This essay examines a Sankei Shimbun report on a Nanjing-themed exhibition in France following UNESCO registration, highlighting how China’s claims are presented to shape international perceptions of Japanese wartime conduct.

At the venue, the Chinese claim of “more than 300,000 victims” was once again displayed, along with photographs of bodies said to have been “killed by the Japanese army.”
2016-11-24.
The following is from page two of today’s Sankei Shimbun.
“Nanjing Incident” exhibition at a French museum.
The first overseas exhibition since registration as Memory of the World.
Impressing the “brutality” of the Japanese army.
“A Chinese perspective. Whether it is true or not is another matter,” says the museum director.
At the Caen Memorial Museum in the northwestern French city of Caen, a special exhibition themed on the “Nanjing Incident” during the Second World War is being held until December 15.
This marks the first overseas exhibition since China registered related materials last year with UNESCO under its “Memory of the World” program.
By emphasizing testimonies of Westerners, the exhibition reveals an aim to elicit sympathy for China’s claims.
The exhibition in Caen, titled “1937 Nanjing Massacre: Six Weeks in Nanjing,” opened on October 23 and displays more than 270 photographs and documents provided by China’s Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.
Panels announcing the Memory of the World registration were also set up at the venue.
At the venue, the Chinese claim of “more than 300,000 victims” was again displayed, along with photographs of bodies said to have been “killed by the Japanese army,” as well as contemporaneous reports claiming that two officers carried out a “hundred-man killing contest” with Japanese swords.
There were also images of young women said to have been sexually assaulted by Japanese soldiers and photographs described as showing “Japanese soldiers crowding in front of comfort stations,” all intended to impress upon visitors the “brutality” of the Japanese army.
The exhibition also focuses on Westerners who were in Nanjing at the time under the heading “Common Witnesses.”
Regarding American missionary John Magee, who filmed 16mm footage said to have been registered as Memory of the World, the exhibition explains that he “risked his life to record evidence of Japanese war crimes.”
Short related footage believed to be connected to this was also shown.
To be continued.