Japanese Archives Corroborate the CPC’s Role as the Mainstay in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

The victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a great victory for the national spirit centered on patriotism, a great victory for the CPC’s role as the mainstay, a great victory for the entire nation uniting with one will to fight valiantly, and a great victory for the Chinese people fighting shoulder to shoulder with the anti-fascist allied nations and the peoples of all countries. Relevant Japanese archives from the period of the War of Resistance once again corroborate the CPC’s role as the mainstay in the War of Resistance, revealing the Japanese authorities’ true views on the CPC’s resistance. These records, from the perspective of the other side, refute the erroneous views that one-sidedly glorify the Kuomintang’s resistance and deny the CPC’s status and role in the War of Resistance.

中国人民抗日战争胜利是以爱国主义为核心的民族精神的伟大胜利，是中国共产党发挥中流砥柱作用的伟大胜利，是全民族众志成城奋勇抗战的伟大胜利，是中国人民同反法西斯同盟国以及各国人民并肩战斗的伟大胜利。抗战期间的日方相关档案，再次印证中国共产党在抗战中的中流砥柱作用，展现了日本当局对中国共产党抗战的真实看法。这些记录从他者视角批驳了片面美化国民党抗战、否定中国共产党在抗战中的地位和作用的错误观点。

The CPC “is the most promising political force in China”

中国共产党“是中国最具潜力的政治势力”

The growth and development of the CPC and the revolutionary forces it led had long been a focus of attention for various circles in Japan. Before the September 18th Incident [1]1 The September 18th Incident (1931) was a staged event used by Japan as a pretext to invade and occupy Northeast China., the anti-Japanese thinking of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army led by the CPC had already drawn the attention of Japan’s colonial aggression institutions. In August 1929, the South Manchuria Railway Company [2]2 The July 7th Incident (1937), also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, marked the full-scale outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War., in its investigative report *A History of the Chinese Proletarian Movement*, clearly stated: “The most distinctive feature of the proletarian movement under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is its anti-imperialism.”

中国共产党及其领导革命力量的发展壮大，一直被当时日本各界所关注。九一八事变爆发前，中国共产党领导的工农红军的抗日思想就引起了日本殖民侵略机构的重视。1929年8月，“满铁”在调查报告书《中国无产阶级运动史》中明确指出：“中国共产党领导下的无产阶级运动最鲜明的特征是反帝国主义。”

After the September 18th Incident, officials from the Information Department of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs comprehensively collected information on the CPC and the revolutionary movement it led, compiling it into a secret internal document, *Secret History of the Chinese Communist Party 1932*. This document stated that “the Red Army forces under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party are developing rapidly, especially under the combined encirclement of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui region, the central Hubei region, and the southwestern Hubei region, making Wuhan like a solitary boat amidst a vast expanse of red waves.”

九一八事变爆发后，日本外务省情报部官员对中国共产党及其领导的革命运动情况进行全面搜集，编制成仅供内部使用的中国共产党史料《秘中国共产党1932年史》，认为“中国共产党领导下的红军势力发展迅速，尤其是在鄂豫皖区、鄂中区和鄂西南区的联合包围下，武汉宛如万顷红涛中的一叶孤舟”。

After the January 28th Incident [3], the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic issued a declaration of war against Japan, proposing to “lead the entire Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and the broad masses of oppressed people to drive Japanese imperialism out of China through a national revolutionary war.” The Japanese Dongbang National Policy Association, in *The China Incident and Our Awakening: Grasping the Essence of the Incident*, pointed out: “The Chinese Communist Party’s War of Resistance Against Japan has transformed from a mere movement to mobilize the masses into a confident armed struggle.”

