Japanese Involvement in the War

Modern Asia

Japanese Involvement in the War

War changes people's lives; it changes the way people act, the way they think, and what they believe in. The people of Japan hold tradition and honor above everything else, this is something that did not change throughout the war. Though the world is changing right before the Japanese peoples' eyes, they keep honor and tradition locked into their minds as well as their hearts. Frank Gibney's statement, "There is no question that the Japanese people had participated wholeheartedly in the war effort." is partly true as well as not. True in the sense that the Japanese did do certain things that may be counted as participating in the war, yet these acts were not done wholeheartedly.

The people of Japan believe the Emperor is a descendant of the Sun-Goddess. They believe this with all their heart and will protect this belief till their death; this is the main reason that so many men died for Japan. At one perspective you can say that the people of Japan have been brainwashed since they were young. Therefore, grew up to believe this and fought for the Emperor and Japan. If one believes this, why is it that Americans sing the national anthem before every sports event? Another question that I have is why we say the Pledge of Allegiance when we're in elementary school. Not one of the kids that say it day-to-day is actually paying attention to the real meaning or comprehending what they are reciting, they are going along with it. This is an example that shows the Japanese did participate in the war yet not wholeheartedly. They did not know the real meaning of war, nor did they comprehend it, they just went along with it.

The Japanese government used police forces in order to keep anyone from speaking out about the war; this keeps the citizens optimistic about the war and helps their nationalistic pride. Japan, who was once a rising power in the world had its citizens proud to be Japanese. This national pride only led to their downfall because they could only see the positive side of the war. Even in today's world, you will find many Japanese people who are proud to be Japanese because of the pride that all of the citizens possess. This could possibly be traced back to the censorship that the government imposed on its people. No one could speak out and appose