SDHF Newsletter No.124 How China Started the Second Sino 4

How China Started the Second Sino-Japanese War:
Why Should Japan Apologize to China?
By Moteki Hiromichi, Acting Chairman;
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact
Part 3 – Japan’s Policies Toward China

June 1, 2016

After the outbreak of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Japan tried in vain to make peace with China through a number of peace proposals.
The first one was the so-called Funatsu Peace Plan, proposed on August 5, with the objective of settling the North China Incident. But this initiative was broke down with the killing of Sublieutenant Oyama in Shanghai by the Chinese on first day of negotiations. According to Mao: The Unknown Story (by Jung Chang), it was carried out by crypto-communist Zhang Zhizhong, the commander of the defense for Nanking and Shanghai, in order to prod Chiang Kai-shek to fight the Japanese.
The second proposal was made during the Shanghai Incident. On October 27, the Japanese government notified Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Italy that it was preparing to enter talks with the Chinese government through a friendly, third-party mediator. Germany took up this offer, appointing Ambassador Trautmann as mediator. However, his proposal of the Japanese peace plan was rejected by Chiang Kai-shek. After the fall of Nanking, Trautmann offered a revised peace plan to Chiang Kai-shek. Since he did not respond in a timely manner, Japanese Prime Minister Konoe issued a statement that cut all ties with the Chiang Kai-shek regime.
In response to the Konoe’s third statement, advocating the establishment of a New Order in East Asia, Wang Jingwei broke away from Chongqing government to negotiate with Japan. Wang Jingwei established the Government of Republic of China in Nanking. With the signing of the Sino-Japanese Basic Treaty, Japan recognized the new government and ceded its concessions to China.
Even then, the Japanese government sought opportunities to negotiate peace with Chiang, more than ten times, as Chiang’s diary stated.

Part 3 – Japan’s Policies Toward China
URL: https://www.sdh-fact.com/book-article/700/
PDF: https://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Second-Sino-Japanese-War-Part-3-.pdf

Questions are welcome.

MOTEKI Hiromichi, Acting Chairman
for KASE Hideaki, Chairman
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact