Warning: This blog post contains several disturbing pictures. One of them shows the body of a child.
The Japanese were racist against other Asians and Pacific Islanders, not just Whites …
Apologists for the Imperial Japanese seem to have multiplied in recent years, even in the West. They do have some valid points, including that there was some real racism against the Japanese in the West – including in my home country of the United States. But there was also racism in Japan as well, and not just against the “White Westerners.” They were racist against anyone who was not Japanese – including the Chinese and other fellow Asians and Pacific Islanders, whose countries the Japanese would soon be invading. Some of the Japanese officers interviewed on camera here admit to such racism, as do some of the Western officers fighting against them. Japanese propagandists used the slogans of “Asia for the Asians,” and a “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.” But the truth was far different from these grossly misleading slogans, because they wanted an Asia exclusively for the Japanese. No other Asian groups benefited from Japanese imperialism, as the record shows.
Other Asian groups have protested against portraying the Imperial Japanese as “victims”
Many of these Asian and Pacific Islander groups have thus protested against the portrayal of Imperial Japan as a “victim” nation. For example, there was a book called “The Rape of Nanking” (which I have not read), by the Chinese American author Iris Chang – detailing the crimes committed against the Chinese in that infamous episode (which is covered in this film). It is also true that the United States mistreated Japanese Americans (which this film does not mention), by putting them in the infamous internment camps. But the United States was wrong to suspect their loyalties, because the Japanese Americans were genuinely patriotic to the United States, and were willing to fight heroically for their adopted country. More than anyone else, they were willing to disavow the actions of their country of origin, and distance themselves from its heinous crimes (as well they should have).
A mass grave filled with bodies of Chinese civilians, murdered by Japanese soldiers – Hsuchow, China, 1938
I will here note their omissions, but I will also give praise for what the BBC covered here
But what were those crimes? That is the subject of this documentary. In two episodes, the BBC examines the “Horror in the East.” An alternative title is “Horror in the East: Japan and the Atrocities of World War II.” This is a subject that needs to be talked about today, because some today seem willing to sweep it under the rug. One could argue that this documentary discusses much broader topics than just the Japanese atrocities. For example, they examine why the Japanese wanted to expand in the first place, which is a topic that has been covered elsewhere. Even in “The World at War,” which is usually focused on the European conflict, there were some episodes focused on the war in the East. In some ways, the coverage of “The World at War” is better in this regard. But in other ways, the BBC’s “Horror in the East” may actually be better, since it talks about some other things that “The World at War” does not. Thus, it may be helpful here to examine what the BBC discussed in this film. I will point out some omissions, but I will also give praise for what they managed to cover here – and much praise is indeed due to these filmmakers for covering this oft-neglected topic.
The corpse of a boy about seven years old, who received five bayonet wounds in the abdomen
Episode 1: “Turning Against the West” – examination of Japanese imperialism
The first episode is called “Turning Against the West.” It begins by noting how Japan had been involved (on a limited scale) in World War One, ironically fighting on the side of the British Commonwealth. Thus, they had captured a number of German prisoners of war, and actually treated them fairly well at this time. This is in stark contrast to how they treated Allied prisoners of war in World War Two. They interview some German prisoners who say positive things about their experiences, and who went home to portray the Japanese in a positive light back in Germany. This may have contributed to the eventual alliance between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. They note, in fairness, that there were Western imperial powers in the Asia-Pacific region by that time. The British had Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaya. The French had Indochina, later to be known as Vietnam. The Netherlands had the Dutch East Indies, later to be known as Indonesia. And the Americans had the Philippines, acquired some decades before in the Spanish-American War. Thus, the Japanese wanted a piece of the action, and invaded Manchuria in 1931. At that time, Manchuria was separate from the nation of China. In 1937, Japan also invaded the nation of China itself, and thus started the Second Sino-Japanese War. One could argue that World War Two began here in China in 1937, rather than in Poland in 1939 – the commonly accepted date. (Although there is an argument for the Poland date as well.)
Bodies of victims along the Qinhuai River, during the Nanking Massacre – China, 1937
Japanese atrocities in Nanking and Greater China, and interviews with perpetrators and victims
This first episode talks about the aforementioned “Rape of Nanking,” also known as the Nanking Massacre. They interview people who survived being stabbed at Japanese hands, when the Japanese used them for bayonet practice. They also give quotations testifying to the frequency with which the local women were raped by the Japanese. And to drive the point home, they interview a Chinese woman who was herself raped, and who was willing to speak about it on camera. They also interview a British woman in Hong Kong who suffered the same fate, and who likewise was willing to speak about it on camera. I have a fairly strong stomach, but this was challenging to the stomach even for me. In part, this was because they showed Japanese officers who admitted to participating in the massacres. These Japanese officers testify about how they saw the Chinese as “subhuman” – evidence that their racism extended even to fellow Asians, and not just to the “White Westerners.” In fairness, this film also shows British and Americans testifying that they saw the Japanese as basically “subhuman,” in part because of what they saw as their very-foreign suicidal tendencies.
