The guide who accompanied visitors in Nanjing was a member of a Chinese Communist Party–affiliated organization. His unverifiable massacre narratives were accepted without scrutiny and amplified by prominent Japanese journalists, revealing a serious failure of journalistic responsibility.

2016-04-21
The following continues from the previous chapter. The guide assigned in Nanjing was Guowei Dai, a member of the Nanjing Massacre Research Society, a subordinate organization of the Chinese Communist Party. He spoke in Japanese, as if he had personally witnessed them, continually describing alleged “massacre scenes” by the Japanese army. Even as he spoke, he seemed aware of the absurdity of his own claims, and when these inconsistencies were pointed out, he stared back with a stunned expression. It was the same expression seen on that American individual earlier. Dai then brazenly doubled down. “I have also served as a guide for distinguished Japanese journalists who visited here. They all accept it. There are no voices of doubt.” When asked who these people were, he named Katsuichi Honda, Tetsuya Chikushi, and Hiroshi Kume. “I tell the same stories to Japanese tourists as well. When I speak, all Japanese say they are sorry. Some even cry and apologize.” This reaction was identical to the responses Japanese people showed to the words of that American. The real problem, however, is that regardless of whether they deserve to be called distinguished, Honda, Chikushi, and Kume—at the very least individuals who should be considered journalists—failed to verify or investigate Chinese claims, and instead disseminated such fabrications through the media as if they were established facts. To be continued.