It was decided that the 16th Division would guard Nanjing and other divisions would move to Suzhou and Wuhu and elsewhere and they began to move around the 24th. The main part of the 16th Division was positioned within the walled city of Nanjing to guard it and other parts were stationed at Molingguan, Xiaohuamen, Tangshuizhen, Tsitsanshan, Xintang and Danyang in the suburbs of Nanjing.

Tsitsashan is located 25 kilometers northeast of Nanjing City. Leaving Nanjing City in the morning, you will arrive at Tsitsashan by the evening. Along the railroad connecting Nanjing and Shanghai, there is Tsitsashan station and around the station are located the Tsitsashan Temple and a large cement factory.

In the suburbs where the 16th Division was deployed, at first, the Chinese Army had been positioned to defend Nanjing. Then, the Japanese Army heading for Nanjing advanced with air attacks and the Chinese Army was defeated and ran away. The Japanese Army advanced through the area to Nanjing City and the area became the rear zone.

The 16th Division fought in North China in September 1937, then moved to Central China and Nanjing and guarded Nanjing. In the suburbs, guarding and training were the main tasks. While officers were busy making detailed battle reports and keeping a staff diary, soldiers could afford to relax and rest leisurely.  

There was not enough food until the fall of Nanjing, but after the fall, the transport corps arrived and by late December, food began to arrive via the Yangtze River. The New Year’s Days nearing, mochi rice, kazunoko (herring roes), kachiguri (dried chestnut) and canned sea bream arrived and “mochitsuki” (making mochi event) was held here and there. Though some troops were kept engaged, the railroad between Shanghai and Nanjing was restored and things were peaceful and quiet in general.

Troops deployed at the cement factory were the 1st Company and 1st Machine Gun Squad of the 1st Battalion of the 38th Infantry Regiment of Nara. There is a record of an interview of Corporal Okazaki Shigeru by Mr. Higashinakano Shudo (The Front Line of Nanjing Incident Study, combined 2005-2006 edition, Tenden-sha, 2005). Okazaki Shigeru was the chief of the Light Machine Gun Squad and supposedly had led a platoon, had a good command of soldiers’ actions and fully understood how soldiers lived at the cement factory.

According to the interview, there was no civilian house around the factory. Barbed-wire fences were put around the factory and there was no free entrance or exit. Food was enough and all that soldiers did was to take care of the weapons. The soldiers were fed up with boredom, having nothing to do. Card games became very popular and a soldier deeply in debt from losing attempted to run away. Except this incident, nothing out of order or discipline occurred. At Tsitsashan Temple, several kilometers away, probably the rest of the 1st Battalion was stationed.

Although the 16th Division was deployed, it was decided to move the troops on January 8. Soldiers were told that they were leaving Nanjing, but no further information was given to them and so, many thought that they were making a triumphant return. On the 13th, an order was issued, and preparation began. It would take several days for the direction to reach everyone, but a farewell party was to be held at the Division Headquarters on the 17th. The Japanese Army spent about twenty days at Tsitsashan and during the last week, all were busy preparing for the departure.

Upon leaving Nanjing, some troops headed for Shanghai on board of a ship and some headed for Shanghai by train. The troops guarding Tangshuizhen marched to Zhenjiang, closer to Shanghai, and then took the train to Shanghai. The troops at Tsitsashan probably took the same route. They left Nanjing between the 20th and the 28th of December. The 16th Division headed again for North China from Shanghai.

These movements of the Japanese Army show that the 16th Division was not at Tsitsashan, contrary to the alleged claim that at Tsitsashan Temple Japanese soldiers kept asking for women even after January 20th and were making the same demands at the cement factory even in February.

Questions about this book’s descriptions   

According to this book, Bernhard Sindberg, The Schindler of Nanjing, there were many refugees at Tsitsashan and refugees took shelter in Tsitsashan Temple, lived in makeshift huts made of straw and bamboo, rarely escaping from snow and cold. Soon, the refugees at Tsitsashan Temple moved to the cement factory.

On January 11, Sindberg wrote in a letter that the factory was a safe place and there were 100 employees and their families. Around the factory, there were 3,000 to 4,000 refugees. Food could be sustained until mid-February.

