Japanese Attitudes Toward Prisoners of War: Feudal Resurgence in Kokutai No Hongi Page: 3
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3
to the Judeo-Christian ethic, which is characteristic of
Western thought. Japanese culture developed an ideology
that exhibited some parallels to Nazi philosophy, but that
is where the comparison stops. The impetus of societal
custom and religious obedience exerted far greater impact in
preparing Japan for war than exhortations by an individual
like Hitler. The Japanese never produced a charismatic
dictator who was catalytic in inciting the people, as the
Italians and Germans did. Emperor Hirohito was worshipped
at a distance and with the reverence and solemnity due a
god, but he was not actively involved in politics. The
Japanese people, for instance, never heard his voice until
the end of the war, and even then his surrender speech was a
recording.
Since no particular Japanese leader was responsible for
plunging the nation into an unwinnable war against
numerically and technologically superior opponents, how
could the Japanese people allow themselves to be embroiled
in that conflict? Other underlying circumstances made the
Japanese people gladly sacrifice their lives while in the
service to the emperor. These motives are found in the
Japanese national culture. On the dark side of this
national culture one discovers, moreover, the reasons why
the Japanese inflicted unparalleled brutality and cruelty
upon their captives with virtually no sense of remorse.
Memoirs, official documents, and eyewitness accounts record
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Jones, Waller F. (Waller Finley). Japanese Attitudes Toward Prisoners of War: Feudal Resurgence in Kokutai No Hongi, thesis, December 1990; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc504570/m1/6/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .