World War II: Japanese and American Military Perspectives

Japanese Imperial Viewpoint

  • Rooted in social Darwinism, prevalent among American scholars.
  • Japanese were portrayed as ape-like, reflecting beliefs of racial inferiority compared to the Anglo-Saxon world.
  • Adopted a similar path to Western imperialists for world domination within this paradigm.

Conflict with Western Imperialism

  • First conflict occurred in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War.
  • Japan defeated a European power, challenging the established world order.
  • Western powers attempted to contain Japanese militarism and expansion.

Washington Naval Conferences (1920s)

  • Established disarmament agreements post-World War I.
  • Arms limitations based on country tiers (A, B, C, D).
    • A & B: United States and Great Britain.
    • C: Minor European powers (France, Italy, Russia).
    • D: Regional powers.
  • Limited shipping tonnage in specific oceans.
  • Japan's stake was significantly less than the US or Britain in the Pacific, their natural area of interest.
    • Japan had one ton of shipping for every seven tons of the US. (17)(\frac{1}{7})
    • Japan had one ton of shipping for every five tons of Britain. (15)(\frac{1}{5})
    • Japan had one ton of shipping for every three tons of France, Italy, or Russia. (13)(\frac{1}{3})
  • This relegation to fourth-power status was perceived as an insult by Japan.

Anti-Imperialism Campaign

  • Post-World War I, Japan portrayed itself as a liberator of non-white Asian colonies.
  • Propaganda depicted Western leaders, like Winston Churchill, as evil oppressors trampling on enslaved people.
  • Promoted the idea of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
  • Used co-prosperity sphere to mask imperialist ambitions.
  • Presented expansion as liberating Asian peoples from Anglo-American oppressors.

Expansion and Ideology

  • World War II in Asia began in 1937 with Japan's full-scale attack on China.
  • Driven by the need for living space and a racial ideology of Japanese superiority.
  • Exploited devotion to the emperor to wage a brutal war, costing over 10 million lives.

Wartime Japan

  • Boys were prepared for soldierhood.
  • Textbooks glorified war and taught the emperor was a deity.
  • Propaganda reinforced beliefs of Japanese superiority and invincibility.
  • Revived images of purity & sincerity, focusing on the emperor.
  • Ideology similar to Nazi master race theories.
  • Slogan: Hakoichu, meaning "eight corners of the world under one roof”, ruled by the emperor.
  • Conquest of China was the first step toward a Japanese empire in Asia.

Rape of Nanking (1937)

  • After capturing Nanjing, Japanese soldiers committed atrocities against Chinese troops and civilians.
  • Japanese student Hirumichi Nagatomi witnessed beheadings and joined in the killings.
  • American missionary John McGee described the Japanese soldiers as savages.
  • Shiro Azuma, a soldier, documented the widespread rape and murder of civilians in his diaries.
    • Nearly 200,000 civilians were killed, and an estimated 20,000 women were raped.
  • Civilians were burned alive.

Conquest of Southeast Asia

  • Japan conquered most of Southeast Asia, brutalizing and enslaving people under the guise of liberation.

Invasion of Nanking

  • Invasion between 1937 and 1938 resulted in the massacre of 300,000 people out of an estimated population of 600,000 in a single month.
  • 70,000 Chinese women were forced into sex slavery as "comfort women".
  • Images of the massacre were circulated worldwide.

American Military View

  • Shaped by the perception of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
  • Condemned as a sneak attack on a Sunday during peacetime.
  • Attack occurred without a formal declaration of war, violating rules of warfare according to Clausewitz.

Pearl Harbor

  • Japanese meant to declare war before the attack, but the declaration arrived late due to time zone differences.
  • American military saw it as worse than a sneak attack because it occurred on a Sunday morning.
  • Attack shattered the myth of Fortress America, the belief that the US was safe due to its surrounding oceans.

Social Darwinist Beliefs of Americans

  • Americans didn't believe they could be attacked across the oceans, particularly by the Japanese, who were seen as inferior.
  • Resulted in outrage and a determination to wage a war without mercy against a treacherous foe.

Battle of Okinawa (April-June 1945)

  • First attack on Japanese territory in the Pacific.
  • High casualty rates influenced American military thinking about invading Japan.
  • US suffered 7,600 deaths and 36,000 wounded in a short time.
  • Widespread use of kamikaze tactics by the Japanese.

War on the Japanese Home Front

  • Military controlled press, not revealing the truth about the war.
  • Fuel and food dwindled, and children were sent to work in factories.
  • Slogans like "a hundred million hearts beating as one" called for sacrifices.
  • Japanese were told Americans were individualistic and decadent.
  • Propaganda portrayed Americans and British as devils and beasts.

Losses and Annihilation

  • From 1944 onward Japan started losing battles and was being pushed back by US forces.
  • In June 1944, American forces invaded Saipan, only 1,500 miles from Tokyo.
  • Japanese troops refused to surrender and were annihilated.
  • Civilians were also ordered to commit suicide rather than surrender after being told they would be killed or brutalized by Americans.

Japanese Military Leadership

  • By summer 1944, Japanese leaders knew they could not win.
  • Government called for a fight to the bitter end, using the term gyokusai, meaning "shattering of a jewel."
  • Exploited the idea of sacrifice for the emperor, turning suicide into a military strategy.

Kamikaze Tactics

  • In October 1944, the Imperial Navy formed the first Kamikaze unit.
  • Young pilots flew one-way missions to their deaths.

Desperation and Casualties

  • By April 1945, the war was on Japan's doorstep in Okinawa.
  • 1,900 kamikaze missions were unleashed.
  • 15-year-old students were used as human landmines in Okinawa.

Okinawa Civilians

  • Civilians hid in caves, fearing American soldiers.
  • They were told Americans would kill and mutilate them.
  • Despite these fears, some civilians were treated kindly by American soldiers.

Disastrous Defeat and Mobilization

  • Japan suffered a major defeat at Okinawa.
  • High command planned an all-out mobilization, using the entire civilian population to defend against invasion on the beaches.

Anticipated Casualties

  • War Department estimated that a final assault would take 1-3 years.
  • Estimates include one million American deaths and three million wounded.

American Concerns

  • Americans were unwilling to sustain further sacrifices after Germany's defeat.
  • The Pacific War was secondary news compared to the European theater.
  • There was concern Americans wouldn't support another 3 years of war.

Context for the Atomic Bomb Decision

  • American military viewed Japanese as aggressively expanding, using liberation as a cover for oppression.
  • Americans believed Japanese were treacherous and would fight to the bitter end.
  • Estimates from Okinawa influenced decisions on the use of the atomic bomb.

The Decision

  • Considered whether to wipe out a city or risk millions of American casualties during the invasion.
  • Weighed the use of the atomic bomb against civilian targets in violation of accepted warfare rules versus the potential loss of American lives.
  • Assumed the Japanese would continue fighting relentlessly, making it better to kill civilians than risk American lives.