current Intelligence study number 31
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Research and5
JAPAN'S "SECRET" WEAPON: SUICIDE
Japanese military leaders,uperior and aggressive enemy, increasingly have exploited the Japanese soldiers capacity for suicideasic defensive weapon. The Japanese soldier has been carefully conditioned toward death through being taught that the warrior's greatest glory is death in battle for Japan. This Indoctrination,with the psychological tensions of battle, fear of torture ifby the enemy, and moral pressure from his group, enables him touicidal defense or to carry out ordersuicidal attack. Japanese Army tradition has always demanded that imperial troops in hopeless situations commit hara-kiri oreath-inviting banzai charge. The High Command now has consciously expanded thisconcept to encompass the employment of suicide tacticstandard military device. The Japanese soldier has accepted missions in suicide assault and antitank units, suicide boats, and suicide aircraft. Most recently, Japanese propagandists have been trying to develop this theme one step further by insistinguicidal defense to the last man would meet Allied forces daring to invade the home islands.
The Japanese cultural pattern Immensely facilitates theof suicideoung man's education is rigidly controlled by the state and by tradition. He cannot freely develop his ownand the choices he can make In life are limited. Although he may be highly emotional, melodramatic, and sentimental, he Is taught to restrain his emotion to the point of appearing impassive. He islargely by the group code. The main tenets of the Japanese code are loyalty, to the fatherland and to the family, and filial piety. The young man commonly regards life as resignation to Fate andath which Fate has decreed. Duty is frequently Interpreted as submission to Fate and endurance of the suffering which mayIt. Calculated spiritual training from earliest childhoodthe youth to accept tbe necessity of death itself. Japanese religion, with its emphasis on ancestor worship, stresses the continuity of national and family life and the relative insignificance of thelife.
The Bushldo indoctrination given the young warrior at school and on the parade ground, far from battle, only serves to particularize his early training. He learns that he is expected to suffer in pursuit of his profession, and to bear physical hardship and torture without flinching. He Is told: "The way of the warrior is tond "Die in battleortresse is taught to bid farewell to life in his native land when he embarks on foreign service and to believe that he will
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return onlyupernatural reunion with his ancestors. He isa future lifeprotecting deity of Japan" and enshrinement at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo along with the spirits of all who die for the Emperor. He is exhorted by his War Minister to "defend to the last our Imperial land In which his Imperial Majesty the Emperor reigns and the souls of the Imperial forefathers are enshrined. Never fall to exert your all to beat back the invading enemy, and even after death defend the Imperial land with your souls."
Along with being taught not to fear death, the younglearned that hara-kiri traditionally has been the onlyin peace or war for the responsible person who has metwhether or not lt is the result of his personal actions.is reinforced when hearrior. According toat the Tokyo Army War College, "The principle ofone's responsibility, and of immediately resolving onone Is leftelpless position in battle, contains the truesignificance of combat, which is removed from rational
The young warrior receives instruction in specific methods of hara-kiri. The Japanese believe that the spirit resides in the belly, and that an incision there frees the spirit for Its journey to the Yasukuni Shrine. Originally hara-kiri was accomplished by means of the sword of theodern form is the holdingand grenade against the body, with the useistol or rifle an acceptable alternative.
As recent campaigns neared their end, individual and mass suicides of this type have multiplied. Onivision Commander told his troops, "We were going to be the breakwater of the Pacific; unfortunately we fought to our end;ant you men to followThey retired to the hills, where all physically capable officers and enlisted men committed suicide. Commanding officers of field hospitals are reported on many occasions to have issued orders that all patients be killed to avoid capture by the enemy. Slightly Incapacitated cases would be given hand grenades, while the badly wounded were killed by injections.
In the Marianas and on Okinawa, hundreds of Japanese wereto have killed themselves by jumping oft* the cliffs Into the sea. American forces often found the bodies of high Japanese officers in caves behind the lines where they had committed hara-kiri. Banzai suicide charges, another manifestation of the suicide indoctrination, have become commonplace in the Pacific War. Frequently, drunken Japanese soldiers have charged heavily fortified enemy positions armed only with bamboo spears or swords. Those who are not killed by the enemy kill themselves, ending all major resistance to an American advance.
