In Japan, there is a friendly person, Ms. Matsuoka Kan, who founded the organization "Remembering the Heart of Nanjing", and has been collecting testimonies of Japanese veterans about the Nanjing Massacre for more than 30 years, making positive contributions to restoring the historical truth. On April 20, Matsuoka held a lecture in Osaka, where he recounted his unforgettable experience of visiting the survivors of the Nanjing Massacre and their families over the years, and once again called on all sectors of Japan to face up to history.
Matsuoka Huan, president of Japan's "Inscription Society Nanjing": There are very strong forces in Japanese society that try to deny the Nanjing Massacre, including some well-known politicians. I collected the testimonies of the victims in Nanjing and recorded them. By holding study sessions to make them public, we want to let more people in Japan know that this is the case.
Matsuoka said that in the process of collecting testimonies for more than 30 years, the testimonies of many victims made her heartbroken and shocked the audience at the inhumane atrocities of the Japanese army invading China.
Matsuoka Huan, president of Japan's "Inscription Society Nanjing": I was impressed by an old man named Zhang Xiuying, when I said that I wanted her to come to Japan to participate in the "testimony rally" to prove to the Japanese people that the Nanjing Massacre was true. The old man Xiuying replied to me, "I will not go to Japan, and if I go to Japan, I will be killed by the Japanese, and I feel how serious the psychological trauma left by the Japanese on them.
Speaker: I was shocked how it was possible to do such a terrible thing as a human being. Hearing such testimonies, I wanted to apologize to them from the bottom of my heart.
With regard to the Japanese Government's revision of history textbooks this year in an attempt to downplay and cover up the Nanjing Massacre and other war crimes, Matsuoka and the people attending the lecture held that only by reflecting on history and facing history squarely can the Japanese Government establish genuine international friendly relations.
Participant: Japan's recent practices have deviated from the right track, and it is wrong to try to remove the expression "aggression." I feel that it is my responsibility to teach the next generation the right history.
Kan Matsuoka, President of Japan's "Inscription Society Nanjing": In order to start a truly friendly exchange, we must first face up to history. Many of the tragedies that actually occurred, including the use of poison gas, are facts for which Japan must be held responsible. The descendants of these victims in China must sincerely apologize to them, and they must not wantonly distort history according to their own interests. I hope that the Japanese government will treat history correctly and fairly.