【史海回眸】日本民间“孤勇者”守护真相之火

Core Viewpoint - The acknowledgment of the Nanjing Massacre serves as a test of Japan's conscience and national character, with historical evidence and international judgments firmly establishing the atrocities committed by militarists during World War II [1] Group 1: Historical Context - After World War II, the international community reported on the Nanjing Massacre, and the Far East International Military Tribunal provided undeniable evidence of the crimes committed [1] - The shift in U.S. policy towards Japan from punishment to support during the Cold War allowed militarism, cloaked in "historical nihilism," to resurface in Japanese society [1] Group 2: Right-Wing Denial Tactics - Japanese right-wing forces have attempted to deny the reality of the Nanjing Massacre by creating alternative narratives, starting with textbooks and propaganda materials that replace terms like "invasion" with neutral phrases like "entry" [1] - The right-wing's core logic of "no written order theory" sets an almost impossible standard for evidence, claiming that without a signed order from the Emperor or top commanders, atrocities can only be attributed to individual soldiers [2] Group 3: Resistance and Advocacy - Despite the dominance of right-wing narratives, there are scholars and journalists in Japan who confront historical facts, such as researcher Toh Fukio and journalist Honda Katsutaka, who continue to uphold the truth [2] - Historian Ienaga Saburo fought for 32 years to retain accurate accounts of the Nanjing Massacre in high school textbooks, ultimately leading to a 1997 ruling by the Japanese Supreme Court that deemed the Ministry of Education's censorship illegal [2] Group 4: Collective Memory and Recognition - The spirit of Ienaga has inspired others in Japan, such as university professor Kasahara Jukushi and elementary school teacher Matsugawa Tamaki, who work to document the Nanjing Massacre through testimonies from former Japanese soldiers [3] - In 2015, the "Nanjing Massacre Archives" were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, signifying that the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in Nanjing have become part of the collective memory of humanity [3]