With the approach of the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender (August 15), discussions surrounding the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 committed by Japanese invaders, and more broadly Japanese government's attitude toward its past aggression history, are gaining traction in Japanese public discourse.
The latest incident in focus is a former Japanese footballer's public admission of past mistaken understanding of historical truth. After re-examining a series of independent and credible historical materials, former Japanese national football player Keisuke Honda admitted Saturday on X that he was mistaken to support the false claims made by Japanese right-wing politicians Shintaro Ishihara and Takashi Kawamura, who denied the Nanjing Massacre.
Commenting on the revelation, a Chinese expert said Monday that this has exposed just a fraction of how the Japanese public, brainwashed by extensive media and political propaganda, remains ignorant or misinformed about historical truths of Japan's past aggressive atrocities. Notably, the expert said that Honda's self-correction can establish a corrective model for Japanese youth in reassessing historical understanding.
The Nanjing Massacre, which lasted for more than 40 days following the Japanese troops' capture of Nanjing, the then Chinese capital, on December 13, 1937, left more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in Nanjing dead and 20,000 women raped. However, the tragedy remains underrecognized and has even been denied by some Japanese conservatives, amid years of attempts by Japanese right-wing factions to downplay or even glorify Japan's history of aggression, primarily through textbooks and media.
Honda exemplified how some Japanese have been misled by right-wing rhetoric. On Friday, Honda shared a video clip of a press conference featuring former governor of Tokyo Ishihara and former mayor of the Japanese city Nagoya Kawamura, expressing his agreement by stating, "I believe that too." In the video, Ishihara still denied the Nanjing Massacre.
Honda's remarks sparked backlash among netizens globally. Many urged him to study historical materials about the Nanjing Massacre, with one commenting in Japanese: "failing to study history properly will lead one down the path of historical revisionism."
On Saturday, Honda also posted a list of references he used to re-examine the massacre, including diaries and reports by Japanese soldiers, internal military documents from the Japan National Institute for Defense Studies, as well as records and testimonies from foreigners who were present in Nanjing at the time.
"These historical materials were not fabricated after the war but have existed since immediately after the incident. Since independent records from multiple countries and perspectives corroborate each other, they hold high academic credibility," Honda wrote.
Later that day, he retweeted his Friday post and corrected his stance: "I liked Shintaro Ishihara, and although I thought I knew about history, I made an optimistic comment. However, after researching primary sources in detail, I realized that the facts are almost in line with history. In this regard, I was mistaken. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to study again!"
A Japanese media outlet J-cast News reported this development, saying Honda's prompt correction has garnered praise among netizens.
On the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo, some Chinese netizens also acknowledged Honda's self-correction. Some pointed out that regrettably, in Japan, people like Honda who can learn from historical materials and admit and correct their misunderstandings are rare.
A Chinese netizen commented that "this represents one of the war-themed film's fundamental purposes" -- to enable more people to understand the authentic history of the Nanjing Massacre. The film the netizen mentioned is Dead to Rights - adapted from the atrocities of the Nanjing Massacre. The film which is being screened as one of the events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War has secured a spot in the top five highest-grossing films of 2025 in China and currently leading this year's summer box office charts, reported CCTV News.
Lü Chao, an expert on the Korean Peninsula issue at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday Honda's mistaken understanding of history is result of "systemic distortion of historical perspective exists in basic education, with Japanese textbooks persistently downplaying or glorifying acts of aggression."
"Many Japanese understanding of wartime atrocities is shaped by right-wing propaganda, exhibiting a 'parroting' tendency," the expert said.
During recent on-the-ground interviews in Japan, Global Times reporters observed that with the exception of Tokyo Shoseki's footnote reference to the "Nanjing Massacre," other Japanese textbooks being used nationwide employed the term "Nanjing Incident" in an attempt to downplay the atrocity. When addressing casualty figures, these materials used equivocal phrasing such as "many," "varying accounts exist," "still under ongoing investigation and research," and "not yet conclusively determined."
Lü noted that Honda's self-correction holds exemplary value, demonstrating a shift: from reliance on right-wing narratives toward evidence-based research using primary historical sources. "This can establish a corrective model for Japanese youth in reassessing historical understanding," Lü said.
However, recent behavior of some Japanese politicians has suggested that correcting understanding of historical issue still faces daunting challenges in Japan.
On the issue of how to reflect on wartime history correctly, the latest move of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has sent contradicting message to the world.
At a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, Ishiba called for Japan to take the lead in bringing about "a world without nuclear weapons," and "offered condolences to the souls who were victims of the atomic bomb." Yet when it comes to issuing an official government statement on the 80th anniversary of World War II's end, Tokyo said no. While Ishiba ruled out a formal cabinet-endorsed statement, he has yet to finalize the format or timing to release his personal remarks, according to multiple media outlets.
Also, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the WWII, some Japanese films are also being or scheduled to be released, but most appear to hype its "victimhood."
A documentary film Women of Kurokawa, which depicts the "suffering of Japanese women forcibly subjected to sexual 'entertainment' by Soviet soldiers in Northeast China during the chaotic period surrounding Japan's defeat in WWII," is currently being screened at Nagoya, Japan, Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Monday. The report claimed that "the film has drawn significant attention for its urgent message against historical oblivion regarding these victims, with theaters consistently sold out."
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in June at a regular press conference that "We hope Japan will deeply reflect on its historical crime, fully learn the lessons and, out of a sense of responsibility to history, to the people and to the future, make a clean break with any move that seeks to whitewash or cover up the history of aggression. We hope Japan will stick to the path of peaceful development, and earn through its actions the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community." The remarks was made in response to media reporting that Ishiba said at the Nikkei Forum 30th Future of Asia that, Japan must remember the painful memory and lessons of history, so that it will not repeat past mistakes of war.