Special news reports from Nanking just after the occupation by the Japanese military Asahi newspaper reported the peaceful sceneries and conditions at Nanking five times since the Japanese military occupied Nanking.

In those reports, there was no photo showing any Japanese brutality. Instead, they reported the scenes indicating the heartful friendship between the apanese military and the Chinese living there.

These special reports about Nanking had been offered five times since the occupation of Nanking by the Japanese military , December 13th, 1937 until January 13th, 1938.

The photos below are the copies from the special reports by Asahi newspaper. Besides Asahi Newspaper, other newspapers such as Yomiuri Newspaper and Tokyo Nichi-Nichi Newspaper made reports from Nankig with many photos.

The bottom line is that these photos and articles about Nanking are, so to speak, the primary historical records.

Those are published just after the occupation of Nankig. On the other hand, most of the documents and testimony insisting there happened to be the 　 Nanking Massacre　 are presented after the International Military Tribunal for Far East. In addition, many of them are, what is called, hearsay evidences.

Peace Revives in Nanking First of all, let's start with the first report of that series.

The headline is 　Peace has come back to Nanking filled with residents' delight and welcome to the Japanese military.　 The photo below were taken by Correspondent Kawamura on Dec. 17th, the fifth day after the occupation. Picture 1 ( right ) The Japanese soldiers going for shopping. This picture shows the Chinese already kept street stralls as soon as the fifth day after the occupation. Japanese soldiers went for shopping without carrying guns.

On this day, Dec. 17th, ceremonial entry into Nanking was held, General Matsui being at the head of the Japanese troops. Michio Suyama, ex-soldier who fought during Nanking Campaign says, 　This is a picture showing the real scenery just after the occupation.

On the afternoon of the 17th when the ceremonial entry was held, I strolled through the Chinese street stalls without carring guns. Many Chinese wearing hand-made armbands walked up to us Japanese.

Picture 2 (top the middle) Farmers working on their farm around Nanking. This picture shows pastoral scenery in which farmers are working on their farms around Nanking.

This proves that Nanking residents could get back to their peaceful lives soon after the Japanese occupied Nanking.

Picture 3 (bottom the middle) The Chinese refugees coming back to Nanking. Many Nanking refugees started to come back to their hometown, Nanking soon after the battle of Nanking had been over. Chu Nishisaka who is an ex-soldier belonging to the 34th infantry regiment, the first regiment to take over Kuanghua Gate, says, 　 Our unit left Nanking on the14th day after the occupation of Nanking and on the way to Shanghai, we met a lot of Chinese refugees going back to Nanking. The Chinese had an ear to what would be going on around them. So they were very fast to go away from the coming devastation and also very fast to come back where they used to be once they knowed the place was safe.　 General Matsui wrote down in his diary on Dec. 20th that he had heard at first there had been some unrest conditions among the remaining Nanking residents but that as the Japanese had recovered the peace of the city, the residents seemed to come to feel relieved. He also wrote that many refugees had been seen to come back to the city. Picture 4 (left) The barber on the street The barbers on the streets were often seen here and there in China. You can see the people in the picture wearing hand-made armbands printing Japanese national flag. Look at their amiable smiles. This picture shows that the Chinese could resume their usual livings and that the Japanese soldiers strolled through the city as soon as the fifth day after the Japanese occupied the city. The city of Nanking soon got back their usual peaceful conditions as General Matsui pointed out in his diary. I want to ask you, everybody if you can believe that the 　Nanking Massare　 really happened under the conditions these pictures are showing you. The Chinese official view written in the National Archives, 史料選集第４集 dipicts the conditions of Nanking at that time as follows. 　On Dec. 13th, 1937, Japanese army invaded Nanking. They committed unconceivable massacre of Nankig residents as long as six weeks. More than 190,000 innocent Chinese were massacred and burnt to ashes. Additionally more than 150,000 were slauthtered dispersedly. The total number of the massacred amounted to over 300,000.

　 This is one of the dominant authorities on which the advocates of 　Nanking Massacre　 rely on. They also describe in that archives as follows. 　Japanese army killed every person they saw, raped every women they saw and after that they slaughtered the raped women. They looted whatever they wanted. They burnt every house, shop, and any other building in the city. They brutally murdered the people in various ways. They decapitated heads,splited the heads into pieces, ripped the stomachs, scooped out hearts, buried alive,dismembered bodies, ripped genitals, sticked anus and female genitals, burnt to death, drowned, machine-gunned, etc. Nobody ever knows more brutal, cruel atrocities than these in the history. 　 Four months ago, in 通州, more than 200 Japanese residents and soldiers were slaughtered by the Chinese the very ways as mentioned above. (通州 incident) Do you know that there is a custom called 　Cannibalism　 in Chinese culture in their history? On the other, the Japanese never have such kinds of custom in the culture. The Chinese fabricated false stories and tried to push their own cruel acts off onto the Japanese. We would like to ask you whether ou still believe that 　Nanking Massacre　 by the Japanese really occurred as they insist under the peaceful conditions as showed in the pictures listed here.

