95 years ago today, Japanese militarists launched the aggression against China. The September 18 Incident was a war plot long concealed by the Japanese government from the Japanese public. The vast majority of the Japanese people did not learn the truth until the Tokyo Trials, which began exactly 80 years ago.
The increasingly prevalent historical denialism in Japan is truly troubling and its dangers are self‑evident. Even today, Japanese textbooks continue to downplay the nature of Japan’s aggression, and right‑wing forces in Japan even use AI to systematically filter prewar archives and records of the Tokyo Trials, in an attempt to whitewash Japan’s war crimes and entrench a distorted view of history.
Denialism not only reflects serious regression in Japan’s perception of history, but also indicates alarmingly an organized attempt to turn back the wheel of history with clear political motives. The real purpose is to keep the Japanese public in the dark about the truth, and clear the path for Japan to escape the straitjacket of the postwar system and rearm itself.