Soldiers' diaries and letters refer repeatedly to the necessity and desirability of deathopeless battleounguicide mission at Morotai wrote his father, "Even If I
were killed, there will be no satisfaction which Would surpass this,ee)hall distinguish myself by killing many Yanks and will destroy myself at theo nothall ever set foot on the soil of my country again. If you want to see me, come to the
Yasukuni Shrine. We shall meet Another soldier wrote
in his diary on his last night, "My heart is filled with Joy because 1the guardian spirit of my
The factor of shock-Induced hysteria, added to this well-inculcated attitude of "death Is lighterccasionally leads soldiers to kill themselves during battle when capture Is not Imminent and escape possible, or when they could still putood fight if they chose. In such cases the Indoctrination for death has done Its work too well, paralyzing the reasoning faculty, and substituting self-destruction as an automatic response to circumstances which would normally call for strenuous action.utile suicide charge may be launched when an effective fighting potential still exists. As American forcesonecond lieutenant, in direct violation of orders toolding action, ordered his platoon to charge forward lo "gloriousheir speedy elimination enabled the American forces tonorthward much more rapidly than had been anticipated.
This tendency toward premature suicide is apparently causing the Japanese High Command to consider whether the Japanese soldier's carefully cultivated attitude toward death Isilitary liability when Japanese troops are faced by superior Allied forces. In several instances, high Japanese officers have pointed out that, although theresimilarity between fighting to the end and desperatethe spiritual Interpretation of the two is diametricallynd that what counts Is not death butnattauon commander declared, "It Is regrettable that suicides and desertions haveetainers of the Empire must not destroy themselves because of personal matters. No compassion can be felt for one who commits suicide or deserts. Not only his personal honor, but the honor of his relatives and home town arefficers on Luzon preached the necessity of "living for thend one battalion commander told his troops that "Japanivine land; we will surely win the final victory. Live to the last and win through."
Currently, therefore, greater stress is being laid on making the death of an Individualilitary purpose, and in organized offensive and defensive tactics military leaders are increasingly taking advantage of the fact that the Japanese soldierow value on
his life.
Forompany commander on Luzon, faced with asituation, tried tolan that would do the greatest harm to the enemy. The battalion commander had been killed In action, his own company numbered only sixty, and rations were gone. He reasoned:
"It Is easy for the entire personnel to carry out suicide penetration attacks in force and die gloriously, but considering their strength, morale, training, and power of resistance, they will only be targets for enemy fire. To be annihilated without Inflicting any damage on the enemy is veryTo retreat and plan future movements] is unthinkable for the troops of the Imperial Forces who believe in final victory. Therefore we will carry out [another] plan, penetrating the enemy lines and launching attacks at the most suitable times on their rear. We plan to disrupt enemy communications and inflict as much damage on them as possible before we perish
Members of the Japanese High Command claim that from now on Japanese air and naval activity will be based mainly on suicide tactics, and such tactics have already been acceptedegitimate basic part of ground defense. Already such "secret weapons" as suicide assault and antitank units, "human-mine" suicide swimmers, suicide boats, suicide planes, suicide flying bombs, and human-bomb gliders have emerged. These suicide tactics are moreay ofarrior's journey to the yasukuni Shrine. They are planned to exact the maximum toll of Allied forces at the most advantageous times.
Before the battle reaches its final desperate stage, Japanesehave been known to use the so-called KMkomi Tat, or "suicide assaulteans of harassing enemy troops. Men of the suicide assault units not only were supposed tohorough knowledge of the enemy situation and the terrain, but should be "prepared in spirit" so that they might start out with the certainty of victory "in theirimilar groups, called "close-quarter combatere frequently employed in antitank fighting.
"Human-mine" suicide swimmers have been used in recentto destroy landing craft, transports, and cargo ships. These men, generally organized in platoon strength, swtm under water in the direction of an approaching landing craft and then surface,renade. Or they swim toward the landing craft, pushing antiboat mines until they explode in contact with the oncoming craft. The attack ls generally made in the dark or when visibility is poor. In one suchmall bamboo raft was used to transport demolitions. Other swimmers are reported to have had explosive charges strapped on their backs while some carried grenades, booby traps, and smallcharges.
Many small depth-charge suicide boats intended for large-scale use In smashing Allied landing and supply operations In the Pacific were discovered in the Philippines and In the Ryukyu Islands. Moref the boats and tons of explosives were captured in caves near the beaches in the Kerama Islands before the Japanese could use them. The boats, Intended for attacking Allied convoyseach landing area, were to be manned by units composedoung men with special physical, educational, and character qualifications.
