Dearest Basil,
If you find something noble in dying for a lost cause then you have more in common with the members of the IJA than you seem to realise.
I don't need to ask the Chinese about Nanjing. I lived there for ten months in 2004 and heard the stories first hand.
I've neither the time nor inclination to educate you on Japanese culture in the early-to-mid 20th century, but before you set off on rants which do you little credit you may care to educate yourself about this subject in greater detail. Understanding a culture does not equate to approval of its actions, but it does offer insight into why events occur, and once you understand the 'why's' life becomes a little less black and white.
In the context of this thread there are those who have suggested precisely this; that actions are based on circumstance, and that circumstance can create approval for actions which would, in other situations, be abhorrent.
I have a considerable personal dislike of Japanese culture. My dislike is based on an understanding of Japanese society, yet this understanding permits me to place atrocities such as Nanjing into a context where individual actions, though reprehensible by my standards, fall within the parameters of the culture of the perpetrators.
Does that make sense to you? Probably not. I'm guessing you're a black and white soul. Shades of grey are an anathema to you.
Ho hum.