While few people deny that the massacre occurred, there is a vast disparity between estimations of the number of people killed in it. Historians have used different time frames, locations and parameters to determine the death toll. Japanese historians have generally placed the death toll as low as 40,000. However, the Chinese maintain that 300,000 or more people were killed in the massacres. Most historians now believe the actual death toll is anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 but it is difficult to know for certain (Tomio). But regardless of the exact number, significant crimes and atrocities were undeniably committed against the Chinese populace of Nanking.