The Rape of Nanking
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From: Suzie Wong <Bonzai@Nanking>
Subject: a horrible massacre by the Japanese army - again
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BASIC FACTS ON THE NANKING MASSACRE
AND THE TOKYO WAR CRIMES TRIAL - Part 1
======================================================================
TABLE OF CONTENT
======================================================================
Foreword
The Nanking Massacre
Nanking Massacre - The Japanese Versions
The Tokyo War Crimes Trial
Summary of the Verdict and Sentence
Summary of Convicted Class A War Criminals
Chronology of the Japanese Invasion of Asia, 1894-1945
======================================================================
This pamphlet is prepared in the spirit of freedom of information.
Reproduction and circulation are welcome and encouraged. Please forward
comments and suggestions for revisions and corrections to:
New Jersey Hong Kong Network
P.O. Box 18
Bound Brooks, NJ 08805
======================================================================
FOREWORD
======================================================================
It has almost been three years since the first edition of this pamphlet
was printed in 1991. During this time, the pamphlet has frequently been
requested by various organizations in the United States and around the
world. As the first print of the pamphlet is running out and requests of
the pamphlet continue to come in, we decide to print the pamphlet for the
second time.
In this new edition of the pamphlet, while the material remains the same,
a few errors in the last edition have been corrected. We hope that this
pamphlet continues to serve as a vehicle for people to learn about this
"Forgotten Holocaust."
New Jersey Hong Kong Network
September 1993
======================================================================
FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION
======================================================================
The Japanese invasion of China immediately before and during World War II
lasted from the early 1930's to 1945. During this dark period in modern
Asian history, the Japanese military machine was motivated by an
uncontrollable desire for aggression, expansion and imperialism. The
brutalities and atrocities committed by the Japanese military in China
and elsewhere in Asia finally ended with destruction on Japanese soil --
the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945. The victims
of the Japanese militarists' aggression included the innocent and
peace-loving peoples of China, Korea, the Philippines, other south east
Asian countries, United States, and Japan herself.
In the past forty-five years, China and other countries have allowed the
Japanese war crimes to be forgotten. In fact, the only constant reminders
of the victims of World War II in Asia were the events commemorating the
Japanese who were killed by the atomic bomb dropped by the United States.
The young generations, Chinese and Japanese alike, are not kept informed
about the consequences of imperialist militarism.
During this time, the Japanese Ministry of Education distorted the facts
of World War II in their history textbooks, the government glorified
convicted Class A war criminals as national heroes, and high ranking
Japanese officials publicly denied the occurrence of the Nanking
Massacre, one of the most infamous atrocities committed by the Japanese
armies in China.
This pamphlet is an attempt to raise awareness on an issue -- the history
behind the bombing of Hiroshima -- where proper attention is long
overdue. Although this pamphlet is far from an exhaustive research on the
subject, we hope to provide the readers with some basic information on a
few pertinent topics:
o The Nanking Massacre
o Nanking Massacre - the Japanese Versions
o The Tokyo War Crime Trial
o Chronology of the Japanese Invasion of China
o References
The constant reminders of the atrocities of Germany's Nazi regime is now
recognized as a major preventive measure against the revival of Nazism in
Germany, and the annual commemoration of the victims of Hiroshima
provides a strong basis for the resistance to the dangerous escalation of
nuclear weapons. By preparing this pamphlet, we hope to help initiate a
long term movement to bring attention to the war crimes committed by the
Japanese militarists during World War II, and, by doing so, to unite with
peace-loving people of all nationalities to prevent the resurgence of
militarism anywhere in the world.
New Jersey Hong Kong Network
December, 1990
======================================================================
THE NANKING MASSACRE
======================================================================
In 1928, the Chinese Nationalist Government moved the capital of China
from Peking to Nanking. The city normally held about 250,000 people, but
by the mid-1930's its population had swollen to more than 1 million. Many
of them were refugees, fleeing from the Japanese armies which had invaded
China since 1931. On November 11, 1937, after securing control of
Shanghai, the Japanese army advanced towards Nanking from different
directions. In early December, the Japanese troops were already in the
proximity of Nanking.
On December 9, after unsuccessfully demanding the defending Chinese
troops in Nanking to surrender, the Japanese troops launched a massive
attack upon the city. On the 12th, the defending Chinese troops decided
to retreat to the other side of Yangtze River. On the 13th of December,
the 6th and the 116th Divisions of the Japanese Army first entered the
city. At the same time, the 9th Division entered Guang Hua Gate, and the
16th Division entered Zhong Shan Gate and the Tai Ping Gate. In the
afternoon, two Japanese Navy fleets arrived on both sides of the Yangtze
River. On the same day, December 13th, 1937, Nanking fell to the
Japanese. In the next six weeks, the Japanese committed the infamous
Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, during which an estimated
300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed, and 20,000 women were
raped.
During the Nanking Massacre, the Japanese committed a litany of
atrocities against innocent civilians, including mass execution, raping,
looting, and burning. It is impossible to keep a detailed account of all
of these crimes. However, from the scale and the nature of these crimes
as documented by survivors and the diaries of the Japanese militarists,
the chilling evidence of this historical tragedy is indisputable.
(I) THE TRAGEDY AT YANGTZE RIVER
On December 13th, a large number of refugees tried to escape from the
Japanese by trying to cross the Yangtze River. They were trapped on the
east bank because no transportation was available; many of them tried to
swim across the river. Meanwhile, the Japanese arrived and fired at the
people on the shore and in the river. A Japanese soldier reported that
the next day he saw an uncountable number of dead bodies of adults and
children covering the whole river. He estimated that more than 50,000
people were killed at this tragic incident of the Nanking massacre.
(II) ANNIHILATION IN THE CITY
When the Japanese troops first entered the city on the 13th, the streets
were crowded with more than 100,000 refugees or injured Chinese soldiers.
The Japanese relentlessly fired at these people. The next morning, tanks
and artilleries entered the city and killing of people continued. Dead
bodies covered the two major streets of the city. The streets became
"streets of blood" as a result of the two-day annihilation.
(III) MASS EXECUTION OF CAPTIVES
A large number of Chinese soldiers had already been captured in the
suburban areas before the Japanese entered the city. The rest of the
Chinese soldiers scattered inside the city and changed into civilian
clothes. After the "City-Entering Ceremony" on the 17th, the Japanese
arrested anybody who was suspected to be a Chinese soldier. A large
number of young men who were arrested, together with those who had been
captured earlier, were sent outside of the city to be massacred, from
several thousand to tens of thousand at a time. In most cases, the
captives were shot by machine guns, and those who were still alive were
bayoneted individually. In some cases, the Japanese poured gasoline onto
the captives and burned them alive. In some cases, poison gas was used.
(IV) SCATTERED ATROCITIES WITH EXTREME CRUELTY
Numerous atrocities occurred within and around the city, and the victims
were largely civilians. Japanese soldiers invented and exercised inhumane
and barbaric methods of killing. The brutalities included shooting,
stabbing, cutting open the abdomen, excavating the heart, decapitation
(beheading), drowning, burning, punching the body and the eyes with an
awl, and even castration or punching through the vagina.
(V) RAPING
An estimated 20,000 women were raped by the Japanese soldiers during the
six weeks of the Nanking Massacre, most were brutally killed afterwards.
The Japanese soldiers even raped girls less than ten years old, women
over seventy years old, pregnant women, and nuns. Rampant raping took
place in the streets or at religious worshiping places during the day.
Many women were gang raped. Some Japanese even forced fathers to rape
their daughters, sons to rape their mothers, etc. Those who resisted were
killed immediately.
(VI) ATROCITIES IN THE SAFETY ZONE
When the Japanese were approaching Nanking in mid-November, a group of
concerned foreigners formed an international rescue committee to
establish a safety zone in an attempt to protect the refugees. The safety
zone was located inside the city and consisted of more than twenty
refugee camps, each of which accommodated from 200 to 12,000 people.
During the six weeks of the Nanking Massacre, the Japanese frequently
entered the safety zone to arrest young men. Every time, several hundred
young men were arrested and executed on the site.
(VII) LOOTING
The Japanese looted all the storehouses and seized virtually everything
from the civilians. The loot included jewelry, coins, domesticated
animals, food, clothes, antiques, and even inexpensive items such as
cigarettes, eggs, fountain pens, and buttons.
(VIII) BURNING AND VANDALISM
The Japanese organized burning of buildings in the city. After they had
set fire to buildings using either gasoline or some other inflammable
chemicals, they hid, waited for and killed people who came to extinguish
the fire. Numerous people were killed by fire. Nanking, once a beautiful
historical city, was burned to ashes by the Japanese.
======================================================================
NANKING MASSACRE -- THE JAPANESE VERSIONS
======================================================================
From 1937 to now (1990), the Japanese militarists, the government and the
public dealt with the undeniable atrocities committed by the Japanese
troops in Nanking and the rest of Asia in a number of ways. The major
waves of Japanese treatment of this dark historical tragedy ranged from
total cover-up during the war, confessions and documentation by the
Japanese soldiers during the 1950's and 60's, denial of the extent of the
Nanking Massacre during the 70's and 80's, official distortion and
rewriting of history during the 80's, and total denial of the occurrence
of the Nanking Massacre by government officials in 1990.
(I) DURING AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SINO-JAPANESE WAR
The Japanese Government had a tight control over the news media during
the War and the Japanese civilians did not know about the truth of the
Nanking Massacre or other crimes committed by the Japanese troops abroad.
In fact, the Japanese soldiers were always described as heroes. It was
not until the postwar Tokyo Trial (tried by the International Military
Tribunal for the Far East) that the truth of the Nanking Massacre was
first revealed to the Japanese civilians. The atrocities revealed during
the Trial shocked the Japanese society at the time.
(II) POSTWAR TO 1970's
Prior to 1970, there was no open denial by the Japanese regarding the
Nanking Massacre. In fact, there were a number of Japanese books, many
were confessions or diaries by Japanese soldiers, which confirmed and
gave detailed accounts of the Massacre. Works by the Japanese documenting
the Nanking Massacre climaxed with the appearance of Katsuichi Honda's
series of articles, "The Journey to China", published in Asahi Shinbun
(Nov.,1971), which were based on interviews with the survivors of the
Massacre. However, the Nanking Massacre was never emphasized in the
Japanese history textbooks. During the Tokyo Trial, the Massacre was
treated as one unique example of the atrocities committed in Asia, rather
than as a separate charge. Few Japanese historians treated the Massacre
as a serious research topic.
(III) 1970 TO PRESENT
The denial of the Nanking Massacre started around 1972, when the
right-wing political force in Japan began to rise. The Japanese denial of
the Nanking Massacre and other brutalities in Asia can be divided into
three broad categories:
(a) Complete Denial of the Massacre
By the end of 1971, the wave of confessions by Japanese soldiers and
research by journalists exposing the brutal crimes in Asia encountered
strong resistance from the right-wing conservatives. The denial movement
began with two controversial yet influential articles: (1) an article by
Shichihei Yamamoto, "Reply to Katsuichi Honda" published in Shokun!,
March 1972; (2) an article by Akira Suzuki, "The Phantom of The Nanking
Massacre", published in the April issue of the same Journal. This wave of
open and public Japanese denial of their war crimes escalated over the
years, as evidenced by Massaki Tanaka's book "Fabrication of Nanking
Massacre" (Nihon Kyobun Sha, 1984) in which not only was the Nanking
Massacre denied, but the Chinese Government was charged as responsible
for the occurrence of the Sino-Japanese War.
(b) Disputes on the Number of People Killed in the Massacre
Besides total denial, another line of Japanese thoughts insisted that the
Nanking Massacre was exaggerated by the Chinese. This view is best
elaborated in a book written by Hata Ikuhiko "Nanking Incident" (Chuo
Koron Shinsho, 1986) in which it was argued that the number of victims in
the Massacre was between 38,000-42,000. It was also argued that the
killing of surrendered or captured soldiers should NOT be considered as
"Massacre". This book is now considered as the official history text on
the issue by the Japan Ministry of Education.
(c) Distortion and Rewriting of History
In 1982, the Ministry of Education embarked on a campaign to distort the
presentation of the history of World War II. In the process of the
revision of history textbooks in Japan, Japanese "aggression" in China
was substituted by "advancing in and out" of China during the
Sino-Japanese War. The Nanking Massacre was described as a minor incident
which occurred because the Japanese soldiers were too frustrated by the
strong resistance from the Chinese Army. Although the substitution of the
word "aggression" by "advancing in and out" was finally stopped because
of the strong protest by the surrounding Asian countries and various
Japanese educational groups, the rewriting of the Nanking Massacre
remained. Moreover, the Ministry of Education has never admitted that the
distortion of history is a mistake.
