A Chinese tourism company based in Japan terminated its business relationship with Japanese APA Hotels after learning that the latter provided books denying the occurrence of the Nanjing Massacre. The books were written by Toshio Motoya, CEO of APA Group. The books have sparked outrage across Chinese social media, Guancha.cn reported.
Upon learning of the books' existence, Jia Zhengfei, head of tourism company Hua Wang International Co., Ltd., declared on Weibo that the company will cut ties with APA Group. The company was established in Japan three years ago using Chinese capital. It has previously sent nearly 1,000 Chinese tourists to APA hotels annually.
Jia said his company will stop making reservations at APA hotels and refuse to serve guests of the hotels unless APA Group stops promoting the books and Motoya apologizes publicly.
"The books are written in only English and Japanese, conveying a false message to non-Chinese tourists," said Jia. The CEO stressed that he will do everything he can to protect China's image. According to Jia, roughly one dozen tourists who had reserved APA Hotels have already canceled their reservations since the news came out.
Jia later posted a message on Weibo, stating that national sovereignty and historical facts can't be tarnished. He believes business people must maintain their principles.
"We are dedicated to presenting the friendliness and hospitality of Japanese people to tourists and investors, but we can't accept a distorted history fabricated by right-wingers," Jia added.