On January 23, Sindberg took 20 ducks to a member of the International Committee of the Nanking Safety Zone within the walled city. Food was more abundant at the factory than within the city. Although Sindberg had nothing to do with the International Committee of the Nanking Safety Zone, it was only an hour’s ride by car from the cement factory to Nanjing and he frequently travelled between the factory and the walled city. On December 20, Sindberg visited the International Committee of the Nanking Safety Zone for the first time and met Chairman Rabe, Smythe and Rev. Magee.

According to the book, Japanese soldiers never entered Tsitsashan Temple. A paper notice was posted on the cement factory and when Japanese soldiers came to the factory for women, the factory showed the Danish national flag, and the Japanese soldiers went away. Sindberg never actually saw civilians murdered. The book’s descriptions are far from the evidential materials submitted to the Tokyo Trials.

Incidents mentioned as atrocities committed by the Japanese Army did not exist at all in the first place or they were committed by defeated Chinese soldiers or outlaws. As “Documents of the Safety Zone” which allegedly recorded what took place within the walled city turned out to be records of imaginary events, “Documents of the Nanjing Safety Zone Number 60 Memorandum” and the record of Magee’s visit to the area would have been of the same nature.

What did Peter Harmsen intend to write?

What did Peter Harmsen intend to write? Did he intend to write about Japan’s atrocities and illegal acts?

However, he did not even think of referring to the Japanese Army’s sources to verify whether the Japanese Army was actually at that spot at the time. He just copied the records of the Tokyo Trials and the missionaries and attributed the damages at the factory solely to the Japanese Army.

Did he intend to write how cruel and miserable the battlegrounds were? There were refugees in the region due to the military operations on both sides. Here again, Peter Harmsen attributed it all to the Japanese Army, paying no attention to the Chinese Army at all. Sindberg reportedly rescued refugees, but when it comes to the true situation of rescuing them, they were rescued not from the Japanese Army but from the defeated Chinese soldiers and Chinese outlaws.

Did he try to write about Sindberg’s gallantry?

Sindberg left for China at the age of 23. On the way, aboard the ship, he hit the boatswain and tried to stab another crew member with a knife, and had to be confined. Three years later, he was assigned as a manager of the cement factory. On his way to the factory, he was admonished to follow the Japanese Army’s orders. At the factory, he threatened people around him with a pistol. He was forced to resign from his managerial post in March 1938. He was a violent person rather than a brave man.

Why was he compared to Schindler?

The subtitle of the book reads The Schindler of Nanjing.

Schindler ran a munition factory in Germany and employed Jewish workers. He sympathized with the Jewish people and was on good terms with the officer of the concentration camp. He saved the lives of 1,200 Jews in the camp on the pretext of raising the norm.

Bernhard Sindberg: The Schindler of Nanjing describes how the German national flag that brought millions of deaths was used to save lives in Nanjing. He compares refugees in Nanjing to rescuing Jews in Germany.

In Europe, there has been a history of anti-Semitism. During World War II, Germany persecuted Jews. While there was anti-Semitism in Europe, there was Pan-Asianism in East Asia. It aimed to cope with Europe and America through Japan-China cooperation. The Second Sino-Japanese War broke out and Japan and China fought against each other. However, Japan did not try to annihilate the Chinese people nor to oppress Europe and America.

Schindler was the kind of person who tried to forge report cards. He operated as a spy in Czechoslovakia and made a lot of money and expanded his factory through black market trading. I cannot help but think that Sindberg is compared to Schindler based on such human characteristics they had in common.

There was another person who was also compared to Schindler in the past. When the diary of the German John Rabe was published, Rabe was compared to Schindler for having saved Nanjing citizens.

Rabe was engaged in trade in Nanjing and after Nanjing fell, he worked to rescue citizens. However, civilians were not killed in Nanjing, so Rabe did not protect citizens from killing. Rabe’s actions were directed against Japan and only helped delay the restoration of Nanjing. There was no comparison to Schindler.

Conclusion

Why, then, has such a book been published now?

The book Bernhard Sindberg: The Schindler of Nanjing bears nothing new, from the aspect of historical sources and materials, only citing sources from the war trials conducted to exact revenge, with nothing added in terms of new evidence. I dare to say that since Japan has not at all been eager to correct the history records and disseminate the truth, there has been a global trend to make it permissible to write anything about Japan, even if it is not based on facts. The publication of this book reflects that trend.