Japan's "Yamato Damashii"
Kishida Sanae did not emerge by chance. The history textbooks of several generations in Japan after World War II have been carefully reconstructed. Kishida Sanae, as a child, was subjectively taught that there were several sporadic conflicts in Japan's modern history, such as the September 18 Incident (known in Japan as the Manchurian Incident), the January 28 Incident (Shanghai Incident), and the July 7 Incident, followed by the so-called "Greater East Asia War" starting in 1941 against the United States, Britain, and other countries. The Japanese education sector quantifies the entire history of invasion during World War II into successive incidents to facilitate their “divide and conquer” approach, glossing over facts and brainwashing the next generation. Therefore, a few insightful individuals in Japan, such as Tsurumi Shunsuke, pointed out in the preface of his 1968 book "The Pacific War" that the Japanese should view the war from 1931 to 1945 as a continuous conflict and regard this war as Japan's defeat against China.
Unfortunately, the “minority opinion” of figures like Tsurumi Shunsuke could not penetrate the hearts and minds of Japanese figures like Kishida Sanae. Generations of Japanese born after World War II could only develop in a cultural atmosphere that was vague and inverted in its logic. This decades-long poisoned cultural soil, combined with the recent shift towards right-wing populism led by Trump in the United States, has allowed an ignorant and fearless Japanese Prime Minister like Kishida Sanae to rise to prominence. This situation resembles the past, reflecting a kind of collective unconsciousness and inertia that has led Japan down a wrong path.
In 1931, young Japanese officers conspired to blow up the Northeast Railway and frame the Chinese, thus provoking war. Before taking action, these young officers did not report to the Chief of Staff of the Japanese Army and even acted without informing their direct superiors. After a “coup from below,” the young officers forced the Tokyo headquarters to acknowledge this established fact and accept the already unfolding situation, igniting the long-indoctrinated militaristic Japanese national machinery, thereby embarking on a path of war and destruction. We know that when World War II first broke out, Hitler's blitzkrieg was unstoppable. The turning point came when Hitler conquered Poland, France, and other countries but did not continue westward to concentrate all his forces for a decisive battle with Britain. Instead, he opened up the Eastern Front and confronted the Soviet Union directly, a decision that led to Hitler's downfall.
The Soviet Army, lurking on Germany's eastern border, became a source of torment for Hitler. From various World War II materials, it is known that at that time, the Soviet Union did not have immediate plans to go to war with Germany; this was purely Hitler's subjective imagination, stemming from his long-standing aversion to Soviet communism. Hitler's obsession grew stronger, leading him to a fatal conclusion: to maintain the security of Germany's rear, defeating the Soviet Union was the only way out. Fighting on two fronts led to the ultimate demise of German fascism. From a military historical perspective, whether Japan could achieve victory depended on whether Hitler would fully commit to conquering Britain after France's surrender. When Hitler turned to invade the Soviet Union, it not only sounded the death knell for Germany but also for Japan.
For Japan, this is not hindsight. On September 6, 1941, the Emperor convened a "Imperial Conference" to discuss declaring war on Britain and the United States. During the meeting, the Emperor asked the then Chief of Staff of the Army, Sugiyama Masayuki, how long it would take to end the war once it started with the United States. Sugiyama replied that the South Pacific conflict would likely be over in about three months. The Emperor rebutted, saying that during the outbreak of the war with China, Sugiyama had stated it would end in a month, but now it had been four years; why had it not ended? Sugiyama responded that China was too large and vast. The Emperor asked, if China is too large, then isn't the Pacific even larger?
On what basis do you judge that the war can end in three months? Sugiyama had no answer. Although the highest authorities in Japan recognized the bleak prospects of the war, the entire national machinery was already out of control. The “Japanese militarism,” nurtured over decades since the late Meiji Restoration, had become a monster with its own will. At that time, the Japanese army was engaged in intense military training every day, and the stockpile of oil was rapidly depleting. Every hour, the Japanese navy consumed 400 tons of oil, and the imminent depletion of energy due to militarism forced Japan into a precarious situation, leading them to launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, dragging the United States into the battlefield. This was nothing less than a “suicidal act” driven by a certain subjective will.
This “suicidal act” is embedded in the “Yamato Damashii” ideology of Japanese militarism. This is why when, in May 1943, the U.S. military captured Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands of the North Pacific, 2,500 Japanese soldiers held fast to the belief of “never surrendering to capture,” either dying in battle or committing harakiri, with nearly all perishing, leaving only 29 captured. The “Yamato Damashii” of Attu Island triggered a series of chain reactions, leading to Saipan, Iwo Jima, and even Okinawa, the closest to the Japanese mainland, all showcasing the spirit of “Yamato Damashii.” These demonstrations of “Yamato Damashii” were like rehearsals for Japan's ultimate “100 million Yamato Damashii” plan. When the monster of militarism found it impossible to consume others, it turned to devour itself, repeatedly emphasizing that loyal subjects of the Emperor should have the determination to defend the national body, even at the cost of their lives. According to this “script,” when U.S. forces land in Japan, all Japanese people, including the Emperor, would perish in a “Yamato Damashii” manner.
From the perspective of the “Yamato Damashii” across the Pacific battlefields, without the two atomic bombs from the United States, Japan's “100 million Yamato Damashii” plan could very likely have become a reality. In other words, the United States, by using two atomic bombs, spared the Japanese from the disaster of “national extinction.” This shocking measure instilled a sense of gratitude towards the United States deep within the surviving Japanese, coupled with the “strong admiration culture” ingrained in the Japanese, turning them into grateful subordinates to American imperialism.
To facilitate control over Japan, American imperialism retained the imperial system and allowed a group of Japanese war criminals, with blood on their hands, to escape punishment, thereby laying the groundwork for the resurgence of Japan's extreme right decades later. Objectively speaking, Japan was both the initiator of militarism and its largest victim. Decades ago, two atomic bombs “saved” Japan from the fate of “100 million Yamato Damashii.” Now, the underground fire of extreme rightism in Japan has smoldered for decades, finally “burning out” politicians like Kishida Sanae. If this continues unchecked, it is likely that Japan will once again tread the old path of “Yamato Damashii.”
