Li Xiaochen and Tian Jiacheng: The War Crimes of "Mantetsu" Must Not Be Concealed
The "South Manchuria Railway Company" (hereafter "Mantetsu") was the "surrogate state organ" through which the Japanese government implemented its so-called "Continental Policy" and particularly its "Manchuria-Mongolia Policy" [1]. Since its inception, Mantetsu engaged in an array of aggressive activities in Northeast China. It not only directly participated in instigating the September 18th Incident [2], but also committed numerous crimes before and after the event. Even today, however, Mantetsu is referred to in Japan as "Japan's primary think tank," and it is claimed that "the essence of its work made an enormous contribution to post-war Japanese economic development and Asian studies." The criminal acts committed by Mantetsu during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression are irrefutable and beyond doubt! Reviewing this painful period of history and uncovering the entire process of Mantetsu’s collusion with the Japanese Kwantung Army to launch the long-premeditated September 18th Incident is of great significance for establishing a correct outlook on history, safeguarding the victorious fruits of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and more firmly and confidently advancing the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation.
Colluding with the Kwantung Army to Launch the September 18th Incident
That Mantetsu was the core tool for Japan to launch its war of aggression against China and implement its policy of colonial expansion is a long-settled conclusion. Okamatsu Santarō, one of Mantetsu's first directors, claimed: "The government intends to use the name of a company to perform the functions of a state organ; it intends to have the South Manchuria Railway Company manage South Manchuria on behalf of the government." In Railway Policy in the Northeast Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese scholar Zhang Kewei compared it to "the East India Company of the British in India." Professor Su Chongmin’s analysis is even more incisive: "Mantetsu was both a colonial apparatus of aggression and a state-monopoly capitalist enterprise." This dual attribute dictated that it would inevitably invade Northeast China and monopolize its interests, and it determined Mantetsu's reactionary position in colluding with the Kwantung Army to launch the war of aggression against China during the September 18th Incident.
The Kwantung Army, the instigator of the September 18th Incident, was an illegal force stationed in Northeast China under the pretext of "protecting the Kwantung Leased Territory and the South Manchuria Railway Zone" [3]. This essential nature determined its long-term and close collusion with Mantetsu. The expansion of monopoly capital inevitably seeks violent means to eliminate competition, and Mantetsu was no exception; the Kwantung Army became the provider of Mantetsu's instruments of violence. This collusion of mutual need was particularly evident in the September 18th Incident—Mantetsu became an accomplice to the Kwantung Army and even participated directly in the war of aggression, seizing even more predatory interests in the process.
From Secret Collusion to Open Conspiracy
Within the process of the September 18th Incident, October 6, 1931, serves as a critical juncture; Mantetsu’s support for the Kwantung Army showed significant differences in stages before and after this date. Prior to this, although Mantetsu engaged in critical aggressive collusion with the Kwantung Army to launch and expand the September 18th Incident, the intensity and scope of its support were relatively limited, focusing primarily on basic guarantees like railway control and military transport, and were handled with relative secrecy. After this date, Mantetsu entered a phase of full-scale, wide-ranging, and public "support" and even direct participation in the invasion of Northeast China, causing the scope of its aggression to expand rapidly.
In some historical materials and treatises regarding the September 18th Incident, Uchida Kōsai, the then-president of Mantetsu, is portrayed as a so-called "moderate" who opposed the Kwantung Army, disapproved of the armed seizure of Northeast China, and hoped the incident would "not expand" in its early stages. However, Yamazaki Motoki—a director of Mantetsu at the time and its final president—admitted in his post-war memoirs: "President Uchida clearly anticipated even the date of the Manchurian Incident." It is evident that Uchida Kōsai had prior knowledge and tacitly consented to the Kwantung Army launching the September 18th Incident. Furthermore, as early as June 1931, Mantetsu director Sogo Shinji openly clamored at a transport liaison meeting for the drafting of a "state of emergency" transportation plan, hinting that military action was imminent; this very individual was the first high-ranking Mantetsu official to actively assist the Kwantung Army after the September 18th Incident. It can be argued that before October 6, Uchida Kōsai and Mantetsu by no means sincerely hoped the incident would "not expand," let alone opposed the aggression. No matter how much effort Mantetsu exerts to cover up its aggressive acts, its criminal responsibility for the September 18th Incident cannot be shirked.