These small speedboats, capable ofnots, were designed forby one man and carried two depth charges. Attacking In groups of three they were supposed to glide alongside the invasion ship and drop depth charges set for rapid detonation at vital pointa. The attacking boats, unable to escape before the blast, were sure to be blown up with their victims
The suicide planes and piloted bombs are the most glamorous of the suicide weapons yet devised. Implementation of the Idea of self-immolationrash ol flame on the deck of an enemy battleship for the undying glory of self and Emperor resultserious threat to Allied surface operations. Despite the serious attrition of Japanese aircraft and pilots, the threat is likely to continue.
Japanese suicide air tactics have been improved and refined since their first appearancearge-scale during the Leyte operation innd attacks by Japanese suicide aircraft against Allied shipping have increased sharply in the last few months. Early attacks were probably somewhat Improvised, with the flyers spurred on by propaganda stressing the stern necessity of stopping Allied military progress The Japanese High Command now appears determined to exploit these unorthodox tactics to the utmost and has taken steps to improve tbe training, planning, and accomplishment of suicide air missions. The alleged successes of these missions, the Japanese declare, "must boreat victory of spiritual forces over the enemy's material power."
The suicide pilots (called Kamikaze by Japanese propagandists in reference to the "Divine Wind" which according to Japanese legend frustrated an invasion of Japan by Kubla Khanre said to personify the "spiritual forces" allegedly peculiar to Japan.ilot may belongSpecial Attack Unit" In the Japanese Army Air" Force, undergoing Intensive training at designated airfields and'spiritual indoctrination and instruction in formation Hying, radar evasion, and diving techniques. After Impressive ritesattalion shrine, lectures on soul purification, and some practical instruction on how tohip's deckuilding, the Kamikaze pilot is sent to his post. His planeingle- or twin-engine bomber loaded with explosives. For his first and last mission, heurial gown, then says his final prayer to the divine spirit of the Emperor and his Imperial forebears. No deviation from duty Is possible, for the pilot's ancestors, his family, and his name would be forever disgraced. Attacking In steep high-altitude dives or low along the water, these Kamikaze pilots have Inflicted considerable damage on Allied shipping.
At Okinawa the Japanese introduced another suicide device, the Baka piloted flying bomb. An efficient, cheap, and potentiallyweapon. Itiniature rocket planeeet longpound explosive warhead as the nose,ockpit, big enough to hold one Japanese pilot It is launched in the airwin-engine bomber
igh altitudeoiles from its target. There is no provision for landing.
Japanese propagandists have contrasted the Japanese attitudedeath, which facilitates last-ditch resistance, with the European and American concept, which precludes such exploitation of suicide tactics. Germany was defeated, they alleged, because of theof the German armies to continue to fight "to the last man" and their preference for surrender after the collapseontinuous front.
"This phenomenon may be explained only by some fundamental difference between the oriental and occidental philosophy on death and honor. For in this war of Greater East Asia alone we have known many instances in which our officers and men have literally fought to the lasthe European war situation even in Its final phase would have been quite different, if the enemy had had toroops who re-enacted the heroic stand put up by our garrisons on iwo, Sal pan, Attn, and other Pacificapanese troops have no taste
hing called capitulation ormember ls only too
ready to fight to the
Moat recently the Japanese, In an effort to stimulate home front morale and also to frighten the Alliesevision of the unconditional surrender formula, have beenast-ditch civilian resistance in the home Islands. Addressingh Extraordinary Session of the Imperial Diet inremier Suzuki declared: "Judging from the trends within enemy countries and considering the developments in the Internationalannot help feel strongly that the only way for us to do ls to fight to thether Japanese spokesmen have described "the natural aptitude of the Japanese to die to the lastnd have pictured "an entire nation armed physically and spiritually
to stamp out any attempt to defile Japan's sacredThe national
song of the Civilian Volunteer Corps promised, "Our orders haveand of Japan: To death we fight, to our lastf earned out, these threats would exploit to the final limit the Japanese capacity for suicide.
However, such expressions of determination appear to be amaneuver ratherealistic appraisal of the situation ahead-Japanese success in exploiting suicideilitary device docs not mean that national suicide ls inevitable. The Japanese soldier's willingness to sacrifice his individual life in his country's Interest is based in part on his strong feeling of the continuity of Japan's national life.of the current propaganda, should the continued existence of Japanation be threatened by the possibility of anything approaching the total extinction of its population, many Japanese soldiers and civilians might well come to prefer surrender to death.
Original document.
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