Given what had happened in and around Shanghai, as the battle to seize Nanking approached, I once again stressed the need to all our troops for them to scrupulously respect military codes of conduct and customs, as previously noted. Despite this, our Army committed acts of violence and pillaging during the occupation of the city, many tarnishing the prestige of the Imperial Japanese Army. In order to explain these acts, we must first consider the terrible exhaustion occasioned by the difficul...

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