(IV) 1990, DENIALS BY JAPANESE OFFICIALS
The Nanking Massacre came into focus again when an interview with
Shintaro Ishihara, the most popular contemporary writer in Japan
(co-author of "The Japan that Can Say No") and the most flamboyant member
of the Diet, was published in the October issue of Playboy Magazine. In
the interview, Ishihara declared that the Nanking Massacre never
occurred, and that "it is a story made up by the Chinese, ... it is a
lie". On November 10, 1990, during a protest by Chinese Americans against
the Japanese actions in Diao-Yu-Tai Island, the Deputy Japanese Consul in
Houston maintained that according to Japanese sources, "the Nanking
Massacre never occurred."
======================================================================
THE TOKYO WAR CRIMES TRIALS
MAY 3, 1946 TO NOVEMBER 12, 1948
======================================================================
All Japanese Class A war criminals were tried by the International
Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) in Tokyo. The prosecution team
was made up of justices from eleven Allied nations: Australia, Canada,
China, France, Great Britain, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the
Philippines, the Soviet Union and the United States of America. The Tokyo
trial lasted two and a half years, from May 1946 to November 1948. Other
war criminals were tried in the respective victim countries. War crime
trials were held at ten different locations in China.
I. THE INDICTMENT
Of the eighty (80) Class A war criminal suspects detained in the Sugamo
prison after 1945, twenty-eight (28) men were brought to trial before the
IMTFE. The accused included nine civilians and nineteen professional
military men:
Four former premiers: Hiranuma, Hirota, Koiso, Tojo
Three former foreign ministers: Matsuoka, Shigemitsu, Togo
Four former war ministers: Araki, Hata, Itagaki, Minami
Two former navy ministers: Nagano, Shimada
Six former generals: Doihara, Kimura, Matsui, Muto, Sato, Umezu
Two former ambassadors: Oshima, Shiratori
Three former economic and financial leaders: Hoshino, Kaya, Suzuki
One imperial adviser: Kido
One radical theorist: Okawa
One former admiral: Oka
One former colonel: Hashimoto
The indictment accused the defendants of promoting a scheme of conquest
that "contemplated and carried out ... murdering, maiming and
ill-treating prisoners of war (and) civilian internees ... forcing them
to labor under inhumane conditions ... plundering public and private
property, wantonly destroying cities, towns and villages beyond any
justification of military necessity; (perpetrating) mass murder, rape,
pillage, brigandage, torture and other barbaric cruelties upon the
helpless civilian population of the over-run countries."
Joseph Keenan, the chief prosecutor representing the United States at the
trial, issued a press statement along with the indictment: ".. it is high
time ... that the promoters of aggressive, ruthless war and
treaty-breakers should be stripped of the glamour of national heroes and
exposed as what they really are --- plain, ordinary murderers."
II. WAR CRIMES IN CHINA REVEALED
(a) The Nanking Massacre
Numerous eye-witness accounts of the Nanking Massacre were provided by
Chinese civilian survivors and western nationals living in Nanking at the
time. The accounts included gruesome details of the Nanking Massacre.
Thousands of innocent civilians were buried alive, used as targets for
bayonet practice, shot in large groups and thrown into the Yangtze River.
Rampant rapes (and gang rapes) of women ranging from age seven to over
seventy were reported. The international community estimated that within
the six weeks of the Massacre, 20,000 women were raped, many of them
subsequently murdered or mutilated; and over 300,000 people were killed,
often with the most inhumane brutality.
Dr. Robert Wilson, a surgeon who was born and raised in Nanking and
educated at Princeton and Harvard Medical School, testified that
beginning with December 13, "the hospital filled up and was kept full to
overflowing" during the next six weeks. The patients usually bore bayonet
or bullet wounds; many of the women patients had been sexually molested.
The international community had filed many protests to the Japanese
Embassy. Bates, an American professor of history at the University of
Nanking during the Japanese occupation, provided evidence that the
protests were forwarded to Tokyo and were discussed in great detail
between Japanese officials and the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo.
Brackman (reporter at the trial and author of the book "The Other
Nuremberg") commented: "The Rape of Nanking was not the kind of isolated
incident common to all wars. It was deliberate. It was policy. It was
known in Tokyo." Yet it was allowed to continue for over six weeks.
(b) Unconventional warfare: Narcotics and Bacteriological warfare
- Narcortics Trafficking
Japan's opium operations in China in the 30's and 40's was conducted with
full approval from Tokyo as a state policy, under the directives of an
official Japanese umbrella organization, the China Affairs Board. The
Board was responsible for political, economic, and cultural affairs in
occupied China. This organization was run by Prince Konoye, and the
ministers of war, the navy, finance and foreign affairs of the time.
Japan's opium trafficking was designed to weaken the Chinese people's
will to resist and to provide substantial revenues to finance Japanese
military and economic aggression.
- Bacteriological Warfare
Reference to the bacteriological warfare was only briefly mentioned
during the trial. The assistant U.S. prosecutor David Sutton read the
following statements: "The enemy's TAMA Detachment carried off their
civilian captives to the medical laboratory, where the reactions to
poisonous serums were tested. This detachment was one of the most secret
organizations. The number of persons slaughtered by this detachment
cannot be ascertained." Surprisingly, the prosecutor did not pursue the
subject, and hence was rejected as unsupported.
After the trial by the IMTFE, in December 25-30, 1949, the Soviets tried
twelve former members of the TAMA detachment who were captured in
Manchuria. The twelve were convicted of conducting experiments on living
people.
In the February 23, 1950 issue of Izvestia, the Soviet government daily,
the Soviets charged that in September 1946, the Soviet prosecutors had
turned over to the U.S. prosecutor, the chief of the Allied counsel, hard
evidence of Japan's experiments on bacteriological weapons.
In 1976, the Tokyo Broadcasting System confirmed the existence of the
TAMA detachment. Five living members of the top-secret operation told a
Japanese reporter that they had escaped indictment as war criminals in
return for divulging their research to the U.S. authorities.
