Japan’s mistake

Re “Rape of Nanking toll disputed,” June 20

I was dumbfounded to read about the efforts of a group of Japanese lawmakers to undertake a historical accounting to correct what they claim is the “grossly inflated” number of Chinese killed during the Rape of Nanking. To defiantly assert that only 20,000 were murdered ominously echoes the sinister forces that led to the massacre more than 60 years ago.

If the aging Japanese military men and their descendants truly want to clear the national conscience, they should admit to the atrocities, apologize and provide belated reparations, rather than quarrel over the precise number of people killed or brutalized.

MICHAEL MIYAMOTO

Mission Viejo