In a Feb. 20 meeting with visiting officials from Nanjing, which has friendship ties with Nagoya, Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura touched on the Nanjing Massacre, which took place from December 1937 to early 1938. He stated that there were "normal military operations" in Nanjing but that it seemed the "Nanjing incident" did not take place.
Many Chinese reacted strongly online, some of them criticizing Nanjing officials for failing to rebut the mayor in the meeting. Later Mr. Kawamura stated that his views are not new and that he has openly stated for years that he believes the claims of "several hundreds of thousands" killed in Nanjing is inaccurate. The lack of eyewitnesses was "fairly decisive" in supporting his views, he stated.
Although it is difficult to determine how many Chinese the Japanese Imperial Army killed in Nanjing, Mr. Kawamura's statement is inappropriate in view of past accounts and studies.