In uncertain times, a mission to rewrite Japanese war history

China triggered the Sino-Japanese war in August 1937, there was no massacre of civilians in Nanjing four months later, the United States provoked Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 and 'comfort women' were not coerced across Asia and the Pacific to serve as prostitutes for Japan's soldiers.

Hiromichi Moteki is convinced of the strength of his arguments - dismissing widely accepted views of Japan's involvement in the turmoil of the 1930s and '40s - and is committed to getting his version of events to a wider audience.

And as discontent with the Japanese government grows, not least because of what many here see as a craven attitude towards a more aggressive Chinese military presence in the region, Moteki's beliefs might find traction with a growing portion of the public.

The backlash against the Democratic Party of Japan administration that won an overwhelming victory in last August's general election is clear to see, as its support rating hovers just above 20 per cent. The formerly all-powerful Liberal Democratic Party is also no longer the natural home of the far right and is splintering, but that has given rise to a number of new parties with even more conservative credentials.

The very name of the Sunrise Party of Japan, founded by former trade minister Takeo Hiranuma, harks back to the imperial past, while other new additions to the political scene here include The Spirit of Japan Party and the New Renaissance Party.

Dapper and well-spoken, Moteki says his aim, and that of the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact of which he is deputy chairman, is to translate books and historical documents and to provide that information to scholars and historians around the world so that they might re-evaluate the image of Japan of the early decades of the last century as an evil empire.