Previously, in the article from the Great Depression to World War II, I wrote about the history of the beginning of World War II, taking into account the incidents that triggered the war.
In this article, I would like to write about the process leading up to the Pacific War after the start of World War II.
Total War System
December 8, 1941 Japan is Hawaii Pearl Harbor After attacking, the battle with the Allies began in earnest. Indeed, Japan, which fights against the United States and other allies, is [ total war . ] It was in a state suitable for calling.
First, prior to the War of the Pacific, the government 1938 National Mobilization Law Was decided.
The country is free to use funds, tools, materials and labor to continue the war The law was put in place. Indeed, it was the national policy to put all of the nation's economic power, industrial power, labor force, etc. into the war, not just the battle by military operations.
National Mobilization Law In 1939, National Conscription Also applies.
With this application, it has become possible to forcibly convene military personnel. As will be described later, various other control orders have been issued for the war.
Control in terms of supplies Will be added.
Products for military supplies in case of a fierce battle I tried to focus on. As a result, the production of food and cones is reduced, and rice, miso, cotton, soy sauce, etc. are distributed . have become.
Even if you want to buy food and clothing, you can't get it because the production is small, and you can only get a small amount of distribution, so it's easy to imagine that people's lives will become more difficult.
National (subject) control
The government makes it easier to wage war In addition, in order to prevent anti-war elements from leaving the people, we hurriedly established a law for national control.
The best of these is the Peace Preservation Law . It is a revision of.
Originally 1928 At that time, an emergency edict had made it possible to impose the death penalty on a person who was trying to transform the national polity, but the government further modified it in 1941.
The amendment is amendment to allow preventive detention of people with criminal records or those who are likely to wake up in the past Did. This created a state in which people who were inconvenient for the nation were not exposed to society.
In addition, we strengthened censorship and thoroughly crushed information that was inconvenient for the government, such as inciting anti-war and anti-government with newspapers and publications.
Therefore, the people will hear about the war situation from the radio, big headquarters announcement I had no choice but to believe. Of course, the people at that time could not grasp the actual situation of the war because they reported on the broadcast of the government authorities as if Japan was making a good advance even if the war situation was disadvantageous.
In addition, let me introduce the events that show Japan's total war during this period.
At that time, there was a convocation letter called Akagami in the notice when an adult man was driven to the battlefield. Due to this red paper, many people went to the battlefield on the battlefield, and there was a shortage of workers in the factory. Therefore, men and women of junior high school age and above are also mobilized to the factory [ labor mobilization ] Will be held.
In this way, the government thoroughly controlled the entire country so that information that was inconvenient for advancing the war would not be disseminated.
The true feelings of the people (subjects)
How did the people feel about the war in this society?
As the shortage of military mobilization worsens, the scope of national convocation will expand to liberal arts college students.
Also, when the air raids intensify, schoolchildren evacuate to keep schoolchildren from the war. It also becomes more frequent, and it is evacuated as a group to local inns and temples.
There were no supplies, I didn't know the battlefield, I was hunted to the battlefield where I was supposed to study, and I was separated from my parents and children due to the evacuation of school children.
The government fears that this situation will lead to the loss of the fighting spirit of the people,
- "I don't want it, until I win"
- "Luxury is an enemy"
- "Devil American and British"
The posters with the above slogans are lined up everywhere for the purpose of saving the people in order to thoroughly implement war supplies and inciting the fighting spirit.
However, among the Japanese people, there was already a mood of war in such a harsh life.
American preparation
The United States was struck by the attack on Pearl Harbor, but it was far different from Japan in terms of economic and military power. The United States is steadily preparing for the final battle amid the mood of war among the Japanese people.
The U.S. military has Saipan, Tinian, Guam , which Japan has colonized since the beginning of the Midway War. Will be regained one after another. After that, I started preparing for the mainland attack using the seven airfields on the three islands.
Prior to its recapture, Japan had built airfields on these islands as bases for attacking the United States and China. However, because the United States was allowed to recapture, it was ironic that the airfield for attacking the mainland of Japan was created for the United States when looking only at the results.
On the other hand, US military operations did not attack non-essential islands, but focused on controlling only those points of military importance. Therefore, air strikes did not occur on the other islands, and the Japanese soldiers there seemed to spend peaceful days while farming leisurely.
When we learn about the history of war, we tend to see the misery and damage, but keep in mind that the Pacific War also has these aspects.
[ Snow falls on the southern island ], Which is described in the novel, which depicts a Japanese soldier mobilized on the Western New Guinea Campaign looking up at an American plane that has not attacked and farming and living cheerfully.
Finally ...
Even now, about postwar reparations, etc. [ war responsibility ] Is being asked.
Who should be responsible for the war at the time of the Pacific War?
- Are you involved in the administration?
- Is it in the people who couldn't stop the war?
- What should I do to fulfill my responsibilities?
- What are our responsibilities born after the war?
To think about it, you can't do it without knowing the history of war.
I think that learning history itself, not just war, is not only about knowing what happened in the past, but also about looking at these modern questions.