*******************
Serdar: Armenian Turquey
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From: Suzie Wong <Bonzai@Nanking>
Subject: a horrible massacre by the Japanese army - again
Message-ID: <Ninja2@Kwantung>
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BASIC FACTS ON THE NANKING MASSACRE
AND THE TOKYO WAR CRIMES TRIAL - Part 2
III. THE VERDICT
Two (Yosuke Matsuoka and Osami Nagano) of the twenty-eight defendants
died of natural causes during the trial. One defendant (Shumei Okawa) had
a mental breakdown on the first day of trial, was sent to a psychiatric
ward and was released in 1948 a free man. The remaining twenty-five (25)
were all found guilty, many of multiple counts. Seven (7) were sentenced
to death by hanging, sixteen (16) to life imprisonment, and two (2) to
lesser terms. All seven sentenced to death were found to be guilty of
inciting or otherwise implicated in mass-scale atrocities, among other
counts. Three of the sixteen sentenced to life imprisonment died between
1949 and 1950 in prison. The remaining thirteen (13) were paroled between
1954 and 1956, less than eight years in prison for their crimes against
millions of people.
Two former ambassadors were sentenced to seven and twenty years in
prison. One died two years later in prison. The other one, Shigemitsu,
was paroled in 1950, and was appointed foreign minister
SUMMARY OF THE VERDICT AND SENTENCE
Counts
ACCUSED 1 27 29 31 32 33 35 36 54 55 SENTENCE NOTE
======================================================================
ARAKI G G X X X X X X X X Life Imp. Paroled 1955
DOIHARA G G G G G X G G G O Death
HASHIMOTO
G G X X X X X Life Imp. Paroled 1945
HATA G G G G G X X X G Life Imp. Paroled 1955
HIRANUMA
G G G G G X X G X X Life Imp. Paroled 1955
HIROTA G G X X X X X X G Death
HOSHINO G G G G G X X X X Life Imp. Paroled 1955
ITAGAKI G G G G G X X Death
KAYA G G G G G X G G G O Life Imp. Paroled 1955
KIDO G G G G G X X X X X Life Imp. Paroled 1955
KIMURA G G G G G G G Death
KOISO G G G G G X X G Life Imp. Died 1950
MATSUI X X X X X X X X G Death
MINAMI G G X X X X X Life Imp. Paroled 1954
MUTO G G G G G X X G G Death
OKA G G G G G X X Life Imp. Paroled 1954
OSHIMA G X X X X X X Life Imp. Paroled 1955
SATO G G G G G X X Life Imp. Paroled 1956
SHIGEMITSU
X G G G G G X X G 7 years Paroled 1950
Appointed Foreign Minister 1954
SHIMADA G G G G G X X Life Imp. Paroled 1955
SHIRATORI
G X X X X Life Imp. Died 1949
SUZUKI G G G G G X X X X Life Imp. Paroled 1955
TOGO G G G G G X X X 20 years Died 1948
TOJO G G G G G G X G O Death
Enshrined as martyr at the Yasukuni Shrine in 1978
UMEZU G G G G G X X X Life Imp. Died 1949
Blank: No indictment; G: Guilty; X: Not Guilty; O: Other.
COUNTS OF INDICTMENT:
Count 1: as "leaders, organizers, instigators, or accomplices in the
formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy ... to wage wars
of aggression, and war or wars in violation of international law."
Count 27: waging unprovoked war against China.
Count 29: waging aggressive war against the United States.
Count 31: waging aggressive war against the British Commonwealth.
Count 32: waging aggressive war against the Netherlands.
Count 33: waging aggressive war against France (Indochina).
Count 35 & 36: waging aggressive war against the USSR.
Count 54: "ordered, authorized, & permitted" inhumane treatment of
Prisoners of War (POWs) and others.
Count 55: "deliberately and recklessly disregarded their duty" to take
adequate steps to prevent atrocities.
SUMMARY OF CONVICTED CLASS A WAR CRIMINALS
Seven (7) sentenced to death:
Doihara, General Kenji (1883-1948). Commander, Kwantung Army, 1938-40;
Supreme War Council, 1940-43; army commander in Singapore, 1944-45.
Deeply involved in the army's drug trafficking in Manchuria. Later ran
brutal POW and internee camps in Malaya, Sumatra, Java and Borneo.
Convicted on counts 1, 27, 29, 31, 32, 35, 36, 54.
Hirota, Baron Koki (1878-1948). Ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1928-31;
foreign minister, 1933-36; premier, 1936-37. Was foreign minister during
the Rape of Nanking and other atrocities perpetrated by the army. As
premier, he led his cabinet in planning the invasions of Southeast Asia
and the Pacific islands, in addition to continuing the undeclared war
against China. Convicted on Counts 1, 27, 55.
Itagaki, General Seishiro (1885-1948). Chief of staff, Kwantung Army,
1936-37; minister of war, 1938-39; chief, army general staff, 1939;
commander in Korea, 1941; Supreme War Council, 1943; commander in
Singapore, 1945. Troops under his command in China and elsewhere
terrorized prisoners and civilians. Was responsible for prison camps in
Java, Sumatra, Malaya, Borneo and elsewhere. Convicted on Counts 1, 27,
29, 31, 32, 35, 36, 54.
Kimura, General Heitaro (1888-1948). Chief of staff, Kwantung Army,
1940-41; vice minister of war, 1941-43; Supreme War Council, 1943; army
commander in Burma, 1944-45. Helped plan the China and Pacific wars,
including surprise attacks. Involved in the brutalization of the Allied
POWs and was the field commander in Burma when civilian and POW slave
labor built and died on the Siam-Burma Railway. Convicted on Counts 1,
27, 29, 31, 32, 54, 55.
Matsui, General Iwane (1878-1948). Personal appointee of the emperor to
the Geneva Disarmament Conference, 1932-37; commander, China
Expeditionary Force, 1937-38. Troops under his overall command were
responsible for the Rape of Nanking in 1937 and other atrocities. He
retired in 1938 and then ceased to play an active role in military
affairs. Convicted on Count 55. He was one of 14 Class A war criminals
who were secretly enshrined as "matyrs" at the Yasukuni Shrine, which is
dedicated to Japan's war dead and is Japan's most revered Shinto temple.
Muto, General Akira (1892-1948). Vice chief of staff, China Expeditionary
Force, 1937; director, military Affairs Bureau, 1939-42; army commander
in Sumatra, 1942-43; army chief of staff in the Philippines, 1944-45.
Troops under his command participated in both the Rape of Nanking and the
Rape of Manila. Convicted on Counts 1, 27, 29, 31, 32, 54, 55.
