Imperial Japanese Army Awareness Committee

I've just recently started the "Imperial Japanese Army Awareness
Committee" (IJAAC), and only VERY recently put up a yahoo! group
version of it sometime soon also:
Featured Content on Myspace
Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos


The Japanese part in WWII doesn't get enough attention in WWII in my
opinion has never gotten enough attention other than mainland asia,
which is a shame for two reasons.

1. Ignored Holocaust in the East. 8.4 Million innocent Chinese men,
women, and children murdered (often raped). Korean women forced into
prostitution, Nanking Massacre, etc.

2. Lack of understanding of the average Japanese soldier, who was
complex, and often times despite common thought, as innocent as
anyone else who grew up during the Great Depression. Learning how
this is so however, often requires some real understanding though of
the Japanese Army and how it carried itself. The Japanese soldier
was NOT a subconscience fanatic as sometimes portrayed, but a human
being whom, as with all human beings, needs understanding.

It is difficult to analyze the Japanese soldier, but I'd like to end
this post with a quote from Yutaka Mio, who served as a Japanese
Army MP under commands from Unit 731, the most infamous of many
Japanese concentration camps (which there's more information about
on the group):
"It is so important to face the awful things and vow to work for
peace."

Featured Content on Myspace
Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos

反日教

There have already been numerous well-funded offline anti-Japan organizations in English-speaking world particularly in North America, like the ones listed here: Link

They have been influential in most major cities among teachers and local politicians, not mention the ethnic communities. It seems that they were quite successful during the Clinton era.

Their goal is to apply the divide-and-conquer tactics on the US-Japan alliance which is a threat to them, mainly by converting naïve ethnic Chinese youths to hatemongers in the name of "patriotism" (read: Sinocentrism) against their nationalities, against the nations they are expected to be loyal to.

It is a cult religion by team innocent victim, feeding holy exaltation experiences of matyrdom.

This is not an "Anti-Japanese" group, in fact while it gives proven facts of the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers, the other BIG half of the focus is towards the average Japanese soldier and how he was as innocent as anyone else who grew up during the "Great Depression".
While I live in the U.S., which has an unfortunate embrace for "patriotism" aka nationalism as it is known in its actual, pure, non-glorified form, this is not about some kind of nationalistic, racial prejudice. Rather about educating Americans against that said problem, against the unfortunately atypical view of all the Japanese of that time as subconscience fanatics (because they were not).

The group does discuss DOCUMENTED atrocities such as the camps all over mainland Asia like Unit 731. The group also shows the compassion and anti-war sentiments of many Japanese during the time that have not gotten enough attention, largely because the oppressive government tried to suppress such anti-war feelings through the Tokkou keisatu, 窶愿≫?｢ﾃ環坂?壺?懌┐ﾅ遅ﾅｽ@, which is commonly, though actually incorrectly, referred to as the Kempeitai because it was a form of military police.

The Tokkou keisatu, however, were the military police that were actually on par with Germany's "Gestapo" or for that matter with the secret police forces of many extremist governments (Stalin's commissariat is another example, and both Nationalist and Communist China have had them).
Anyways, the group has firsthand accounts from Japanese soldiers like Hiroo Onoda (article coming up soon on the boards, I've read his book), many of whom were a testament to the indomitable human spirit with its unrelenting compassion and determined will to survive.

Most of the Japanese during WWII were, as with many during the war and throughout history (the Russians under Stalin's regime, Germans under Hitler's regime, Chinese under both Chiang Kai-shek's and Mao Tse-Tung, etc.) victims of an oppressive government. I'd tend to say the same about Americans and George W. Bush really, his continual B.S. about terrorism, basically trying to control us with fear, but really that happens because of the ignorance of many Americans (though the education system also can be blamed on the government).

If you truly think that this is an anti-Japanese organization, then I would particularly suggest that you check out some of the articles on the boards (they both have the same articles) to see that you are GRAVELY mistaken. Eventually I will also have up a website for it too.

It is sad that not many people are interested in in-depth topics besides victim stories, such as analysis on the missions without supply plans that led to plunders, as well as discussions on ethnic Korean officers and soldiers in the Imperial army.

Opinion exchanges about key individuals would be good too, like Armageddon believer Kanji Ishihara and incompetent bystander Fumimaro Konoe.
Too bad most of those who claim Japan trying to whitewash the history have not even heard of brutal madman Ren'ya Mutaguchi or shrewd sadist Masanobu Tsuji.

irishlight42 said:

The Tokkou keisatu, however, were the military police that were actually on par with Germany's "Gestapo" or for that matter with the secret police forces of many extremist governments (Stalin's commissariat is another example, and both Nationalist and Communist China have had them).

Click to expand...