Before October 6, Mantetsu colluded secretly with the Kwantung Army on the one hand, and on the other, adopted two measures as a loss-prevention plan in case the Kwantung Army's actions proved unfavorable or failed. First, all aggressive acts by Mantetsu during this period were excused as being "at the request of the Kwantung Army," placing itself at the level of an executor. This is evidenced by Uchida Kōsai’s telegram to Japanese Foreign Minister Shidehara Kijūrō on September 21: "To meet the needs of the Kwantung Army's deployment, we have thus far provided convenience in military transport and other areas according to all their requests." Second, Mantetsu deliberately had its leadership remain silent or give vague statements to create the illusion that it was unaware of or powerless against the Kwantung Army's aggression. As previously mentioned, Mantetsu had already issued an "Emergency Mobilization Order" following the outbreak of the September 18th Incident to mobilize personnel for participation in the Kwantung Army's war of aggression. Yamazaki Motoki's claim that "with the incident, some employees even ran to Mukden [4] on their own, creating a situation difficult to control" was merely a ruse by Mantetsu to deceive the public and shirk its responsibility.
By October 6, 1931, the Kwantung Army had occupied most of Liaoning and Jilin, and neither the Japanese government nor the international community had stopped them. Marked by Uchida Kōsai’s meeting with Honjō Shigeru on that day, Mantetsu threw its full weight behind the Kwantung Army's aggressive atrocities and soon received its "reward." In the "Matters Desired of the South Manchuria Railway Company" issued by Honjō Shigeru in the name of the Kwantung Army Headquarters, Mantetsu seized numerous aggressive interests: taking over all railways in Northeast China except for the Chinese Eastern Railway and the Beijing-Mukden Railway; controlling industry, commerce, mining, and farmland irrigation in the Northeast; buying up local official banks; and establishing "Manchu" air routes. These predatory interests not only solved Mantetsu's management crisis at the time but also established its monopoly position within the economic system of "Manchukuo" [5].
Fueling the Kwantung Army's Aggressive Arrogance
Mr. Xie Xueshi pointed out: "History proves that without the participation, coordination, and support of Mantetsu—which possessed formidable strength from years of aggressive activities in Northeast China—it would have been difficult for the Kwantung Army to act so brazenly." Mantetsu's misdeeds during the September 18th Incident included, but were not limited to, providing military supplies, opening buildings within the Railway Zone for use as barracks, manufacturing propaganda for aggression, gathering intelligence, and cobbling together puppet regimes. It even directly participated in "security" operations along the railway lines, organizing so-called "self-defense forces" to coordinate with the Kwantung Army’s invasion. Clearly, Mantetsu had become a capable accomplice to the Kwantung Army's invasion of China.
Mantetsu's most significant contribution to the Kwantung Army's villainy was military transport. On the night the September 18th Incident broke out, Mantetsu rapidly dispatched a special train to urgently transport Kwantung Army Commander Honjō Shigeru and his headquarters staff from Port Arthur to Mukden (present-day Shenyang) and undertook the transport of subsequent reinforcement troops, providing critical "support" for the Kwantung Army's seizure of the Beidaying [6]. Thereafter, Mantetsu organized massive military transport; by March 1932, Mantetsu military trains had run 4,056 times, transporting 197,980 tons of military supplies for the invasion of China. Nearly all personnel and materials required for the Kwantung Army's aggression were transported by Mantetsu. Furthermore, Mantetsu dispatched railway repair crews to fix damaged tracks and bridges and perform water supply operations to ensure the Japanese army's invasion routes remained open. Mantetsu also modified armored vehicles and participated in "security" along the railway lines. After the September 18th Incident, Mantetsu assembled six sets of armored trains in just three days; these armed invasion vehicles were sent sequentially to the four major trunk lines in the Northeast—Shen-Chang, Ji-Chang, Fushun, and Si-Tao—while simultaneously providing "security" along those lines. Additionally, Mantetsu provided the Kwantung Army with a vast quantity of materials and equipment to sustain its war of aggression.
For its role as an accomplice to the Kwantung Army’s aggression during the September 18th Incident, the Japanese government rewarded Mantetsu handsomely. Following the incident, 23,301 Mantetsu employees were awarded medals by the Japanese Emperor for supporting or participating in the war of aggression, which encompassed nearly all of Mantetsu's Japanese staff. This historical fact vividly exposes the total participation and deep involvement of Mantetsu in the Japanese war of aggression against China.
The above facts prove that Mantetsu, led by Uchida Kōsai, and the Kwantung Army, led by Honjō Shigeru, both bear irrefutable responsibility for the September 18th Incident. Matsuoka Yōsuke—a later president of Mantetsu, former Japanese Foreign Minister, and Class-A war criminal of World War II—declared: "Launching the Manchurian Incident was a joint action of the Kwantung Army and Mantetsu." This statement hits the mark exactly.