Tojo, General Hideki (1884-1948). Chief, Manchurian secret police, 1935;
councillor, Manchurian Affairs Bureau, 1936; chief of staff, Kwantung
Army, 1937-38; vice minister of war, 1938; minister of war 1940-44;
premier, 1941-44. Considered the arch-criminal of the Pacific War. Tojo
assumed full responsibility for all the actions of his government and the
military during the war. Convicted on Counts 1, 27, 29, 31, 32, 33, 54.
Sixteen (16) sentenced to life imprisonment:
Araki, General Sadao (1877-1966). Minister of war, 1931-34; Supreme War
Council, 1934-36; minister of education 1938-39; senior adviser to the
cabinet, 1939-40. An early advocate of Japanese military expansionism.
While education minister, he restructured the Japanese school system
along military lines. Convicted on Counts 1 and 27. Paroled in 1955.
Hashimoto, Colonel Kingoro (1890-1957). Held various commands, including
that of an artillery regiment during the Rape of Nanking in 1937. Played
a major role in staging the Mukden Incident, which eventually led to war
with China. Author of political books of racist propaganda, he was
important in mobilizing Japanese public opinion behind the Pacific War.
Convicted on Counts 1 and 27. Paroled in 1954.
Hata, Field Marshal Shunroku (1879-1962). Supreme War Council, 1937;
commander, China Expeditionary Force, 1938, 1941-44; minister of war,
1939-40. One of the militarists who planned the invasion of China in the
1930s. He was in overall command of troops who perpetrated countless
atrocities against Chinese civilians. Convicted on Counts 1, 27, 29, 31,
32, 55. Paroled in 1954.
Hiranuma, Baron Kiichiro (1867-1952). Privy Council, 1924-39; founder and
president, Kokuhonsha (right-wing patriotic society), 1926-28; premier,
1938; minister of home affairs, 1940; minister without portfolio,
1940-41; president, Privy Council, 1945. Convicted on crimes 1, 27, 29,
31, 32, 36.
Hoshino, Naoki (1892-1978). Chief of financial affairs, Manchukuo
(Manchuria), 1932-34; director of general affairs (chief civilian
officer), Manchukuo, 1936; minister without portfolio, 1940-41; chief
cabinet secretary, 1941-44. Convicted on Counts 1, 27, 29, 312, 32.
Paroled in 1955.
Kaya, Okinori (1889-1977). Minister of finance, 1937-38, 1941-44;
president, North China Development Company, 1939-41. An early advocate of
selling narcotics to the Chinese to finance the expenses of the
occupation forces. Convicted on Counts 1, 27, 29, 31, 32. Paroled in 1955.
Kido, Marquis Koichi (1889-1977). Chief secretary to the lord keeper of
the privy seal, 1930-37; minister of education, 1937; minister of
welfare, 1938; minister of home affairs, 1939; lord keeper of the privy
seal 1940-45. Was Emperor Hirohito's closest adviser during the most
critical periods of the wars with China and the Allies. His secret diary,
which he kept during all of his time at or near the seat of power, was
the prosecution's bible during much of the Tokyo trial. Convicted on
Counts 1, 27, 29, 31, 32. Paroled in 1955.
Koiso, General Kuniaki (1880-1950). Vice minister of war, 1932; chief of
staff, Kwantung Army, 1932-34; army commander in Korea, 1935-38; minister
of overseas affairs, 1939; governor-general, Korea, 1942-44; premier
1944-45. Was known among the Korean population as "the Tiger of Korea"
because of his brutality. As premier, he was aware of POW death camps.
Convicted on Counts 1, 27, 29, 31, 32, 55.
Minami, General Jiro (1874-1955). Minister of war, 1931; Supreme War
Council, 1931-34; commander, Kwantung Army, 1934-36; governor-general,
Korea, 1936-42; privy Council, 1942-45. An early leader of the army
clique that controlled Japan in the 1930s and 1940s. Ruled Japan's Korean
colony with an iron fist. Convicted on Counts 1 and 27. Paroled in 1945.
Oka, Admiral Takasumi (1890-1973). Chief, Naval Affairs Bureau, 1940-44;
vice minister of the navy, 1944. An important participant in planning the
surprise attacks perpetrated by Japanese naval forces during the second
week in December 1941. Also administered some POW and civilian to shoot
survivors of torpedoed Allied ships. Convicted on Counts 1, 27, 29, 31,
32. Paroled in 1954.
Oshima, General Hiroshi (1886-1975). Military attache in Germany,
1934-38; ambassador to Germany, 1938-39, 1941-45. Helped forge the Axis
Pact with Germany and Italy and was an intimate of Hilter, Himmler,
Goring, and Ribbentrop. Convicted on Count 1. Paroled in 1955.
Sato, General Kenryo (1895-1975). Section head, then chief, Military
Affairs Bureau, 1942-44; assistant chief of staff, China Expeditionary
Force, 1944; army commander in Indochina, 1945. Convicted on Counts 1,
27, 29, 31, 32. Paroled in 1956.
Shimada, Admiral Shigetaro (1883-1976). Vice chief of naval staff,
1935-37; commander, China Fleet, 1940; navy minister, 1941-44; Supreme
War Council, 1944. Authorized the naval surprise attacks in December
1941. Naval units under his overall command massacred Allied POWs,
transported prisoners and civilian internees aboard hellships, and killed
any surviving crew members of torpedoed Allied ships. Convicted on Counts
1, 27, 29, 31, 32. Paroled in 1955.
Shiratori, Toshio (1887-1949). Director, Information Bureau, Foreign
Ministry, 1929-33; ambassador to Italy, 1938-40; adviser tot the foreign
minister, 1940. A supporter of military expansionism, he favored an
alliance among Germany, Italy the Soviet Union and Japan to dominate the
world. Convicted on Count 1.
Suzuki, General Teiichi (1888- ). chief, China Affairs Bureau, 1938-41;
president, Cabinet Planning Board, and minister without portfolio,
1941-43; adviser to the cabinet, 1943-44. An early and active supporter
of militarism. Involved in Japan's drug trafficking in China and approved
the use of POWs and civilians as slave laborers. Convicted on Counts 1,
27, 29, 31, 32. Paroled in 1955.
Umezu, General Yoshijiro (1882-1949). Section chief, general staff,
1931-34; commander, China Expeditionary Force, 1934; vice minister of
war, 1939-44; army chief of staff, 1944-45. Convicted on Counts 1, 27,
29, 31, 32.