一·二八事变后，中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府宣布对日战争宣言，提出“领导全中国工农红军和广大被压迫民众，以民族革命战争驱逐日本帝国主义出中国”。日本东邦国策同志会在《支那事变与吾等的觉悟：把握事变的本质》中指出：“中国共产党抗日战争，已经从单纯的发动群众的运动转变为自信的武力战斗。”

In September 1933, the Japan Foreign Affairs Association, in *The Communist Movement in China*, proposed: “A Red China, possessing a population of 400 million, known as the ‘world’s granary,’ with unlimited natural resources, uniting with the Soviet Union, which has vast territory, could trigger a great upheaval worldwide for Japan.” This Japanese investigative archival material fully demonstrates that the vigorous development of the workers’ and peasants’ movement led by the CPC had already instilled fear in the Japanese aggressors.

1933年9月，日本外事协会在《支那共产运动》中提出：“拥有四亿人口、被称为‘世界粮仓’的无限天然资源的红色中国，与拥有广阔领土的苏联进行联合，对于日本而言可能会引发全世界的大变局。”日方这份调查档案资料，充分显示了中国共产党领导的工农运动的蓬勃发展，已使日本侵略者心生畏惧。

In September 1936, the Economic Investigation Committee of the South Manchuria Railway Company, in its investigative report on the CPC, *Secret: The Current Stage of Red Forces in China*, pointed out: “China’s red forces are a political force with the Chinese Communist Party and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army at their core. Since its founding, the Chinese Communist Party has developed over more than a decade and now holds a powerful political position in China. It is the most promising political force in China.”

1936年9月，“满铁”经济调查会在对中国共产党的调查报告《秘支那赤色势力的现阶段》中指出：“中国红色力量是以中国共产党和工农红军为核心的政治力量，中国共产党成立以来经过了十多年的发展，在中国已经拥有强大的政治地位，是中国最具潜力的政治势力。”

In November 1936, Mishima Yasuo of the Japan Diplomatic Association, in *A New Study of the Red Army*, pointed out: “China’s War of Resistance Against Japan is attempting to establish a united people’s front centered on the Chinese Red Army.” The Press Section of the Japanese Army Ministry, in its field investigation report *Current Affairs Reference on the Chinese Communist Army*, further pointed out: “The existence of the Chinese Communist Party’s army has had a major impact on China’s revolutionary movement. As a special political force equal to the Nanjing National Government, the Chinese Communist Party is advancing modern China in the direction of its ideals.”

1936年11月，日本外交协会的三岛康夫在《赤军的新研究》中指出：“中国的抗日战争，正试图以中国红军为中心，建立一个联合人民战线。”日本陆军省新闻班在实地调查报告《时事参考关于支那共产军》中进一步指出：“中国共产党军队的存在，对中国革命运动产生了重大影响，中国共产党作为与南京国民政府对等的特殊政治势力，正在把近代中国按照其理想的方向推进。”

After the outbreak of the all-out War of Resistance, Japan, on the one hand, launched a large-scale invasion of China, and on the other hand, strengthened its investigations into the resistance behind enemy lines, leaving behind many original records. In September 1938, a draft investigation by the Japanese Ishin-ryo [4], *Manchuria-China Communist “Bandit” Activities*, recorded: “The anti-Japanese forces in North China and Northeast China under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party are powerful and closely united with the broad masses. The CPC’s anti-Japanese ideology has deeply penetrated the hearts of the people, and they possess the revolutionary spirit of sacrificing their lives for the resistance.” The draft also included investigations into the anti-Japanese guerrilla activities in the “South Manchuria” guerrilla zone, “East Manchuria” guerrilla zone, Hado [5] guerrilla zone, Tangyuan guerrilla zone, and Hailun guerrilla zone led by the CPC, as well as the anti-Japanese struggle in the Jin-Cha-Ji [6] anti-Japanese base area. It concluded that the anti-Japanese forces led by the CPC had formed a situation of mutual support between north and south and should be the primary target of Japan’s punitive campaigns.

