The government of Jiangsu province in East China denied cutting off contact with Aichi Prefecture in Japan, dismissing reports from several Japanese media, Xinhua Daily reported.

Many intellectuals and officials in Japan, including the head of Aichi Prefecture, expressed their opposition after the mayor of Nagoya, the capital city of Aichi Prefecture, said the Nanjing Massacre "probably never happened."

A spokesman from Jiangsu’s foreign affairs office expressed support for Nanjing, the provincial capital, on its decision to suspend official exchanges with Nagoya.

Nagoya established a sister-city relationship with Nanjing in December 1978.