Two sentenced to lesser terms:
Shigemitsu, Mamoru (1887-1957). Ambassador to China, 1931-32; vice
minister of foreign affairs, 1933-36; ambassador to the Soviet Union,
1936-38; ambassador to Great Britain, 1938-41; foreign minister, 1943-45.
He and General Umezu signed the instrument of surrender in 1945.
Convicted on Counts 27, 29, 31, 32, 33, 55. Sentenced to seven years in
prison. Paroled in 1950, he reentered the political arena and was
appointed foreign minister in 1954.
Togo, General Hideki (1884-1948). Ambassador to Germany, 1937; ambassador
to the Soviet Union, 1938; foreign minister, 1941-42, 1945. Convicted on
Counts 1, 27, 29, 31, 32. Sentenced to twenty years in prison.
======================================================================
CHRONOLOGY OF THE JAPANESE
INVASION OF ASIA, 1894-1945
======================================================================
1894-5 First Sino-Japanese war -- fledging Japanese navy defeats Chinese
fleet off Yalu River. Fortress of Port Arthur (Lushun) stormed. After the
war, Japan seizes Taiwai and S. Manchuria.
1910 Annexation of Korea.
1926 Hirohito becomes Emperor.
1931 Sept. 18 "The Mukden Incident" -- Bomb explodes under Japanese-
owned express train in Manchuria (planted by Japanese secret agents);
Japanese troops proceed to occupy all Manchuria.
1932 Chinese boycott of Japanese goods leads to the "Battle of Shanghai";
Japanese aircraft carriers in action for the first time. League of
Nations condemns Japanese aggression in Manchuria.
1933 Japan withdraws from League of Nations.
1934 Pu Yi -- former emperor of China -- becomes puppet emperor of
Manchukuo (Manchuria).
1937 July "The China Incident" -- a skirmish between Japan and Chinese
troops at the Marco Polo Bridge (Luguoqiao), near Peking, sparks off a
full scale invasion of China.
Augest Japanese bombers make the first trans-oceanic raids in history --
from Taiwan and Kyushu to Nanking and Shanghai.
Nov. Imperial General Headquarters established in Tokyo (the Emperor, the
Chiefs of the Army, and Naval General Staffs).
Dec. The Nanking Massacre (Rape of Nanking) -- the Chinese capital sacked
by Japanese troops. The American gunboat USS Panay bombed and sunk near
Nanking.
1938 Dec. Japan proclaims a "New Order in East Asia".
1940 May- Chungking -- war capital of China -- bombed day and night Sept.
by Japanese.
Sept. Japanese troops occupy northern Indo-China. Japan signs Tripartite
Pact with Germany and Italy.
1941 July Japanese troops occupy southern French Indo-China.
Dec. 6 President Roosevelt addresses a personal appeal for peace to
Emperor Hirohito.
Dec. 7 Japan raids Pearl Harbor, invades Siam, Hong Kong, Burma, North
Borneo, the Dutch West Indies, the Philippines and Pacific Islands.
Britain and United States declare war on Japan.
1942 May Japanese midget submarines attack shipping in Diego Suarez
harbor (Madagascar) and Sydney Harbor (Australia).
Jun Battle of Midway -- Japanese Carrier Force defeated off Midway Island
and the invasion abandoned.
1943 Nov. Issue of Cairo Declaration.
1944 April U.S. forces land on Okinawa.
July Issue of Postdam Declaration to Japan.
1945 August Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Russia
declares war on Japan. Japan surrenders.
Sept. Surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
ESTIMATED CHINESE ARMIES CASUALTIES*, 1937-1945
Year Total Wounded Killed Missing
=======================================================
1937 367,362 242,232 125,130
1938 735,017 485,804 249,213
1939 346,543 176,891 169,652
1940 673,368 333,838 339,530
1941 299,483 173,254 144,915 17,314
1942 247,167 114,180 87,917 45,070
1943 162,895 81,957 43,223 27,715
1944 210,734 103,596 102,719 4,419
1945 168,850 85,583 57,659 25,608
Total 3,311,419 1,761,335 1,319,958 130,126
* Civilian casualties are not included. Estimated total Chinese
casualties during the period is 35,000,000.
Source: Dept. of Defense, Republic of China. Official Report.
REFERENCES:
(1) Source Materials Relating to the Horrible Massacre Committe by the
Japanese Troops in Nanking Nan-jing da tu-sha shi-liao bian-ji
wai-yuan-hui and the Library of Nanking, Jiang-su gu-ji chu-ban-she, 1985.
(2) Archival Document Relating to the Horrible Massacre Committed by the
Japanese Troops in Nanking Nan-jing da tu-sha shi-liao bian-ji
wai-yuan-hui, Jiang-su gu-ji chu-ban-she, 1987.
(3) Draft Manuscript of the History Relating to the Horrible Massacre
Committed by the Japanese Troops in Nanking Nan-jing da tu-sha shi-liao
bian-ji wai-yuan-hui, Jiang-su gu-ji chu-ban-she, 1987.
(4) The Nanking Massacre Tomio Hora, Gendeishi Kenkyuukai, 1982.
(5) A Personal Account of the Nanking Massacre Kazuo Sone, Sairyusha,
1984.
(6) The True Story of the Nanking Massacre Akira Fujiwara, Peng-Jen Chen
(tr.), Journal of Studies of Japanese Aggression Against China(JSJAAC),
V.2&3, 1990.
(7) Large-scale Killing within the City of Nanking Seigo Imai, Bungei
Shunju, special coll. 1956.
(8) The Attack on Nanking and the Murder Cases Katsumi Shimada, Jinbutsu
Oraisha, special issue 1956.
(9) The White Tiger Unit Soaked with Blood ed. by Kensuke Hata, Japan
Weekly, 1957
(10) The Nanking Massacre Incident and the Diaries of Iwane Matsui.
(11) History of the Sino-Japanese War Ikuhiko Hata, Kawade Shoboo, 1961,
renewed ed. 1986
(12) The Research Situation of the Nanking Massacre and Future Directions
Xing-Zu Gao, (n.d.)
(13) Japan's Textbook Controversy Shinji Kojima, Journal of Studies of
Japanese Aggression Against China(JSJAAC), V.2, 1990.