Japanese bayonet practice against a dead Chinese prisoner near Tianjin
Episode 2: “Death before Surrender” – mutilation, cannibalism, and mass suicides
The second and final episode is called “Death before Surrender.” This is a familiar topic to many World War II buffs. Nonetheless, there are many who are unfamiliar with this topic, so they examine the Japanese mindset that led to these suicides. They talk about how the Japanese culture considered surrender to be “dishonorable,” and how their society urged suicide as an alternative. They note how much the Japanese army encouraged civilian suicides, in places from Saipan to Okinawa. They note how relatively few of the Japanese military personnel were ever willing to surrender during the war. Indeed, they interview survivors of kamikaze actions, who were shunned for their failure to kill themselves in the manner required by their culture. They make the argument that these pilots were actually reluctant to do all of this, and were not “eager” as they were commonly portrayed to be. Many Japanese soldiers just pretended to surrender, only to throw grenades at their would-be captors. Thus, the British and Americans had reason to suspect that the purported Japanese surrender attempts were fake, and understandably took to shooting them instead. In my mind, this actually seems justified, although they mention other actions against the Japanese that were obviously not justified. For example, they mention cutting and prying gold teeth out of the mouths of Japanese corpses, and otherwise mutilating their bodies. But the Japanese also mutilated bodies, and even engaged in cannibalism. They show a declassified Japanese document that forbade all cannibalism, “excepting enemy” – thus authorizing the eating of dead enemy flesh. The Japanese talking heads make the argument that the Japanese were low on food at that time, and thus starving. But I find myself a little skeptical of this argument, since it seems to be unsupported by evidence.
A burial detail of American and Filipino POWs killed during the Bataan Death March, 1942
Crimes against British and Australian prisoners of war, including a death march
This view of surrender as “dishonorable” had unfortunate consequences for their treatment of Allied prisoners of war. For example, they interview a surviving British POW, who testified to the brutal (and routine) beatings in these camps. More than one in four of these inmates died in captivity, due to the abuse from the prison guards. They mention a death march of British and Australian POWs, comparable to the fate of the unfortunate Americans and Filipinos in the Bataan Death March. They do not mention the Bataan Death March here, but they do mention the equivalent crimes against the British Commonwealth prisoners, so it seems to me that the Bataan omission can be excused. In fairness, Japanese atrocities is a rather broad topic, and one can’t be expected to cover all of these atrocities here. There are too many of them to be covered completely in two hours. They also don’t mention the fate of British prisoners in places like Burma, dramatized in the 1957 film “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” But “The World at War” does cover this part, along with the Bataan Death March. What “Horror in the East” does cover here complements the more extensive coverage of “The World at War,” since their chosen incidents are (in turn) not covered in “The World at War” – except for the Rape of Nanking, which is covered in both films. Ken Burns’ “The War” (made for PBS) also covers the Bataan Death March well, since they interview one of the survivors extensively – Glenn Frazier, to be specific. (More about his experiences here.)
An Australian POW captured in New Guinea, about to be beheaded by a Japanese officer with a guntō, 1943
The BBC omits the “comfort women,” but this is still a great introduction to the subject
In my mind, the BBC’s main omission is the so-called “comfort women,” who were forced into prostitution (read: sexual slavery) by the Japanese Army. The majority of them were Koreans, Chinese, and Filipinas, but they also included many others. “The World at War” gives better coverage of this topic, since they interview a Japanese soldier who admitted to using their services. But neither film has any interviews with the so-called “comfort women” themselves. In fairness to the BBC, there may have been relatively few survivors of this unfortunate episode. But this film is a good (albeit depressing) introduction to the Japanese atrocities of World War Two, which are quite numerous and extensive. This film should be watched by any apologist for Imperial Japan, raised with a “politically correct” (but factually incorrect) modern view of the subject. As a nation, the Japanese have been reluctant to acknowledge these atrocities, even though they admit to being the aggressors in World War Two – and fortunately regret this part. They’ve been more open in talking about these things since the 1970s, though, so one still has hope for the future. In fairness, Japan has come a long way since World War Two. But during the war, they were unquestionably the bad guys, and sometimes rivaled their Nazi allies in their brutality. Thus, this documentary will likely remain relevant, and will dramatize a forgotten chapter in twentieth-century history.
Footnote to this blog post:
I link below to a DVD with this program about Japanese atrocities. However, this program is also sold as part of the “BBC History of World War II.” If viewers are interested in these other documentaries, I presume that it’s probably cheaper to get them all at once. But I link to both versions below, so that viewers may be presented with multiple options. Viewers may do as they please.
Also available as part of the “BBC History of World War II”
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