Tokko police was not MP. It was under Police Security Department in Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Kempei was MP under Ministry of Army. Its duty included arresting civilian political offenders too, just like Tokko.

Sorry about the double post, GAH!

Yes, Konoe was weak most of the war, and weak in allowing and eventually even promoting the war in China. At the end of the war HOWEVER, he played an important role in coaxing Emperor Hirohito into trying to negotiate an end to the war.

There are many true stories of key Japanese figures during the war, both good and bad. Tsuji Masanobu being another example of a war criminal who escaped prosecution, but far from the only one. The story of Shiro Ishii (head of Unit 731) makes me a bit upset I have to say, because he didn't even need to go into hiding but rather just needed to give the results of his research (which was at the expense of innocent lives) to the U.S. government to gain immunity from all prosecution of war crimes. This goes to show that there are crummy people in every country, because nationality doesn't have to do with it.

Yes, my group is meant to expose victims on both sides of the conflict, also portraying the average Japanese individual who was simply used by an oppressive government. HOWEVER, a new group still, I also plan to raise up heroes (soon will either do a something about Hiroo Onoda or Isoroku Yamamoto; yes, Yamamoto, like Erwin Rommel he was not a political extremist or political at all, but an honorable military man who urged fighting on instead of hara-kiri and a brilliant tactician. If anyone still finds this questionable for whatever reason, then maybe you should try one of the message boards)

I do not hold Japan responsible for whitewashing history, but rather those who write the history books, certain government officials, and not just government officials of Japan but moreover government officials of the United States, as postwar Japan was not handled the way postwar Germany was like it should have been (excluding that Japan was fortunately not divided between communist and capitalist like Germany).

I've just recently started the "Imperial Japanese Army Awareness
Committee" (IJAAC), and only VERY recently put up a yahoo! group
version of it sometime soon also:
Featured Content on Myspace
Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos


The Japanese part in WWII doesn't get enough attention in WWII in my
opinion has never gotten enough attention other than mainland asia,
which is a shame for two reasons.

1. Ignored Holocaust in the East. 8.4 Million innocent Chinese men,
women, and children murdered (often raped). Korean women forced into
prostitution, Nanking Massacre, etc.

2. Lack of understanding of the average Japanese soldier, who was
complex, and often times despite common thought, as innocent as
anyone else who grew up during the Great Depression. Learning how
this is so however, often requires some real understanding though of
the Japanese Army and how it carried itself. The Japanese soldier
was NOT a subconscience fanatic as sometimes portrayed, but a human
being whom, as with all human beings, needs understanding.

It is difficult to analyze the Japanese soldier, but I'd like to end
this post with a quote from Yutaka Mio, who served as a Japanese
Army MP under commands from Unit 731, the most infamous of many
Japanese concentration camps (which there's more information about
on the group):
"It is so important to face the awful things and vow to work for
peace."

Featured Content on Myspace
Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos

This is not an "Anti-Japanese" group, as while it gives proven facts of the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers, the other BIG half of the focus is towards the average Japanese soldier and how he was as innocent as anyone else who grew up during the "Great Depression".
This is rather also about educating people about the unfortunately atypical (and stereotypical) view of all the Japanese of that time as subconscience fanatics (because they were not).

The group does discuss DOCUMENTED atrocities such as the camps all over mainland Asia like Unit 731. The group also shows the compassion and anti-war sentiments of many Japanese, during this time, that have not gotten enough attention, largely because the oppressive government tried to suppress such anti-war feelings through the Kempeitai.

Most of the Japanese during WWII were, as with many during the war and throughout history (the Russians under Stalin's regime, Germans under Hitler's regime, Chinese under both Chiang Kai-shek's and Mao Tse-Tung, etc.) victims of an oppressive government.

If you are instantly assuming that this is an anti-Japanese organization (as one member living Japan did), then I would particularly suggest that you check out some of the articles on the boards (they both have the same articles) to see that you are GRAVELY mistaken. Eventually I will also have up a website for it too, but for now here are the boards once more:
Featured Content on Myspace
Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos

irishlight42 said:

.....Yes, my group is meant to expose victims on both sides of the conflict, also portraying the average Japanese individual who was simply used by an oppressive government. HOWEVER, a new group still, I also plan to raise up heroes (soon will either do a something about Hiroo Onoda or Isoroku Yamamoto; yes, Yamamoto, like Erwin Rommel he was not a political extremist or political at all, but an honorable military man who urged fighting on instead of hara-kiri and a brilliant tactician. If anyone still finds this questionable for whatever reason, then maybe you should try one of the message boards)

Click to expand...

I think I see your point. I also endorse it.