(14) The Other Nuremburg: The Untold Story of the Tokyo War Crime Trials
Arnold Brackman, Morrow, 1988.
(15) Unit 731: Japan's Secret Biological Warfare in World War II Peter
Williams and David Wallace, Free Press, 1989.
(16) Japanese Terror in China Harold John Timperley, Modern Age Books,
1938.
*******************
Serdar: Armenian Turquey
Joe Perez
: ======================================================================
: TABLE OF CONTENT
: ======================================================================
: Foreword
: The Nanking Massacre
: Nanking Massacre - The Japanese Versions
: The Tokyo War Crimes Trial
: Summary of the Verdict and Sentence
: Summary of Convicted Class A War Criminals
: Chronology of the Japanese Invasion of Asia, 1894-1945
: ======================================================================
: This pamphlet is prepared in the spirit of freedom of information.
: Reproduction and circulation are welcome and encouraged. Please forward
: comments and suggestions for revisions and corrections to:
: New Jersey Hong Kong Network
: P.O. Box 18
: Bound Brooks, NJ 08805
I strongly suggest that my liberal net-accquaintances who every year (and
at every other opportunity) jump at the chance to ignorantly denounce the
United States for dropping atomic bombs on Japan (without even the
slightest inkling of what it means to be AT WAR with an agressor
nation:Japan) read this pamphlet (at gunpoint if necessary!).
Joe Perez
j.chieng
ju...@slip.net writes:
>Yes that's very tragic.....and what the HELL does it have to do with Anime
>fandom?
>
I totally agree, although this is a topic I care about a lot. This
should not be on RAA (even though it was a prank post put up by a
racist jerk named Gonzo).
>
>Jubei.
>
>B'sides I dare you to show me one culture in history that hasn't committed
>one attrocity. Keep your politics out of my recreation.
>
Eh?! Justifying one atrocity with the "hey others have done it too"
response? Gee, I wonder what kind of a response you would get if
someone brought up the holocaust and you said "hey, I bet all other
cultures have done something bad at one point or another." Complete
stupidity....
John
Don Kreipke
(j.chieng) writes:
>ju...@slip.net writes:
>>B'sides I dare you to show me one culture in history that hasn't committed
>>one attrocity. Keep your politics out of my recreation.
>Eh?! Justifying one atrocity with the "hey others have done it too"
****************************
It should be clear to even the most casual observer that Jubei wasn't
JUSTIFYING the atrocity. The obvious message is that every culture has
skeletons in its closet, so why start stomping on one SPONTANEOUSLY,
particularly in a rec.arts.* newsgroup?
Inappropriate posts such as "Nanking" just start a lively round of
atrocity-pong between cultural groups, and everyone loses sight of the purpose
of the newsgroup.
So Jubei isn't so stupid after all. Let's let this potential hate-generating
thread drop, folks.
Please?
Regards,
Don Kreipke
ju...@slip.net
fandom?
Jubei.
Roy Rim
j.chieng <EST...@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU> wrote:
>someone brought up the holocaust and you said "hey, I bet all other
>cultures have done something bad at one point or another." Complete
>stupidity....
Will you all shut up!! Of course that makes me a hypocrite, but
if the rest of you don't reply to this, then only I come out as the
asshole!! So shut it, get some ramen, pop in your fav. anime, and watch!
RR.
Charles Hagmaier
>B'sides I dare you to show me one culture in history that hasn't committed
>one attrocity. Keep your politics out of my recreation.
Mitch Hagmaier
Quest Labs
S.G. Hagen
j.chieng <EST...@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU> wrote:
>Yup this thread is in the wrong place, but I don't see how it's
>potentially hate-generating. It's just a simple account of a not
>so pleasant aspect of Japanese history, and it sure didn't create a
>sudden psychotic hatred towards the Japanese in me, just a sincere
>wish that their government would acknowledge that such things took
>place.
Perhaps, and there is nothing wrong with reminding people of
history, in the hope that if we don't learn from the past we are doomed
to repeat it, but since we are repeating it one wonders why we bother?
Now did the origional poster put this on becasue they thought it was
a useful piece of history that people should learn about, and if so will
we see other posts, like the mistreatment of Japanese immigrants in Both
Canada and the US during WWII for no real reason? It was not until Regan
that the US actually apoligized for wrongly detaining people for racist
reasons was it not? What country does not want to sweep its embarrasing
incidents under the rug?
If you want governments to acknowledge such things it is probably
best to start in your own country first. I know there are a number of
incidents in Canada's history that are not part of the history courses in
high school, and Canada's been pretty mellow with this sort of stuff
comapred to other countries.
So if you want to bring up nasty incidents it is probably best that
you begin with your own country, that way no one can accuse you of being
a hypocrite or a racist.
Just a thought.
******************************************************************************
We're here in engineering aboard the U.S.S Enterprise where we have replaced
the fine dilithium crystals they usually use with Folgers Crystals. Let's
see what happens.
******************************************************************************
Shawn Hagen
j.chieng
u884...@muss.cis.McMaster.CA (S.G. Hagen) writes:
>In article <1995052300...@mvs.oac.ucla.edu>,
>j.chieng <EST...@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU> wrote:
>
> So if you want to bring up nasty incidents it is probably best that
>
Watch it with the accusations. I didn't bring this topic up. I just
followed up to it.
>
>you begin with your own country, that way no one can accuse you of being
>a hypocrite or a racist.
>
Yeah I'd love to debate this further with you, since I have problems
with several of your points, but I think it's about time we stopped,
this being RAA and all..
John
>
>Shawn Hagen
Enrique Conty
>
>Um, I don't think Luxembourg has ever massacred anybody...
Give them time. Considering how humans are, I'm sure they'll
get around to it sooner or later...
--
Enrique Conty
co...@cig.mot.com
Tomar
Charles Hagmaier <foole...@delphi.com> wrote:
><ju...@slip.net> writes:
>
>>B'sides I dare you to show me one culture in history that hasn't committed
>>one attrocity. Keep your politics out of my recreation.
>
Gee...I didn't think that "Luxembourg" had it's own culture. :-)
Sure, this thread maybe off topic, but you can always ignore the
post instead of yelling about it.
--
Tomar: aka to...@iastate.edu
For the Summer: <http://www.public.iastate.edu/~tomar>
My life quest: To find and watch all Ranma 1/2 episodes I can!!!!
