Each year I run a two-page newspaper advertisement to celebrate the anniversary of APA Group’s founding on May 10. This year’s ad showcases everything we have accomplished in terms of the Group’s business and my efforts to express my views. The catchphrase at the top of the ad reads, “APA app launched!” The official APA app, available to download for free as of April 1, is an extremely popular way to search for, book, and even check-in to APA Hotel rooms according to the customer’s requirements. Below that the ad says, “11 tower hotels open for business and under design or construction!” This describes our 11 tower hotels with 11,122 rooms including APA Hotel & Resort Tokyo Bay Makuhari, Japan’s tallest hotel with 50 aboveground floors and a total of 2,007 rooms; and APA Hotel & Resort Yokohama Bay Tower, one of Japan’s largest hotels with two underground floors, 35 aboveground floors, and 2,311 rooms in total that will celebrate its grand opening in autumn 2019. The ad also introduces the 20 hotels with 4,600 rooms, including our hotels in Roppongi, being built or designed in central Tokyo according to our Summit 5-II project and mentions condominium development – another of the APA Group’s main businesses – with three luxury condominiums in three regions: THE CONOE ICHIBANCHO in Tokyo, THE PREMIERE Niigata Bandaibashi in Niigata, and Premiere Kanazawa Izumigaoka in Kanazawa. The phrase “Taking applications for APA Hotel franchise and partner hotels!” indicates our stance of welcoming new applications for franchise and partner hotels, which currently have expanded to 249 hotels with 25,419 rooms.
　Regarding my activities to express my views, the ad first introduces Additional Edition of Theoretical Modern History, my book released by Fusosha Publishing in April. The paper strip around the cover includes a comment by Tsuneyasu Takeda: “China chose the wrong person to fight with. If you pick a fight with Toshio Motoya, he’ll accept that challenge.” The ad also calls for entries in this year’s 10th Annual “True Interpretations of Modern History” Essay Contest, for which the Grand Prize (Fuji Seiji Prize) money has been increased from three to five million yen. The bottom of this wide-ranging ad, which was run in the May 10 issue of the Sankei Shimbun, advertises the 70 Team APA member companies that uphold the APA Group.