Hearful to Yesterday's Enemy The second special report was presented on the newspaper on Dec. 22nd, 1937.
Correspondent Kawamura was the reporter. He took these pictures around the 20th (the 8th day after the occupation of the city). The headline is 　Heartful to Yesterday's Enemy　. Picture 1 (right the top) The injured Chinese soldiers taken care of by the Japanese. Colonel Nakato who had used to be the chief of staff of the 13th Division testified in International Military Tribunal for Far East that since the end of November 1937, Nanking had been a kind of accomodations for the killed or injured in the combats as far as south-eastern front. Transferred government offices and even people's private houses were forcely assigned to such kind of accomodations. The city was filled with the smell of the medicine. Not a few injured lost their lives in these poor surroundings. This testimony was supported by a foreign resident's diary which the Tokyo Nichinichi Newspaper scooped then. The diary on Nov. 25th dipicted that Nanking had turned to the city for the injured Chinese soldiers. The head of National Party Chan-kai-shi, the mayor of Nanking Ma-chaojun fled away from Nanking by airplane on Dec. 7th. And the castle defence commander Tan Shengzhi flew away at their heels on Dec.12th. Many other Chinese executives were irresponsible for having left these injured soldiers behind. This picture shows that Japanese medical officers and medical orderlies are earnestly taking care of the injured Chinese. Do you think that their advocates saying the Japanese killed every Chinese they saw are consistent with this picture? We can say this behavior, 　Hearful to Yesterday's Enemy　 comes from our Japanese heritage called 　Bushidou　. Picture 2 (left the top) The Chinese war prisoners fed by the Japanese. The most controversial issue of Nanking Incident is whether the Japanese broke the international law about war prisoners and killed them illegally. The number of the Chinese who surrendered around 幕府山 ( Mufu Mt.?)amounted to 14,000. They surrendered the 65th Infantry Regiment belonging to Yamada Tacitic Force of the 13th Division. Akira Suzuki, the author of 　The illusion of Nanking Massacre　 visited Sendai in Japan where Major General Yamada ( the commander of Yamada Tactic Forcce) and others who had been related to that case. Mr. Suzuki interviewed them to find the facts. Mr. Tanaka who is one of the most famous researchers about Nanking Incident visted Fukushima in Japan to interview Second Lieutenant Hirabayashi who used to be the platoon leader of the 65th Regiment. What they told were almost compatible with the archives, 　支那事変陸軍作戦 １　 compiled by Japan Self-Defence Force. The facts are as follows. After the 65th Regiment captured the Chinese who surrendered the Japanese found it a big problem to feed such a large number of the Chinese. So the Japanese released as half as them. Next day, a small fire broke out at the detention camp and because of that, about the half ran away. The Japanese linked the rest 4,000 prisoners together by their long underpants although such long underpants did not fit the purpose. Then, string of the war prisoners were sent off under the small number of the Japanese guards. The prisoners were decided to be released at a sandbank in a branch of the Yangtze River. There was a happening then. A shot was suddenly heard somewhere. It brought about the terrible confusion among the prisoners group. One Japanese officer and tens of Japanese soldiers were killed in the confusion. Although 10,000~20,000 prisoners were killed and the rest of them ran away. International law admits that the war prisoners who run away or revolt should be shot. It means that this case above is never worth of accusation. The Japanese did really take care of the war prisoners who were obedient. Picture 3 ( right in the middle) Friendship between the Japanese and the Chinese soldiers after the combats. Picture 4 ( right the bottom) Major 沈、the staff of the Chinese 教導隊 talking with Major General Yamada. The Chinese 教導隊 was the bravest among the Chinese troops fighting in the battle of Nanking. They fought bravely against the Japanese troops at Rain Flower Terrace and Purple Mt. Major 沈 was afterward appointed by the govenment of 王兆銘. Picture 5 ( left the bottom) Heartful snapshot in Nanking Many Chinese citizens wearing handmade armbands printing Japanese national flag were seen to be enjoying chatting here and there on the streets. The total area of Nanking including Hsiakwan and 江東門 is as much as 40 square kilometers. The Chinese at that time were very sensitive to the information because they had experienced long-lasting internal desturbances. So they kept away from the dangerous zones and ran away very quickly when they sensed imminent danger. According to a testimony for the prosecution in the International Military Tribuanl for Far East, 12,000 dead bodies were lying over this small area. Mountains of dead bodies were seen here and there. The river of the blood was knee-deep. In addition, Katsuichi Honda, the author of the book, 　Journey to China　 wrote in his book as follows. The Japanese troops fired and machine-gunned and thew grenades to the Chinese crowds running this way and that to escape. The Japanese also released their starving military dogs to let them eat the Chinese. Chungshan N Rd. and Chungyang Rd. were covered with the mountains of dead bodies and their blood. The roads turned into the hell. Do you think it possible to take the peaceful pictures listed here if their stories were really true?

1 Children happily playing with toy tanks, unexpected gifts from Japanese soldiers.

2 Children playing in and around a broken coach.

3 Children receiving medical checkups.

4 Women singing a hymn peacefully in a church Phototes by Hayashi, special correspondent.

1 Chinese mending shoes for Japanese soldiers

2 'Here you are, milk for the boy.' A women thanks a kind troop commander.

3 A medical orderly treating a child for trachoma.

4 Chinese wounded soldiers under treatment by Japanese medical corps

Photo by Hayashi, special correspondent.

1, 2, 3 Japanese soldiers and Chinese residents working together to restore the city's water supply operation.

4 Spring has come to the open-air stall quarters.

Photos by Hayashi, special correspondent