Negative Propaganda and the Effects On Our Society…

Besides Pearl Harbor, why was there anti- Japanese sentiment? (Americans thought that the Japanese did Not have intentions of declaring war… A European Tradition….) The Sino-Japanese war also fueled disdain for Japanese people… “The Rape of Nanking”- Japanese soldiers had a contest to see who could behead more Chinese first… A running tally was kept in the Japanese newspapers… Ironically, American soldiers themselves later in the war would collect skulls, ears, gold fillings, etc. as souvenirs… The May 22, 1944 TIME Magazine showed a woman on the cover with a souvenir skull…

Bushi = Warrior Bushido - Frugality - Save Face (escape shame) - A good samurai does not seek profit -Family = Honor -A warrior must maintain self-control in danger. -You had to be willing to wake up and die to serve… “When you wake up in the morning, consider yourself dead, then nothing will sway you…”

Hara-Kiri or Seppuku - A Ritual Suicide that is long and painful… to show that pain and death are not a problem… Why Choose Suicide? -To prevent execution -To avoid capture -To prevent against abuse *These concepts will lead to Kamikaze suicide runs where Japanese planes would fly into Allied targets; killing themselves and causing a lot of damage and death… *Saipan Cliff - Japanese women and children jumped over the edge of the cliff to avoid capture by American troops… They had been told that the U.S. would kill them and eat them…