Guangdong releases Japanese war crime archives donated by scholar ahead of surrender anniversary

The Guangdong Provincial Archives on Thursday publicly released a batch of historical materials documenting Japanese army atrocities during its invasion of southern China, donated by Japanese scholar Seiya Matsuno.

The materials were donated on the eve of the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender and unveiled during an event promoting archival materials related to the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Among the archives donated by Matsuno are photo collections of war crimes committed by the Japanese Army's 18th Division during its invasion of Guangdong in 1938 (published by the Japanese army in 1939), as well as photo collections documenting the division's crimes in southern China from 1939 to 1942 (published by the Japanese army in 1942).

These historical photo collections represent the Guangdong version of the Chinese wartime film "Dead to Rights," according to the Guangdong Provincial Archives. The archives added that the images of Japanese army crimes in southern China, recorded by the perpetrators themselves, depict scenes of shocking devastation and suffering.

Particularly valuable are photos showing various resistance slogans written by Chinese soldiers and civilians on ruined walls. These poignant messages reflect the strong spirit of resistance among residents in southern China.

On March 25, Matsuno also donated a batch of Japanese-language documents and telegrams to the Guangdong Provincial Archives, revealing new evidence of the counterfeit currency operations carried out by Japanese invaders in Hong Kong during World War II.

After authentication and translation, these Japanese archives were also fully released during the event.

Matsuno has previously made multiple donations to the Chinese mainland, including historical evidence related to Japan's infamous Unit 731 and chemical warfare in China.