But, since you are a relatively young student of history ( God! I wish there were more .... !) ... I would err you on the side of caution when it comes to matters of discussing, say "Unit 731". Anything that can be seen or read as being apologetic for such a bestial group may blow up in your face!

Just a note of pragmatism.

As for your notes on Yamamoto ... with respect, I feel you are not quite correct.

Yes, I agree that he was an honorable military man. He was also a very personable man, and in my opinion a rather fine human being. I have read his biographies ... I like the guy!

But I feel that it is fairly clear that he was not, deep in his heart, actually in the business of urging fighting on. I would agree that he was gong through the motions; covering his ***, as any wise man would do. I also think that he was intensely patriotic and wished to do his best. But I don't, somehow, feel that "80 Yen" had his heart behind the War Effort.

He quite clearly betrayed this when assessing the probable situation prior to Pearl Harbor, when he voiced his opinion that he could do whatever he wanted "for six months" - but from thereon it would be a crapshoot. He was pragmatic. He was frightened.

He had lived in America. He knew America well. He loved America. But he was a patriotic Japanese ... how would he feel?

irishlight42 said:

I do not hold Japan responsible for whitewashing history, but rather those who write the history books, certain government officials, and not just government officials of Japan but moreover government officials of the United States, as postwar Japan was not handled the way postwar Germany was like it should have been (excluding that Japan was fortunately not divided between communist and capitalist like Germany).

Click to expand...

Everybody whitewashes history to their own ends. Always have. Always do. Always will. Get used to it. Upon graduation, you will find that this is one of the things you must get behind to tell the real story.

In truth - I think that Japan in the postwar years was probably the recipient of better governance than Germany ... but that's just my opinion.

All the very best with your projects - the subjects are dear to my heart. Just keep them unbiased. (Remember, even the Imperial Japanese Navy couldn't stomach the Imperial Japanese Army!)

ﾆ淡ﾆ停?｡ﾆ停?

I agree it has been almost too easy for some chinese and detached westerners to not view the Japanese (or asians in general) as fully human, they see the asian face, the different language, the different culture and they forget to remember that these people are sentient intelligent human beings, who think and feel and dream aswell just like you, though in a society where even seeing your fellow neighbour as human isnt always easy (especially big cities).

Its important to face the war-crimes committed durring world war two, but its also important to not demonise the japanese and especially the soldiers not involved in the crimes, and the civillians of japan who knew it was wrong and wanted it to stop.

After all, for the dresden fire-bombings, the tokyo firebombings, the nuclear bombings, the general murders and killings committed in the name of "freedom" and pounding europe into a crumbling ruin, i know not of a single allied soldier who was punished for war-crimes, despite the fact no one really believes the allied forces were pure as new-born angels.

It was a horrible war, it should have taught everyone to take responsibility for their crimes, while also recognising the humanity and innocence of those not involved in the crimes, unfortunately we still live in a world of "theres us, then theres them" but its not entirely too late to learn from the war.

Atrocities will get attention in the group, but there's a big emphasis on keeping in mind that these were human beings.

Ye, Yamamoto was not perfect, nobody ever is. Moreover though, I'm actually a bit unsure bout whether I'm going to use him, because obviously he's not IJA but rather IJN. Still in all, he's probably the most famous and respected military figure of Japan during the war, and in so many ways would be an excellent person for people to read about. Yamamoto did also, after Midway, adamantly discourage hara-kiri amongst the officers right below him. As the supreme commander of the fleet, if anyone was to commit hara-kiri it was to be him and he was not about to do so (because he could apply that which he learned to the next battle; victory was of greatest importance to honoring Japan), and that's what I meant about his will to fight on.

Part of why, in fact, you see more Japanese committing suicide later in the war, was sort of rather an unwillingness to fight. In Hiroo Onoda's book No Surrender: My Thirty Year War, he makes the point that a lot of soldiers on the island, prior to the invasion, were talking about committing seppukku as soon as the Americans landed, which really didn't get anything accomplished. Onoda was of course specially trained in "secret warfare", or guerrilla warfare, which was why he was actually supposed to stay alive and try to fight on as best, hard, and long as he could. Still, he understandably couldn't see committing suicide before even confronting the enemy as being quite honorable.

As for allied war crimes I know what you guys mean. There was never anything that the allies did however so bad as what the axis powers did, but there were some very wrong things done. Though it took too long, at least eventually the U.S. compensated the Japanese-Americans who were put in internment camps. Unfortunately most (though not all) of the victims of Japanese atrocities never got compensation or apology. I also wonder but mostly doubt that Russia has ever compensated victims of atrocities that it committed.

Anyways, I forgot to post a WFA on my group last night (weekly firsthand account), but will do so today as soon as I get home from school.

quite nice then go on ~