全民族抗战爆发后，日本一方面大举侵华，另一方面加强对敌后抗战的调查，留下了不少原始记录。1938年9月，日本维新寮调查手稿《满支共产“匪军”活动》记录：“中国共产党领导下的华北和东北抗日势力强大，与广大群众紧密团结，中国共产党抗日思想深入民心，具有不惜牺牲生命进行抗日的革命家意气。”手稿还有关于中国共产党领导的“南满”游击区、“东满”游击区、哈东游击区、汤原游击区、海伦游击区等地抗日游击队，以及晋察冀抗日根据地的抗日斗争情况调查，认为中国共产党领导的抗日力量形成了南北呼应之势，应是日本重点讨伐的目标。

From the true records in the Japanese archives, we can see that the CPC implemented a general mobilization of the entire nation, opened up democracy, improved people’s livelihoods, extensively mobilized and armed the masses, and proposed and consistently adhered to the line of a people’s war.

从日方档案的真实记录中，我们可以看到中国共产党实行全国人民总动员，开放民主，改善民生，广泛发动群众，武装群众，提出并始终坚持人民战争的路线。

The CPC was the “key target of Japan’s military punitive campaigns”

中国共产党是日本“武力讨伐的重点”

On July 7, 1937, Japan launched the Marco Polo Bridge Incident [7], sparking the full-scale war of aggression against China. On July 8, the CPC issued the *Telegram of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Japanese Attack on Lugouqiao*, calling on the entire nation to unite and form a national united front to jointly resist Japan’s aggression. On July 15, CPC representative Zhou Enlai and others submitted the *Declaration of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Publication of the Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation* to Chiang Kai-shek. On September 22, the Central News Agency of the Kuomintang published the *Declaration of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Publication of the Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation*. The following day, Chiang Kai-shek issued a statement pointing out the necessity of unity to resist foreign aggression, effectively recognizing the legal status of the CPC. The publication of the declaration of Kuomintang-Communist cooperation and Chiang Kai-shek’s statement marked the formal formation of the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the CPC, and the Chinese nation was unprecedentedly united under the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front.

1937年7月7日，日本发动七七事变，挑起全面侵华战争。7月8日，中国共产党发表《中共中央为日军进攻卢沟桥通电》，号召全国人民团结起来筑成民族统一战线，共同抵抗日本的侵略。7月15日，中共代表周恩来等将《中共中央为公布国共合作宣言》送交蒋介石。9月22日，国民党中央通讯社发表《中共中央为公布国共合作宣言》。翌日，蒋介石发表谈话，指出团结御侮的必要，实际上承认了中国共产党的合法地位。国共合作宣言的公布和蒋介石谈话的发表，标志着国共两党第二次合作的正式形成，中华民族空前地团结在抗日民族统一战线旗帜下。

Faced with the Chinese people’s increasingly fervent anti-Japanese national salvation movement, the Japanese army focused its in-depth investigations on the anti-Japanese armed forces in North China led by the CPC. The investigative archival material *Top Secret Intelligence Record No. 1 Army Intelligence No. 57*, produced by Lieutenant General Okabe Naozaburo [8], Chief of Staff of the Japanese North China Area Army, showed: “From late October 1937, anti-Japanese guerrilla forces led by the Eighth Route Army, assembled in Guangping County, Hebei Province, attacked Japanese troops stationed in Feixiang and Cheng’an; anti-Japanese guerrillas in Fuping County, Xinle Northwest, and Hengshan advanced along the Pinghan Railway line, their forces being quite powerful, disrupting our rear areas; driven by the Chinese Communist Party, the anti-Japanese sentiment of the people in Shanxi Province ran high. In Pingding City, there were a large number of Party members among school teachers, and anti-Japanese organizations such as the Gongdao League [9] and the Sacrifice National Salvation League [10] were spread across every county and village, carrying out extensive anti-Japanese movements.” Consequently, the Japanese army decided to use railways as fulcrums, deploy troops in a dispersed manner in key areas, form a network of garrison roads, and maintain close communication between mobile forces and garrison units, with the aim of “punishing” anti-Japanese guerrillas and destroying anti-Japanese base areas.

