Hata's general ideological leanings have been described in a variety of manners. Some sources have referred to him as being a right-leaning scholar, such as Thomas U. Berger who has called him, "a highly respected conservative Japanese historian". Others, however, find characterizing Hata in these terms to be inaccurate, such as military historian Masahiro Yamamoto who notes that in the historical debate on the Nanking Massacre Hata was a centrist who actually leaned closer to the "traditionalist" scholars than the conservative "revisionists". Takao Yamada likewise points out that Hata has criticized all sides in historical controversies and he argues that Hata can be better described as a "positivist".