Japan hotel chain under fire over denial of Rape of Nanking

TOKYO (AP) — A fast-growing Japanese hotel chain is facing criticism over a book penned by the hotel’s owner that says the Rape of Nanking was fabricated.

APA Group, a Tokyo-based land developer and operator of 400-plus hotels, drew fire for spreading the revisionist views of company president Toshio Motoya by putting the books in hotel guestrooms and also selling them.

China has lodged a complaint, but APA says it stands by its owner’s views.

The issue surfaced Monday when contributors KatAndSid posted a video on a social networking site describing the English version of “Theoretical Modern History,” a book Motoya wrote under the penname Seiji Fuji.

The video shows passages from the book calling the 1937 massacre an “imaginary” event concocted by China to blame Japan.