Analyse the policies of the Japanese towards the civilians in East and Southeast Asia between 1937 and 1945, including their implementation and impacts. Evaluate two sources in your answer.

The implementation and impacts of Japanese policies caused tsunamis of shock to flow all around the world, American media reports of the atrocities caused anti-Japanese feelings to develop all over the world.  In China policies were implemented with the policy of “kill all, burn all, destroy all’ to gain control.  This was especially true in Nanking as outlined by ‘The rape of Nanking.’  Here buildings were burnt, women were raped and innocent citizens were murdered in various gruesome ways including ripping the stomachs, digging out the heart, boiling people and beheading victims.  Iritani believes that this occurred due to the incredibly harsh fighting conditions in China which elevated the abnormal psychological state of the soldiers.  Other historians believe that it was done in order to gain control and create a puppet regime in Nanking where Japanese assimilation could begin. In Nanking alone the impact of this policy caused the deaths of approximately 300,000 people in just six weeks. Women were captured and sent to ‘comfort stations’ to act as sex slaves although geisha houses were banned in Japan.  As the war in China became longer and supply lines became inefficient Japanese soldiers began to confiscate crops and other agricultural goods, which led to food shortages and ultimately a failing of the economy.  Manchunko, formerly Manchuria, became the centre of Japanese military and economic power, however the ultimate failure of Japanese economic policies caused the downfall of the Manchurian economy by 1945.  The implementation of policies in Korea was the epitome of the attempt at Japanese civilisation.  The Japanese language was to be used in schools and all were required to attend Shinto services although the population was mostly Buddhist.  Forced labour was implemented to help achieve the aims of the Japanese, usually worked in factories making ammunition for the Japanese.  Forced conscription was enforced and Koreans filled the lowest positions of the Japanese army to “show their patriotism.”  Here too, women were forced to become comfort women. Nationalist movements were suppressed to ensure Japanese control.  The impacts on Korea, apart from the large amounts of deaths that occurred to civilians that opposed the regime was the ultimate division of Korea along the 38th parallel. The USA and USSR government divided Korea for the purpose of accepting the surrender of Japanese troops. It was the harsh Japanese policies and their implementation that caused opposition forces to rise, including the rising of the communist anti-Japanese guerrillas in Dongbei.  The conflict between North and South Korea still continues today, showing the lasting impact of the implementation of Japanese policies. The Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941 brought with it the implementation of Japanese policies including the “three all” policies brought widespread destruction to the Island, especially in Manilla where many civilians were killed.  Although a ‘co-operative government’ was established in 1943, the failure of Japanese economic policies caused such devastation to the Philippines that several hundred million dollars were needed to recover the economy at the end of the war. In French Indo-China rice paddies were converted to jute for the war effort and forced labour was imposed.  In Burma workers were forced to work on the Burma-Thailand railway, conditions were so harsh that 90,000 workers were killed.  These harsh conditions caused the formation of the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League which resisted the weak Japanese installed government. In Malaya and Singapore all Chinese civilians were arrested immediately as they were suspected of supporting Chiang Kai-shek, implementation of the Japanese policy of total control.  The Japanese saw the importance of Singapore as a military base and maintained strict control of it by the Japanese military and secret policy.  Malay workers were also forced to work on the Burma-Thai railway.  The worsening of working conditions and the extremely harsh requisitioning of men and materials caused the eventual rise of opposition including the group led by Lim Bo Seng.  The Dutch East Indies was seen as a ‘jewel’ by the Japanese as it contained oil, and hence the control of this was particularly important.  Assimilation attempts included the forced study of the Japanese language and the forced singing of the Japanese national anthem to show patriotism.   Impacts have included the death of up to four million people and Japanese training of young military men formed the nucleus of the post war independence army. Japanese policies also caused economic hardships. All countries occupied by Japan during the war had similar impacts such the mistreatment and subsequent death of civilians and adverse economic impacts.  All nations also suffered a substantial psychological impacts from the years of harsh oppression, as described by Lai Yeo, who was a comfort woman to the Japanese.  “The impact of Japanese policies did not end with their rule, the emotional scars will be something I will have to bear forever…”

Source Evaluation

Wantanabe Shoichi – claimed that the harsh treatment of Japanese did not occur, the Nanking massacres were fictional

A Japanese nationalist

Doesn’t match other sources

Saburo Inega – Campaigned against the censorship of Japanese textbooks that omitted out the atrocities

Book written to show the Japanese policies the nake realities of the pacific war

More reliable

Iritani – 3rd generation Japanese American

Useful as provides both perspectives and reasons for acts of atrocities

Delves into the psyche

Matches with other sources

Lai Yeo – article on the internet

First hand experience of Japanese brutality

Matches with other sources although it seems to be a bit exaggerated

Psychological state seems fragile, memories may be disrupted.

Tony Barrel and Rick Tanaka – DJ’s for TripleJ

Although information matches with other sources they are not completely formed like other historians. Sometimes bit biased, “heroic Australians”, “yellow Japanese”