What was the 'Nanking Massacre', then? For reexamining the fact of the 'Nanking Massacre', we have started the following legal approach. Namely, we have tried to treat the so-called 'Nanking Massacre' as a murder case. Also, we have tried to precisely examine whether the crime had been proved or not and objectively verify the fact, using a method based on the Criminal Procedure Act, in view that the Prosecution has responsibility to adduce evidences to show the committed crimes. In other words, our objective is not to prove that there was no 'Nanking Massacre', but to specify the fact that the testimonies, which claim that there was the 'Nanking Massacre', are not substantiated at all. As a result of the examination, the motive of the Japanese Army, the sum of these corpses and the cause of death have not been proved. Of course, there have not been some regrettable facts of criminal acts of murders and rapes which have been committed by the Japanese Army. However, these sporadic criminal acts committed during the fierce battles, are far from the so-called 'systematic and deliberate large scale massacre' of 300,000. This book is bilingual in English and Japanese.

翻譯:

什麼是"南京大屠殺"? 為瞭檢測"南京大屠殺"的真相, 我們開始用後來閤法的方法. 也就是, 我們試著將所謂的'南京大屠殺"作為一個謀殺的案子來對待. 同時,我們用一種基於犯罪程序法令的方法, 精確地驗證這場罪惡是否被證實以及客觀地核實真相, 期待起訴中所引用的證據能負責地說明犯罪的成立.換而言之,我們的目的不在於證實南京大屠殺不存在, 而是說明那些指控南京大屠殺的證詞是一點都不真實. 檢驗的結果是, 日本軍隊的(發動戰爭的)動機, 死亡的總數以及死因都沒有被證實(是真實的). 當然, 也存在一些由日本軍隊犯下的殺人和強奸的罪案. 但是,這些零星的罪案發生在激烈的戰鬥中, 根本不是所謂的"有組織有預謀的大規模"的300000(死者).這本書用英,日兩文書寫。

竹本忠雄(築波大學名譽教授)