Another sign of worrying revisionist trend in Japan

The news that the Japanese hotel chain operator APA Group has put books in its rooms that, in both English and Japanese, deny the Nanjing Massacre took place and that "comfort women" were forced into sexual slavery by Japan's imperial army, reveals the stark reality that historical revisionism is on the rise in Japan.

The group's head, Toshio Motoya, who wrote the books, is a die-hard rightist who has always viewed Japan's war of aggression in a positive light. As head of a group that supports Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the hotelier insists he has no plans to withdraw the books from the rooms, let alone offer an apology.

Although he cites "freedom of speech" in his defense, imagine if a hotel chain in Europe dared to put books denying the Holocaust in its rooms.