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Yoshida: I didn’t mention this in that paper but I have known for quite some time that Hallet Abend
[New York Times correspondent in Shanghai] wrote in his book Pacifi c Charter that the Emperor knew about the
Nanjing Massacre. According to the book, a high civilian Japanese offi cial told Abend that he informed the
Emperor of the atrocities in Nanjing. But it seems there is too much dramatization in his book. It tells us that
this offi cial spent two hours on his knees at the Emperor’s feet, whispering into the Emperor’s ear what had
happened following the capture of Nanjing. His feet became numb and he had to have assistants massage his
legs. It is hard to take at its face value, isn’t it? The story is too dramatic to be true.
I would say it is probably a safe bet to assume this high offi cial was Hidaka Shinrokuro, an able diplomat
in Shanghai who was well known among foreigners there. A biography of Hirota Koki [then foreign minister]
tells that he and Hidaka discussed the conditions in Nanjing. Hidaka in fact testifi ed about what he knew about
the atrocities in the Tokyo War Crimes Trial. Since he returned to Japan once in the beginning of 1938, it is
quite likely that he reported the information he had at the time to the government. But there is no evidence
that he reached the Emperor. Abend’s book isn’t enough to verify the fact. So I simply quoted the chamberlain
to the Emperor [who wrote that many in the administration knew about what happened and recalled the
Emperor often saying “The Army is different from what it used to be during the Russo-Japanese War”]. The
Emperor might have known, but it is not proven.
Source: Kajimoto, M. The Nanking Atrocities. 2000. Web. 20 July 2010. http://www.nankingatrocities.net/
Questions:
1. Discuss the Japanese attitudes toward the Nanking Massacre as depicted in this article.
2. Respond to the interview of Yoshida Yutaka. Share your respond in a group of three
or four.
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