Favorite Quote:
"Leave me alone...I'm watching Anime!"
j.chieng
dkre...@xray.indyrad.iupui.edu (Don Kreipke) writes:
>In article <1995052119...@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU>
> (j.chieng) writes:
>
>>ju...@slip.net writes:
>>Eh?! Justifying one atrocity with the "hey others have done it too"
>****************************
>
>It should be clear to even the most casual observer that Jubei wasn't
>JUSTIFYING the atrocity. The obvious message is that every culture has
>skeletons in its closet, so why start stomping on one SPONTANEOUSLY,
>particularly in a rec.arts.* newsgroup?
>
Fine, then. Not JUSTIFYING- but belittling, deemphasizing the
importance of the event, giving over-simplified responses like "every
culture has skeletons in its closet" in the hopes of creating the
"so it happened, now let's move on to something else and forget it
ever happened" mentality. Call it what you will. I still think the
original poster's comments were wrong, though this might not occur
in the minds of the "most casual observer."
>Inappropriate posts such as "Nanking" just start a lively round of
>atrocity-pong between cultural groups, and everyone loses sight of the purpose
>of the newsgroup.
>
I agree, it's inappropriate, though I don't think people here
will ever be in danger of losing sight of this newsgroup- they're
too busy worrying about which fictional character they're gonna
marry, who's a boomer, and why we should destroy VIZ.
>
>So Jubei isn't so stupid after all. Let's let this potential hate-generating
>thread drop, folks.
>
Yup this thread is in the wrong place, but I don't see how it's
potentially hate-generating. It's just a simple account of a not
so pleasant aspect of Japanese history, and it sure didn't create a
sudden psychotic hatred towards the Japanese in me, just a sincere
wish that their government would acknowledge that such things took
place.
Me
>Please?
>
>Regards,
>Don Kreipke
>
>
Joe Perez
: >It should be clear to even the most casual observer that Jubei wasn't
: >JUSTIFYING the atrocity. The obvious message is that every culture has
: >skeletons in its closet, so why start stomping on one SPONTANEOUSLY,
: >particularly in a rec.arts.* newsgroup?
Yes every culture has skeletons, but my original remark was meant to
imply that the a-bombing of Japan are NOT one of them. Keep reading please.
: Fine, then. Not JUSTIFYING- but belittling, deemphasizing the
: importance of the event, giving over-simplified responses like "every
: culture has skeletons in its closet" in the hopes of creating the
: "so it happened, now let's move on to something else and forget it
: ever happened" mentality. Call it what you will. I still think the
: original poster's comments were wrong, though this might not occur
: in the minds of the "most casual observer."
As the original poster who commented on the Rape of Nanking pamphlet
post, my comment was meant as a "you commit atrocities so I can too"
comment. It was meant to say that the pamphlet should be read so that you
could see what an artrocity REALLY IS. What pisses me off about the way
people in whinning fashion treat the atomic bombings of Japan is that
they are somehow different from the bombings of population centers
throughout the entire second world war.
How mant out there are aware that during the war Tokyo was virtually
burned to the ground via incendiary bombing raids (bombs designed to
start fires). More people died in one night in Hamburg, Germany than
Hiroshima after a British fire-bombing of that city. The bombings of
London and other cities by the axis powers (tran: the bad guys) is well
documented, so what makes the Hiroshima bombing so special, in the light
that it ended the war and spared the millions of lives of Americans and
Japanese who would have died if the US would have had to invade Japan? Is
it special just because it was done with one bomb? Let me clue you in: If
Hiroshima and Nagasaki had not been a-bombed, then they, and MANY other
Japanese cities would have fire-bombed off the face of the earth before
the US would have attempted the actual assault on the Japanese home
islands. However, do not make the mistake that I am trying to say the
victims made a noble sacrifice by allowing themselves to be vaporised.
In our politically correct schoolrooms we are taught the horrors of the
bombing, but not the mindset of the Japanese at the time. They were not
on the verge of collapsing, but had made it quite clear that every person
in Japan (military personel as well as men, women and children) were to
attack the invading American soldier with whatever was at hand (guns,
knives, pitchforks, etc).
There also seems to be a disagreement over what constitutes innocent
civilians. You seem to forget that industry is located in cities, and
that industry is what produces the means to wage war. The people that
work in these factories may not be military personel, but they sure are
contributing to the "war effort." With the exception of children, *I*
personally believe that in a state of total war, there are no innocent
civillians. When your country is in a fight for its life (not some
rediculously limited action like a "Vietnam") then *you too* are at
war.
When civillians are murdered of POWs killed AFTER they are
captured, is when you have true atrocities. No civillians who do not put
up a fight as an enemy enters their city should be harmed, and the same
goes for soldiers who are captured.
BTW, I read Dave Barry's book about Japan, and was very moved by his
chapter on his being in Hiroshima at the time of the rememberance
ceremonies. I did indeed felt very shitty about all the people that died
there, but I feel shitty about all the people that are killed because
some rat bastards somewhere start wars that get people killed.
Thank you for your time. This is the last comment I will make on this
topic.
Joe Perez
Peter Gruhn
Nukes.
Or, more to the point - nuke.
JP> a noble sacrifice by allowing themselves to be vaporised.
Like they were offered the option eh? Heck, some people in those
cities may have gone there because until the nuclear bombings they were
pretty much untouched.
JP> every person in Japan (military personel as well as men, women and
JP> children) were to attack the invading American soldier with whatever
JP> was at hand (guns, knives, pitchforks, etc).
Kinda like Nam, but without friendly locals? Or helicopters.
JP> civilians. You seem to forget that industry is located in cities, and
I think I just saw something on the telly which stated that Japan went
cottage with much of its war industry. I may be wrong.
... Boku wa hon desu.
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
Donny Chan
JT>Organization: Slip.Net
JT>Yes that's very tragic.....and what the HELL does it have to do with Anime
JT>fandom?
I think that bloke took advantage of the recent topic of The Grave of
Fireflies. I've read that text file several times before, on
soc.culture.japan, whenever an Imperialist AOLer or Internetter gets
bashed.
JT>B'sides I dare you to show me one culture in history that hasn't committed
JT>one attrocity. Keep your politics out of my recreation.
Matsumoto Reiji's Galaxy Express Three-Nine, for instance, is saturated
with philosophy and politics. It's none the less very entertaining.
---
* DeLuxe2 1.21 #6922 * Ringhum: Onushi, kono sekai no ningen dewa nai no ka?