面对中国人民日益高涨的抗日救亡运动，日军重点对中国共产党领导下的华北抗日武装力量进行深入调查。日军华北方面军参谋长冈部直三郎制作的调查档案资料《极秘情报记录第1军情第57号》显示，“从1937年10月下旬开始，汇集在河北省广平县的八路军领导的抗日游击队向驻扎在肥乡和成安日军进行攻击；在阜平县新乐西北及恒山的抗日游击队沿着平汉铁路沿线前进，其势力相当强大，搅乱了我军的后方；在中国共产党的推动下，山西省民众的抗日情绪高涨，在平定城内，学校的教师中党员数量较多，公道团、牺牲救国同盟会等抗日团体遍布各县村，他们进行了广泛的抗日运动”。为此，日军决定以铁路为支点，在重要地区分散配置部队，形成警备道路网，密切联络流动的军队与警备队，意在“讨伐”抗日游击队，摧毁抗日根据地。

The Japanese army repeatedly carried out “annihilation and mopping-up operations,” “sifting and mopping-up operations,” “public order pacification operations,” and “public order strengthening operations” against the anti-Japanese base areas led by the CPC, with the goal of eliminating the anti-Japanese forces under the CPC’s leadership. In the view of the Japanese invading forces, without “suppressing the Communists,” it was impossible to maintain public order. Therefore, they conducted large-scale “burn all, kill all, loot all” operations [11] against the anti-Japanese base areas, anti-Japanese guerrilla zones, and the broad masses of soldiers and civilians led by the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

日军对中国共产党领导的抗日根据地反复进行的“歼灭扫荡作战”“剔抉扫荡作战”“治安肃正作战”“治安强化作战”，目的是消灭中国共产党领导的抗战力量。在侵华日军看来，不“剿共”就无法维持治安。所以，他们对八路军、新四军领导的抗日根据地、抗日游击区和包括广大军民在内的抗日力量一律进行大规模的“三光”作战。

On December 22, 1937, Okabe Naozaburo reported to Vice Minister of War Umetsu Yoshijiro [12] on the guiding principles for the Japanese invading forces to control the North China region, stating: “Local Japanese forces must fully control all occupied cities and the entire area along the railways,” and “In North China, the key target of ‘punitive campaigns’ is the anti-Japanese guerrilla forces of the Chinese Communist Party. Various methods must be used to propagate ‘anti-communist ideology’ in North

1937年12月22日，冈部直三郎向陆军次官梅津美治郎汇报了侵华日军控制华北地区的指导方针，指出，“当地日军要全面控制所占领的城市及铁路沿线全域”，“在华北地区要彻底‘讨伐’的是中共抗日游击队，要运用各种方法在华北地区进行‘防共思想’的宣传，目的是离间与中国共产党密切联系的民众、‘土匪’和抗日游击队之间的关系，割断抗日游击队与当地民众抗日团体的联系，达到彻底‘消灭’的目的”。按照此方针指令，日军华北方面军制定了《军事占领区治安维持实施要领》，再次强调“武力讨伐的重点是共产党，特别是早日彻底粉碎共产党主义覆盖所构成的地区”。

In early 1938, the invading Japanese army successively occupied the major cities of North China, controlling the railways and the areas along their routes. Most of the main forces of the Kuomintang withdrew, leaving only a portion of troops in southern Shanxi, creating a “vacuum” of power in North China. The Eighth Route Army dispatched the 115th Division, the 129th Division, and the 120th Division to forcefully advance into the Wutai Mountain area, the Taihang Mountain area, and the northwestern Shanxi region, opening up the anti-Japanese base areas of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, southern Hebei, and northwestern Shanxi. The people of Shandong, under the leadership of local organizations of the Chinese Communist Party, also launched guerrilla warfare against the invading Japanese army, establishing the central Shandong base area centered on Mount Tai and the Yimeng Mountains, laying the foundation for the four liberated areas in North China. The Eighth Route Army also divided its forces from Shanxi to advance eastward into the Hebei-Shandong-Henan plain, the Qilu plain, and the central Hebei plain, and northward into the Daqingshan area of Suiyuan and the northeastern part of Hebei, successively establishing the anti-Japanese base areas of Hebei-Shandong-Henan, Hebei-Shandong border, central Hebei, eastern Hebei, and Daqingshan.

