In 1937, the Japanese newspaper Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun covered a contest between two Japanese officers, Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda, vying each other to be the first to kill 100 Chinese with their swords, en route to Nanking. Both officers surpassed their goal, making it impossible to determine which officer had actually won the contest. Therefore, they decided to begin another contest, aiming to kill 150.