Fact-check analysisVerified as of August 21, 2025Curated by FactVerify
False

Nanjing is a lie and made up. And the Japanese where trying to free Asian countries from colonialism

The claim that the Nanjing Massacre is a lie and that the Japanese were trying to free Asian countries from colonialism is historically inaccurate and widely discredited.

Nanjing Massacre denial - Wikipedia

Nanjing Massacre denial - Wikipedia

Source: en.wikipedia.org

At a glance

Key Evidence

Verified August 21, 2025
The reporting

What the Evidence Shows

The Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanjing, is a well-documented historical event that occurred in December 1937 when Japanese troops invaded the Chinese city of Nanjing. During this period, large-scale atrocities including mass killings and widespread sexual violence were committed against civilians and prisoners of war.

Extensive historical research, eyewitness testimonies, photographic evidence, and international war crime tribunals have confirmed the occurrence of these atrocities. Denial of the massacre is often linked to nationalist revisionism rather than credible historical scholarship.

The narrative that Japan was solely trying to liberate Asian countries from Western colonialism ignores the broader context of Japanese imperial expansion, which involved military aggression and occupation in multiple Asian countries, often accompanied by severe human rights abuses.

While some Japanese political figures and writers have denied or minimized the massacre, these views are not supported by the majority of historians or international consensus.

The denial of the Nanjing Massacre has been a source of ongoing tension in China-Japan relations, reflecting the sensitive nature of historical memory and responsibility.

In summary, the claim dismisses overwhelming evidence and scholarly consensus about the Nanjing Massacre and misrepresents Japan's wartime actions in Asia.

Primary trail

Verified Sources7

The Nanjing Massacre: A Japanese Journalist Confronts Japan’s National Shame

asianstudies.org
Open source

Untangling the Nanjing Incident and Its Many Historical Misrepresentations

japan-forward.com
Open source

Japan hotelier's Nanjing massacre denial angers China

bbc.com
Open source
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