1938年初，侵华日军相继占领了华北地区的主要城市，控制了铁路及其沿线的地区。大部分国民党的主力部队撤离，仅在山西省南部保留了一部分兵力，致使华北地区处于权力的“真空”地带。八路军分派第115师、第129师、第120师强力挺进五台山区、太行山区和晋西北地区，开辟了晋察冀、冀南和晋西北抗日根据地。山东人民也在中国共产党地方组织的领导下与侵华日军展开了游击战争，以泰山和沂蒙山区为中心建立了鲁中根据地，奠定了华北四个解放区的基础。八路军还从山西分兵东进至冀鲁豫平原、齐鲁平原和冀中平原，北进至绥远的大青山地区及河北的东北部，先后建立了冀鲁豫、冀鲁边、冀中、冀东和大青山抗日根据地。

The *War History Series, Volume 90: The China Incident Army Operations (3)*, compiled in 1975 by the War History Department of the Japanese Defense Agency’s National Institute for Defense Studies, records that in 1938 the Japanese military assessed the Chinese Communist Party’s army as by no means a mere combat force, but a powerful political organizer, an armed force for realizing the Party’s political objectives, and a political power rooted among the people.

日本防卫厅防卫研究所战史部于1975年编《战史丛书90卷支那事变陆军作战〈3〉》记载，日军在1938年评价中国共产党军队绝不是单纯的战斗军队，而是一个强大的政治组织者，是为了实现共产党政治目标的武装力量，是扎根于民众的政治力量。

After the outbreak of the July 7 Incident [1]1 The September 18th Incident (1931) was a staged event used by Japan as a pretext to invade and occupy Northeast China., the anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party effectively filled the “vacuum” zone in North China left by the withdrawal of Kuomintang troops. The Japanese side recognized that the anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party were a potential major threat, regarded the Chinese Communist Party as Japan’s true enemy, and, based on its investigation and analysis of the CPC-led War of Resistance, correspondingly adjusted its invasion strategy in North China.

七七事变爆发后，中国共产党领导的抗日武装力量有效地填充了国民党军队撤退后华北地区的“真空”地带。日本方面意识到中国共产党领导的抗日武装力量是潜在的巨大威胁，认为中国共产党是日本的真正敌人，并根据对中国共产党领导抗日战争的调查分析，相应地调整了在华北地区的侵华战略。

“The Japanese army simply could not go into battle against the Chinese Communist Party’s army”

“日本军队根本无法与中国共产党的军队对阵”

Japanese archives show that the anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Chinese Communist Party enjoyed a broad mass base in society, and that the Japanese side believed the CPC-led anti-Japanese guerrilla forces were active behind enemy lines, disrupting Japanese supply lines and posing a major threat to the Japanese-occupied areas.

日方档案显示,中国共产党领导的抗日武装力量具有广泛的社会群众基础，认为中国共产党领导抗日游击队活跃在敌后，破坏日军的补给线，并对日军的占领区形成了巨大威胁。

In February 1936, the Economic Investigation Committee of the South Manchuria Railway Company [2]2 The July 7th Incident (1937), also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, marked the full-scale outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. submitted an investigation report to the Japanese government, *Secret: The Present Stage of Red Forces in China*, which stated: “Judging from the developing power of the Chinese Communist Party’s guerrilla forces, the danger of ‘red-ization’ is very great. For Japan, which bears responsibility for the ‘stability’ of the East, it should jointly defend against red-ization with the Nanjing National Government and curb the penetration of Soviet influence into the Far East.” Regarding the reasons for Japan’s joint “anti-communist” efforts with the Nanjing National Government, the investigation report argued that the Chinese Communist Party’s army was strong in political ideology and military strategy; the CPC’s main forces were located in economically backward Soviet areas [3] and maintained contact with the Soviet Union; and the broad masses of the people had favorable feelings toward and strongly supported the CPC’s anti-Japanese army, which was a formidable force not to be underestimated.