　Theoretical Modern History III: The Real History of Japan – a record of my actions over the past year, including my essays and photographs – is nearing completion. A publication party will be held at the Meiji Kinenkan on June 2, including a celebration on the eve of my birthday. Below you can read the introduction and descriptions of photos from the past year printed at the beginning of the book.
　Last year, I held the annual publication party (for Theoretical Modern History II: The Real History of Japan) and birthday-eve event on June 2 for a total of 1,200 guests. Shiro Takahashi gave a speech commemorating the Shoheijuku’s fifth anniversary, and all of the attendees felt a renewed desire to restore pride to Japan.
　APA Hotel Woodbridge on the outskirts of New York City had its grand opening on June 20. The guests at this lively ceremony numbered more than 200, including Nobuyuki Kawabata, managing director, CEO Americas Division, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC); Hiroyuki Oka, assistant vice president, SMBC New York Branch; and John McCormac, mayor of Woodbridge Township. After the grand opening, I toured the Statue of Liberty and other sights in New York City for the fourth time as part of the APA Corporate Club (ACC) and employee spring study tour.
　I went to the Rio 2016 Olympics and attended the opening ceremony from August 4 to 9. I have gone to almost every Olympics opening or closing ceremony since Montreal in 1967. The security was rigorous and we were surrounded by armed policemen at the closing ceremony, which I attended with the Team APA members, and we were covered by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK).
　I stopped by Dubai on my way home from Rio. Growth Holdings CEO Philippe Ziade, my friend who lives in Las Vegas, met me in his private jet. He showed me around Dubai, and I also took a helicopter tour to view this tourist city from the sky together with Najwa Karam, an extremely famous singer in the Middle East. I went to the Burj Al Arab, Dubai’s highest-grade, seven-star hotel, to see the ultra-luxurious suite room on the top two floors. I also visited the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest structure at 828 meters, and enjoyed high-grade French cuisine at the world’s highest restaurant on the 123rd floor.
　I held a press conference on September 6 at Coast Coal Harbour Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on our acquisition of Coast Hotels, a North American chain of 39 hotels. During my stay in Canada I met with Consul General Asako Okai at the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver. I then went to Portland at the invitation of Doug Rigoni, president & CEO of Coast Hotels, USA, who picked me up at the airport in a Benz limousine. We went to The Benson, a hotel with a long tradition where many American presidents have stayed.
　We held an autumn overseas study tour for the Shoheijuku, ACC, franchises, partner hotels, and employees, timed to the Coast Coal Harbor Hotel by APA grand opening, from November 14 to 18. These tours take place twice every year. Eighty-nine people participated in this tour that visited the Butchart Gardens in British Columbia and Coast Victoria Hotel & Marina by APA, our hotel in Victoria with its own cruiser and yacht moorage.
　The East Wing of APA Hotel & Resort Tokyo Bay Makuhari – the tallest hotel in Japan – had its grand opening on December 7, bringing the number of guest rooms to 2,007.
　The award ceremony and party for the 9th Annual “True Interpretations of Modern History” Essay Contest was held on December 8 at the Meiji Kinenkan. The Grand Prize (Fuji Seiji Prize) went to Toshio Nishi, a professor at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, for his essay looking at the Meiji Restoration from a new viewpoint. I keenly feel that this essay contest is making progress each year.
　I visited Nishi at the Hoover Institution on December 30.
　After, I rang in 2017 as I do every year at a New Year’s party I was invited to at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. There, I once again met a retired Air Force general who is close to President Donald J. Trump.
　The 50th monthly meeting of Shoheijuku’s Kansai Branch was held on January 24, right in the midst of the Chinese outcry about my book being placed in APA Hotel rooms. I commented, “APA became the most famous hotel chain in the world due to global news reports on this issue. Now, China can no longer play Nanking as a historical card.” This was immediately translated and picked up by the Chinese news, and I am sure this scandal was an opportunity for many people to learn the truth about the so-called “Nanking Massacre.”
　We opened APA Hotel Fukushima-Ekimae on March 1. It features the APA Eco Unit System, the world’s first integrated construction method for total insulation, and boasts 362 guest rooms, one of the largest capacities in Fukushima City. I thought building a hotel to draw many tourists to Fukushima Prefecture is a type of volunteer activity I can do to help the restoration of the area, and I hope it serves as an impetus for reconstruction.
　The groundbreaking ceremony for APA Hotel & Resort Yokohama Bay Tower, which will be one of Japan’s largest hotels, was on April 7. It is planned as an ultra-high-rise tower hotel with two underground and 35 aboveground floors, including 2,311 guest rooms, making it one of the largest stand-alone hotels in Japan.
　I went to Haimurubushi, a high-class resort on Koharu Island, over the Golden Week holidays from May 4 to 6. There, I enjoyed activities including snorkeling, swimming, and sunset cruising. To get around from the cottage we used one of the loaner golf carts that are available for each room.

　　APA Hotel recently came under fire for putting copies of my book, which says the Nanking Massacre did not take place, in our guest rooms. Many Japanese media outlets approached us as if APA had done something wrong, asking questions like, “Will you apologize?” and “Are you going to remove the books?” In response, we released an official view that read as follows:

Next, a deputy director-general of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Information Department criticized APA Hotel, saying the book’s claim that the Nanking Massacre is a total fabrication was an overt provocation of Chinese tourists. Together with our official view, we said, “Regarding the statement that the so-called ‘Nanking Massacre’ never took place, if there are any inaccuracies in this book, we ask that they be pointed out for our reference.” Yet China has not objected to this book with any specific proof. Because China was unable to refute the claim that there was no Nanking Massacre, it can no longer play this incident as a historical card to criticize Japan. In the past China has commented critically on visits to Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese prime ministers and other politicians, and has also requested huge amounts of official development assistance (ODA), based on the arbitrary historical viewpoint that Japan invaded China and committed atrocities in Nanking and numerous other cities. This basis has now crumbled.
The so-called “Nanking Massacre” story has been spread around since the time of the Tokyo Trials. This incident, which was fabricated by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) commanded by Chiang Kai-shek, was used to portray Japan as a bad country and ensure that the U.S. – which dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – was seen as a good one. Afterwards, this story was not mentioned frequently before being raised by Jiang Zemin, a regional secretary who lacked military experience, as a way to seize power when he became general secretary of the party with the endorsement of Deng Xiaoping. Jiang Zemin extensively implemented anti-Japanese policy in an effort to solidify his political base. Incidentally, Chairman Mao Zedong never referred to the Nanking Massacre during his life. Chairman of the Japan Socialist Party Kozo Sasaki met with Mao Zedong in 1964 and apologized for the trouble during the war. Mao Zedong replied, “No, no, the Communist Party came to power thanks to the Japanese Imperial Army.” Despite this, the anti-Japanese faction in Japan, spearheaded by The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, has widely discussed the Nanking Massacre as if it really happened.
However, Toho shot its documentary film Nanking on the front lines during the period when the massacre was said at the Tokyo Trials to have taken place. It shows many posters in Nanking reading, “Kill the Chinese traitors (pro-Japanese citizens).” According to this film, before Nanking fell Chiang Kai-shek led the hunting down and slaughter of such pro-Japanese citizens, as many as thousands of whom were killed in one day. The film also shows unarmed Japanese soldiers walking by and nonchalantly watching Chinese children setting off firecrackers to celebrate the New Year. Nanking portrays the calm lives of the Chinese citizens in the city over the 44 days after it fell – the period in which people say an average of 7,000 people were slaughtered daily by the Japanese Army – and we can regard it as decisive proof that no massacre took place in Nanking. The film was supposedly burned in the air raids, but it was discovered in Beijing in 1995. The portions about the Chinese traitor hunting were also found in the United States afterwards, and today the film is available for everybody to view on YouTube. I learned of its existence after the book scandal, when a physician living in Hokkaido, whom I had never met before, sent 10 copies of the DVD to roughly 100 APA Hotels. I hope that more people will learn of this film, which serves as definite proof that the Nanking Massacre is not real.
The massacre of Chinese citizens was actually perpetrated by the NRA commanded by Chiang Kai-shek. The Japanese Army merely exposed and put to death the plainclothes soldiers (guerrillas) who abandoned their uniforms, stole the garments of regular citizens, and were hiding in the refugee zone with weapons and ammunition. Of course, the execution of plainclothes soldiers is not in violation of international law. The truth behind the Nanking Massacre is that Chiang Kai-shek widely spread information to make it seem like the Japanese Army was responsible for the killings that were actually perpetrated by the Chinese side, which the U.S. used to its benefit. The anti-Japanese powers in Japan went along with this story, and the Japanese news and educational system have portrayed the Nanking Massacre as factual.
The media outlets concluded the Sino-Japanese Journalist Exchange Agreement to send their own reporters to China in exchange for prohibiting news reports that are disadvantageous to the Chinese government. Many Japanese corporations that set up operations in China have met pitiful ends and are trying to withdraw from that country, yet are unable to take their frozen assets outside of China. Some are even charged with paying expensive reparations to their joint venture partners or employees. However, the Japanese media merely praises the temporary successes of some companies and will not report on the truth that is unfavorable to the Chinese government. China and South Korea were developed thanks to vast financial and technical support from Japan. The book scandal abolished China’s ability to play the Nanking Massacre card. South Korea has kept silent during this time, but the comfort women issue has also reached its expiration date thanks to contemporary advertisements soliciting comfort women. These clearly indicate that these women were not sex slaves or the like, but rather high-paid prostitutes who were treated well and earned 300 yen a month (the equivalent of around three million yen in today’s currency).
In the past Japan has withdrawn when pressed and paid money in response to threats. The anti-Japanese media in Japan has incited historical issues and reported extensively on Chinese and South Korean criticisms of the Japanese government and corporations. Many politicians and companies have apologized for absolutely no reason, and some companies have even paid reparations. Yet historical warfare is one type of information war, and we must firmly refute any mistaken claims. I did not purposefully set off the scandal about my book. This outcry was started by China suddenly censuring the assertions I have been making for the past 25 years, including in Apple Town magazine. Still, we have created a precedent by not yielding to unreasonable criticism from the Chinese government, and I hope we can transform the Sino-Japanese relationship into one not of unilateral concessions and apologies by Japan, but instead a normal relationship in which both nations can mutually advocate for their own interests. To that end, Japan must amend its constitution, create a national defense army that has offensive abilities to provide deterrence, and become a strong country once again.
Just like World War II, wars are started when the media inflames the people. If China enhances its military power and Japan remains weak, the Chinese leaders may eventually be forced by pressure from below to take an unyielding stance against Japan, and may be unable to avoid military conflict. To prevent this, Japan must increase its strength and maintain a balance of power with China. I suspect this is actually what the Chinese leadership wants. There are only three types of peace: the peace of ruling, the peace of being ruled, and the peace brought about by a balance of power. The first step towards Japan becoming a country capable of independent self-defense is for the Japanese people to learn true history, be freed from their masochistic view of history, and regain their pride. To ensure peace stemming from a balance of power – not the peace of being ruled by China – Japan must become a truly independent nation by reforming the constitution during the Shinzo Abe administration and altering the Japanese-American alliance from a unilateral to a bilateral one.

　Theoretical Modern History III: The Real History of Japan is on sale for the price of 800 yen (tax included) online and at the front desks of APA Hotels nationwide. I hope that many people interested in true history will read it.

May 15 (Monday), 18:00