JAPANESE WAR EFFORTS
Japan begins to aggressively wage war in the Pacific in an effort to control Asia for the Axis Powers.
Nanking Massacre
December 13th, 1937
"Entire families were massacred, and even the elderly and infants were targeted for execution, while tens of thousands of women were raped."- History.com
Kamikaze Pilots
武士道 (Bushidō "The way of the warrior")
Honor, (Bushidō "The way of the warrior") goes back thousands of years in Japan's history to the time of the Samurai.
The Kamikaze pilots operated suicide attacks by military aviators. "Your life is as light as a feather," Hirohito told his people, "but your loyalty is as heavy as a mountain." His people looked up to him blindly as their Emperor. An example of this can be seen by the Kamikaze Pilots who were willing to die for him and for their honor as Japanese.
A "literal sense of loyalty would lead to a type of direct of imperial rule"--Peter Wetzler Hirohito and War
Baatan Death March
"I saw two things I will never forget. A Filipino man had been beheaded. His body lay on the ground with blood everywhere. His head was a short distance away. Also, there was a dead Filipino woman with her legs spread apart and her dress pulled up over her. She obviously had been raped and there was a bamboo stake in her private area. These are instances I would like to forget"- An unnamed Survivor
The Japanese war effort in the Pacific was horrifying to those that survived the massacres and marches. Even more nightmarish was the Japanese capacity for inhumane treatment in times of war. This raised the issue of war atrocities and criminal actions committed by the Japanese in the name of victory. Hirohito's role as Emperor of Japan was limited at best, and more than likely he was unaware of what his Generals were ordering their troops to do within the ranks of the Japanese military.
The Japanese war effort in the Pacific was horrifying to those that survived the massacres and marches. Even more nightmarish was the Japanese capacity for inhumane treatment in times of war. This raised the issue of war atrocities and criminal actions committed by the Japanese in the name of victory. Hirohito's role as Emperor of Japan was limited at best, and more than likely he was unaware of what his Generals were ordering their troops to do within the ranks of the Japanese military.
"Emperor Hirohito never claimed he was totally ignorant of what the Army and Navy were doing. Rather, he said he was only informed of military plans in formal plans in a formal, general way; opposition to the military was impossible."-Peter Wetzler Hirohito and War and Miltary decision Making in Prewar Japan