—65—
On September 16th, Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang gave out an interview to the Press which reported him as saying that the Nakamura case, in accordance with the wish of the Japanese, would be handled by Governor Tsang Shih-yi and the Manchurian authorities, and not by the Foreign Office at Nanking.
The second Chinese commission of investigation, after visiting the scene of the killing of Captain Nakamura, returned to Mukden on the morning of September 16th. On the afternoon of the 18th, the Japanese Consul called upon General Yung Chen, when the latter stated that Commander Kuan Yu-heng had been brought to Mukden on September 16th charged with responsibility for the murder of Captain Nakamura and would be immediately tried by a military court-martial. Later, it was made known by the Japanese, after their occupation of Mukden, that Commander Kuan had been detained by the Chinese in a military prison.
Consul-General Hayashi, Mukden, was reported on September 12th–13th to have reported to the Japanese Foreign Office that "an amicable settlement would probably be made after the return of the investigators to Mukden", especially as General Yung Chen had definitely admitted that Chinese soldiers had been responsible for the death of Captain Nakamura. The Mukden correspondent of the Nippon Dempo Service telegraphed a despatch on September 12th stating that "an amicable settlement of the alleged murder case of Captain Shintaro Nakamura of the Japanese General Staff Office by soldiers of the Chinese Reclamation Army Corps is in sight". Numerous statements of Japanese military officers, however, especially those of Colonel K. Doihara, continued to question the sincerity of the Chinese efforts to arrive at a satisfactory solution of the Nakamura case, in view of the fact that Commander Kuan, alleged to have been responsible for the death of Captain Nakamura, had been taken into custody in Mukden by the Chinese authorities, the date of his court-martial having been announced as to occur within a week. Since the Chinese authorities admitted to Japanese consular officials in Mukden, in a formal conference held on the afternoon of September 18th, that Chinese soldiers were responsible for the death of Captain Nakamura, expressing also a desire to secure a settlement of the case diplomatically without delay, it would seem that diplomatic negotiations for attaining a solution of the Nakamura case were actually progressing favourably up to the night of September 18th.
The results of the Nakamura case.The Nakamura case, more than any other single incident, greatly aggravated the resentment of the Japanese and their agitation in favour of forceful means to effect a solution of outstanding Sino-Japanese difficulties in regard to Manchuria. The inherent seriousness of the case was aggravated by the fact that Sino-Japanese relations just at this time were strained on account of the Wanpaoshan affair, the anti-Chinese riots in Korea, the Japanese military manœuvres across the Tumen River on the Manchurian-Korean frontier, and the Chinese mob violence committed at Tsingtao, in protest against the activities of the local Japanese patriotic societies.
Captain Nakamura was an army officer on active service, a fact which was pointed to by the Japanese as a justification for strong and swift military action. Mass meetings were held in Manchuria and in Japan for the purpose of crystallising public sentiment in favour of such action. During the first two weeks of September, the Japanese Press repeatedly declared that the army had decided that the "solution ought to be by force ", since there was no other alternative.
The Chinese claimed that the importance of the case was greatly exaggerated and that it was made a pretext for the Japanese military occupation of Manchuria. They denied the contention of the Japanese that there was insincerity or delay on the part of the Chinese officials in dealing with the case.
