The Escalating Anti-Japan Offensive This Summer…Sakurai and Tarumi Expose China’s Strategic Campaign

“The Escalating Anti-Japan Offensive This Summer — Sakurai and Tarumi Expose China’s Strategic Campaign”
(Continuation from the previous section)

Sakurai:
In truth, most Japanese people are unaware that China’s anti-Japan offensive is intensifying this summer.

Tarumi:
Exactly. We can expect historical issues to become highly problematic.
This summer marks the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, a key milestone for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
They aim to exploit this anniversary to the fullest, using it to project their power as a global superpower.
This serves both national prestige and further strengthens Xi Jinping’s personal authority.
There’s no doubt that historical issues will resurface in Japan–China relations.
And as if the summer heat weren’t enough…

Yokoi (interjecting):
It will be a summer of raging fires.

Tarumi:
We’re already seeing early signs.
On July 7, the anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, President Xi did not attend the BRICS summit held in Brazil.
Though he has previously been active in diplomacy with emerging powers, this year he chose instead to focus on commemorating the war anniversary.
Specifically, he visited Shanxi Province, southwest of Beijing.
This is the site of what the Chinese call the Hundred Regiments Offensive, a large-scale battle during the Second Sino-Japanese War, in which over 100 Communist regiments reportedly faced the Imperial Japanese Army in direct combat.

Sakurai:
That was a rare battle where the Communist Eighth Route Army won a local victory, and the Japanese military suffered serious losses.

Tarumi:
Indeed. From the Mao era to today, the “victory in the War of Resistance” has formed the ideological backbone of the Chinese Communist Party.
You could say it’s the very source of the CCP’s legitimacy.
But in reality, the main force fighting Japan was the Nationalist army led by Chiang Kai-shek.
Mao Zedong, as a strategist, prioritized avoiding depletion of the Eighth Route Army.
He focused on guerrilla warfare in rural areas, avoiding full-scale confrontation and quietly consolidating rural bases.
In fact, Mao was reportedly furious after the Hundred Regiments Offensive, reprimanding Commander Peng Dehuai for carrying it out against his instructions—even though it was technically a victory.
To Mao, it was a warning: “Don’t be misled by patriotic sentiment.”

Sakurai:
That’s absolutely right.

Tarumi:
As this commemorative milestone arrives, the CCP wants to avoid any domestic or international murmurs like, “Wasn’t it really the Nationalists who fought Japan?”
Xi needs to demonstrate—both to Chinese citizens and the world—that the CCP earned its glory fighting the Japanese Imperial Army.

Sakurai:
And there are major cognitive warfare campaigns planned as well, correct?

Tarumi:
Yes. This summer, three major films will be released in China.
First is “731,” which opens nationwide on July 31.
It focuses on the infamous Unit 731 of the former Japanese military, hence the choice of date.

Sakurai:
That would be about the Ishii Unit in Harbin—likely portraying the horrors China claims were committed by them.

Tarumi:
Production of this film actually began during my tenure as ambassador to China.
It’s positioned as the centerpiece of the 80th-anniversary campaign.
Also, on July 25, another film titled “Nanjing Photo Studio” was released.
It reportedly depicts “evidence” of the so-called Nanjing Massacre, aiming to highlight the cruelty of the Japanese forces.

But the campaign doesn’t stop there.

Sakurai:
There’s more?

Tarumi:
Yes. In early August, the film “Dongjidao” (Dongji Island) is scheduled for release.
During the Sino-Japanese War, a Japanese transport ship was sunk by an American submarine off the coast of Dongji Island in the East China Sea.
Many British POWs were thrown into the sea, and Chinese fishermen from the island are said to have rescued them.
This true story has been dramatized, but the film is clearly designed to exaggerate Japanese brutality.

Sakurai:
So, we’re looking at a full-blown anti-Japan campaign fueled by fabricated photos and distorted narratives.

Tarumi:
I haven’t seen the films myself, so I can’t speak to the content directly.
However, what’s notable is that to give these three anti-Japan films exclusive attention, other non-political blockbuster films had their release dates moved up to before July 20.
This has pushed even the more moderate voices in the Chinese film industry to the brink.

Sakurai:
And while such troubling developments unfold, Japan seems completely unprepared.
What are the Tokyo correspondents of the major media outlets doing?
Are they fulfilling their journalistic responsibilities?

To be continued.