1936年2月，“满铁”经济调查会向日本政府提交了调查报告《秘支那赤色势力的现阶段》，提出：“从中国共产党游击部队发展的势力来看，‘赤化’的危险很大，对东洋的‘安定’具有责任的日本来说，应该与南京国民政府共同防卫赤化，遏制苏联势力向远东地区渗透。”关于日本与南京国民政府进行共同“防共”的理由，该调查报告认为：中国共产党的军队政治思想和军事战略方面强大；中国共产党的主力部队在经济相对落后的苏区，与苏联保持着联系；广大人民群众对中国共产党抗日军队有好感并大力支持，这是不可轻视的坚固势力。

After the peaceful resolution of the Xi’an Incident [4], Japanese political circles conducted an in-depth analysis of the political situation in China. Japanese commentator on Chinese affairs Fujieda Takeo pointed out in *New China and Japan*: “The anti-Japanese national united front movement promoted by the Chinese Communist Party has become the main current of China’s anti-Japanese movement. Moreover, the Chinese Communist Party, as the underground actual leader of the anti-Japanese movement of all strata in China, from the establishment of the red regime in Jiangxi Province to its foothold in the northwestern border region, and then to the expansion of anti-Japanese forces in North and Central China, has already become the core force leading China’s anti-Japanese movement.” After the July 7 Incident, the CPC-led War of Resistance gained strong momentum, putting enormous pressure on the Japanese authorities. *New China and Japan* also recorded the view of Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro: “The current situation centered on China is the most critical period in East Asian history.”

西安事变和平解决后，日本政界对中国政局形势进行了深入分析。日本中国事务评论家藤枝丈夫在《新生支那与日本》中指出：“中国共产党推动下的抗日民族统一战线运动成为中国抗日运动的主潮流，而且中国共产党作为中国各阶层抗日运动的地下实体指导者，从江西省红色政权的建立至跻居于西北边境地区，再到华北和华中地区抗日势力的扩大，已经成为领导中国抗日运动的核心力量。”七七事变后，中国共产党领导的抗日战争势头猛烈，给日本当局带来巨大压力。《新生支那与日本》还记录了首相近卫文麿的观点，“现在以中国为中心的形势的发展，是东亚历史上有史以来最危急的时期”。

On November 12, 1938, the headquarters of the invading Japanese Sugiyama Army established the “Central Committee for the Extermination of the Communist Party,” which, to conceal its activities, was publicly called the “Huangcheng Office,” and formulated the *Regulations of the North China Committee for the Extermination of the Communist Party*. This document records: “Based on the fundamental principle of pacifying and purging North China, the Committee for the Extermination of the Communist Party aims to eradicate communist ideology and eliminate anti-Japanese consciousness, in order to guide Japanese agencies in implementing ideological countermeasures.” The “Huangcheng Office” set up four investigation squads to comprehensively collect intelligence on the CPC’s anti-Japanese struggle, pointing out that the anti-Japanese base areas under CPC leadership were a major “cancer” for Japan’s war in North China.

1938年11月12日，侵华杉山部队本部成立了“中央灭共委员会”，为了掩人耳目对外称作“黄城事务所”，制定了《华北灭共委员会规定》。该文件记载：“灭共委员会基于华北治安肃清为根本要义，为了灭绝共产主义思想，铲除抗日意识，以指导日本各机关实施思想对策。”“黄城事务所”下设4个调查班，全面收集中国共产党抗日斗争的情报，指出中国共产党领导下的抗日根据地是日本华北战争的一大“癌症”。

The Chinese Communist Party led the establishment of extensive anti-Japanese base areas, which became important positions for the War of Resistance and provided solid rear-area support for the final victory. The investigation archives of the South Manchuria Railway Company further prove that the anti-Japanese national united front led by the Chinese Communist Party won the approval and support of the broad masses of the people, and that the Chinese Communist Party had a broad mass base for the anti-Japanese resistance.

中国共产党领导建立广泛的抗日根据地，成为抗日战争的重要阵地，为最终胜利提供了坚实的后方支持。“满铁”调查档案进一步证明，中国共产党领导的抗日民族统一战线得到了广大人民群众的赞成和拥护，中国共产党具有广泛的抗日群众基础。

In January 1940, Japanese Prime Minister Abe Nobuyuki, in his preface to *A Recent History of the Chinese Communist Party*, pointed out: “The National Government entrenched in Chongqing is not worth fearing, but the power of the Chinese Communist Party entrenched in the northwestern border region extends to more than four hundred counties and prefectures throughout China. The Chinese Communist Party

1940年1月，日本首相阿部信行在为《最近支那共产党史》作序时指出，“偏隅于重庆的国民政府不足为惧，而盘踞在西北边境中国共产党的力量却绵延到中国四百余州县，中国共产党是搅乱东亚新秩序的元凶”，把中国共产党看成是“大东亚新秩序建设的真正敌人”。

On 5 January 1944, Prince Mikasa, younger brother of the Japanese emperor, travelled to the Chinese theatre of war under the alias Staff Officer Wakasugi. In his article “A Japanese Person’s Inner Reflection on the China Incident”, he stated that Japan “took everything from China and plundered it to the last”, while the Chinese Communist Party’s army lived frugally and maintained strict discipline toward the people, something the Japanese army could not match. Prince Mikasa pointed out unequivocally: “The Japanese army is simply no match for the Chinese Communist Party’s army in battle.”

1944年1月5日，日本天皇之弟三笠宫亲王化名为若杉参谋前往中国战场考察。他在《作为日本人对中国事变的内心反省》一文中表示，日本对中国是“无所不取，掠夺殆尽”，中国共产党的军队生活作风节俭，对民众纪律严明，日本军队无法与之比拟。三笠宫明确指出：“日本军队根本无法与中国共产党的军队对阵。”

In summary, the Japanese archival materials reproduce the important role of the Chinese Communist Party in the War of Resistance Against Japan and powerfully corroborate that the Chinese Communist Party was the mainstay of the War of Resistance. After the September 18th Incident [1]1 The September 18th Incident (1931) was a staged event used by Japan as a pretext to invade and occupy Northeast China., the Chinese Communist Party immediately organised resistance, becoming an important force in combating Japanese aggression; it advocated the establishment of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, achieving co-operation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party; it led the war of resistance behind enemy lines, establishing 19 anti-Japanese base areas that became important positions in the War of Resistance, providing solid rear-area support for the war effort; it filled the “vacuum” of resistance in North China after the outbreak of the July 7th Incident [2]2 The July 7th Incident (1937), also known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, marked the full-scale outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War., effectively pinning down the Japanese invading forces in China, altering the balance of forces in the War of Resistance, and laying a solid foundation for the final victory of the War of Resistance.

综上所述，日方档案资料再现了中国共产党在抗日战争中的重要角色，有力印证了中国共产党是抗日战争的中流砥柱。九一八事变后，中国共产党立即组织抵抗，成为抗击日本侵略的重要力量；倡导建立抗日民族统一战线，实现国共合作；领导敌后抗战，建立19块抗日根据地，成为抗日战争的重要阵地，为抗战提供了坚实的后方支持；填充七七事变爆发后华北地区的抗日“真空”地带，有效牵制了侵华日军，改变了抗日战争的力量对比，为抗日战争的最终胜利奠定了坚实基础。

(Author: Wu Xiangping, chief expert of the National Social Science Fund’s Chinese Academy of History major historical research project “Compilation and Study of Japanese Archives on the CPC’s War of Resistance”, Professor at Soochow University)

（作者：武向平，系国家社科基金中国历史研究院重大历史问题研究专项“中共抗战日藏档案资料整理与研究”首席专家、苏州大学教授）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心