This essay presents documentary evidence refuting the “mass grave” narrative promoted after the war.
By contrasting the historical scholarship of Kō Bun’yū with the reporting of Katsuichi Honda, it argues that Asahi Shimbun has only two remaining options for accountability.

2016-10-13
The following is what I disseminated domestically in Japan on June 4.
Until I appeared, the world must have believed Asahi Shimbun to be a newspaper representing Japan, just as many Japanese citizens did until August of the year before last. But this is their true nature.
Kō Bun’yū, a splendid scholar born in Taiwan and one who can be said without exaggeration to be among the world’s foremost authorities on Chinese historical facts, has perfectly demonstrated that the “mass graves” written about here are indeed Chinese historical facts, and that the Chinese Communist Party fabricated them to appear as if they were the deeds of the Japanese army.
Katsuichi Honda, the lowest man produced by Asahi Shimbun in the postwar era, wrote exactly what he was handed by the Chinese side when invited to China—that is, outright lies that were nothing but Chinese Communist Party propaganda—as a large serialized feature under titles such as “Travels in China.”
Almost all subscribers of Asahi Shimbun read this believing it to be the truth. How atrocious and how sinful a newspaper company Asahi Shimbun is should be obvious at a glance even to people around the world. Today in Japan, there is no one left who believes such nonsense. Perhaps only entertainers such as Sayuri Yoshinaga or a certain musician named Sakamoto do so. (This will be discussed later.)
Asahi Shimbun has only two choices: either cease publication, or take out full-page advertisements in major newspapers around the world stating that the Nanjing Massacre and the “comfort women” issue were fabricated reports by Asahi Shimbun.
They must know that there is no other path by which they can be forgiven.
To do neither and yet continue criticizing Japan’s politics and policies, while in reality attacking the Abe administration in exactly the same manner as the media of South Korea—a country that is in fact a Nazi–fascist state—is utterly unacceptable, and the time when they should have known this has long since passed.
The following is the article disseminated domestically in Japan on June 4.
Questionnaires were sent to former employees of the Fushun coal mine and the former South Manchurian Railway Company.
After meeting with about sixty respondents, all those surveyed answered as follows.
“I have never seen a mass grave.” “I did not even know the term ‘mass grave.’”
In 1990, Tanabe published the results of an investigation in the August issue of the magazine Seiron, concluding that “there were no mass graves.”
Honda countered this by saying, “It is strange to draw conclusions from a small number of questionnaires.”
In response to the conflicting claims, the Tokyo Fushun Association, formed by former Fushun coal mine affiliates, sent questionnaires to all approximately 1,000 of its members. After closely examining the 469 responses received, the association concluded that “it has become clear that there were no mass graves serving as ‘dumping grounds for people’ as victims of forced labor.”
Executives of the former South Manchurian Railway Company demanded that Asahi retract the articles at the time of serialization, stating that “the mass graves are completely groundless.”
However, they were “turned away at the door.”
Kentaro Kuno, who had worked as an electrical engineer at the Fushun coal mine, also sent a letter of protest to Honda.
In March 1986, Honda sent Kuno the following reply.
“I merely repeated what the Chinese side said as it was, so if you wish to lodge a protest, would you not do so directly with the Chinese side?”
Although many people were still alive at the time of the serialization, there is no trace to be found of Honda or Asahi having interviewed Japanese-side individuals involved.
This manuscript continues.