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Lucy Qu

Ms. Turner

Period 2

11/1/15
Japanese Propaganda During the Pacific War

Japans conflicts with other nations during World War II started as a result of wanting to
expand in East Asia. It began with the invasion of Manchuria which led to brutal attacks on
China, known as the Rape of Nanking.1 Japanese aggression caused anti-Japanese sentiments in
both China and the United States. In order to curb Japanese aggression, President Roosevelt
placed an embargo on weapons, oil, and steel for Japan.2 This caused Japan to try to displace the
United States as the dominant Pacific power by launching a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor,
which then brought the United States into the war.3 Throughout the course of the war, Japan used
propaganda in art, education, and in the military. The propaganda influenced Japanese peoples
beliefs and attitudes towards the war by encouraging the idea of nationalism.
During World War II, Japanese art shifted and focused on the efforts of the war. This
included having propaganda posters that targeted the enemy. For example, in the poster titled
Grieving Statue of Liberty, President Roosevelt, who is portrayed as a monstrous figure, sits
on top of the Statue of Liberty and waives the banner of democracy while holding the stick of
dictatorship.4 This poster is trying to show the people of Japan that America is led by a dictator
and is not the democracy it claims to be. There is also a Navy sailor hanging from the crown of
the statue with a lady, which goes on to portray that the U.S. military is not unified in protecting
its country. Furthermore, the sullen face of the statue shows the state that the United States is in
and that it is not as strong as it seems.5 This image shows the weakness of the United States and
1

Carter V Findley and John Alexander Murray Rothney, "World War II: The Final Crisis of European Global
Dominance," in Twentieth-Century World, 7th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011), 217.
2
Ibid., 218.
3
Ibid.
4
Anthony Navarro, "Propaganda of Japan and the U.S. During WW II," Michigan State University, accessed
October 31, 2015. https://www.msu.edu/~navarro6/srop.html.
5
Ibid.

encourages people to believe that the U.S. is an enemy Japan could defeat. On the other hand,
Japan is depicted as a strong nation. In another propaganda poster, there is a sun representing
Japan that is blowing away the Allied forces, which would help bring light to the world.6 There
are three figures, representing the United States, Britain, and China, and the clog represents the
Dutch.7 The crowns above the figures heads are being blown away, indicating that these
countries are losing their wealth and opulence. Ultimately, the purpose of many propaganda
posters was to instill the idea that Japan was strong enough to defeat the enemy and claim glory.
There was also propaganda used in education in order to teach children about patriotism
and how they should feel towards their own country and towards their enemies. This also meant
thinking of Japan as the greatest country and despising other nations. A Japanese soldier, who
was interviewed for the book Evil Men recounted the impact of his schooling: We called
Chinese people dirty chinksmade fun of them. We called Russians Russkie pigs. We called
Westerners hairy barbarians.8 Because of this ideology of loyalty and patriotism, Japanese
children grew up thinking that Japan was superior to other nations, and they carried that way of
thinking into the military, where they were willing to kill other people in order to help Japan as a
nation. The Ministry of Education also issued an ideology manifesto called Shinmin no Michi
(The Way of the Subject) to emphasize importance of being loyal to the Emperor, who is regarded
as divine, and thus, the importance of maintaining the Imperial Throne.9 It justified Japans
attacks in China by stating, The China Affair is a step toward the construction of a world of
moral principles by Japan. The building up of a new order for securing lasting world peace will
be attained by the completion of the China Affair as a stepping stone.10 Because the key duty of

Ibid.
Ibid.
8
Shinmin no Michi (Japan: Kobundo, 1941) http://www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/H381WaySubjects.html.
9
SGM Herbert Friedman, "Japanese Psyop During WWII," Psyop Psyops Psywar Psychological Operations
Psychological Warfare, accessed October 31, 2015, http://www.psywarrior.com/JapanPSYOPWW2.html.
10
Shinmin no Michi
7

Japanese people was to serve the Emperor, they felt that they were justified in their attacks in
China because they thought it would it further help to maintain the Imperial Throne and secure
lasting world peace. The manifesto showed that Japan would be able to create peace because
they had the divine purpose of defeating the enemy and strengthening the Empire.
Even in the military, there was propaganda to ensure that the soldiers knew they were
fighting in order to improve Japan as a nation. Kore dake Yomeba Ware wa Kateru (Read this
Alone and the War Can Be Won) was a 70-page booklet written by Colonel Tsuji Masanobu and
his intelligence unit and was handed out to soldiers before they went into battle.11 It told Japanese
soldiers that the Westerners were the enemies because they subjugated native people and reaped
their riches.12 It states in the booklet: The wire-pullers giving aid to Chiang Kai-shek and
moving him to make war on Japan are the British and the Americans. their great hope is for
the destruction of the Asian peoples13 By stating that the Westerners are trying to dominate
and rid of Asian people, it encouraged Japanese people to believe that it is then Japans duty to
free Asians from colonization. Colonel Tsuji Masanobu also wrote in the booklet: Already
Japan has rescued Manchuria from the ambitions of the Soviets.14 He makes Japan seem like
the savior of the Asian countries, saying that it saved Manchuria from the Soviets. However,
Japan did not rescue Manchuria. Instead, it invaded Manchuria and made it a puppet state of
Japan.15 This type of propaganda used false statements in order to make people feel like they
were fighting for a great cause and creating peace when in reality that was only half true.
Japan used propaganda in different parts of society in order to spread their message to as
many Japanese citizens as possible. They used propaganda posters to influence civilians. There
was propaganda in the education system to instill the idea of nationalism and patriotism to
11

"Japanese Psyop During WWII"


Ibid.
13
Tsuji Masanobu, Kore dake Yomeba Ware wa Kateru [Read This and the War is Won], Tokyo: Daihonei
Rikugunbu, http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/readthis.html.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
12

children at a very young age. There was propaganda in the military to make sure that soldiers
knew they were fighting for a cause. Through this nationalistic ideology, Japan was able to
justify many of its actions in the war because they convinced citizens of Japan that its only goal
was to strengthen Japan as a nation and therefore improve the lives of its citizens.

Bibliography
Findley, Carter V., and John Alexander Murray Rothney. "World War II: The Final Crisis of
European Global Dominance." In Twentieth-Century World. 7th ed. Boston: Wadsworth
Cengage Learning, 2011.
Friedman, SGM Herbert. "Japanese Psyop During WWII." Psyop Psyops Psywar Psychological
Operations Psychological Warfare. Accessed October 31, 2015.
http://www.psywarrior.com/JapanPSYOPWW2.html.

Hung, Chang-tai. War and Popular Culture: Resistance in Modern China, 1937-1945. Berkeley:
University of California Press, c1994 1994. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft829008m5/
Masanobu, Tsuji. Kore dake Yomeba Ware wa Kateru [Read This and the War is Won]. Tokyo:
Daihonei Rikugunbu. http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/readthis.html.
Navarro, Anthony. "Propaganda of Japan and the U.S. During WW II." Michigan State
University. Accessed October 31, 2015. https://www.msu.edu/~navarro6/srop.html.
Shinmin no Michi. Japan: Kobundo, 1941.
http://www.willamette.edu/~rloftus/H381WaySubjects.html.

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