Japan and the Japanese: A military power we must defeat, a Pacific problem we must solve

This is a book in the Fighting Forces Series, published in 1944 and done by the editors of Fortune magazine. I'll do a brief summary of the various sections. Most summaries will come from the book itself.

1. The Imperial Rescript Declaring War on the U.S. and Britain.

2. The Job Before Us. The need to know what the Japanese are really like.

3. The Way of the Gods. Behind Japan's explosion in the Pacific lie paradoxes of behavior that have twisted the Japanese mind for centuries. Basically a short history of Japan.

4. Who Runs the Emperor? The people do not run him and he does not run himself. But the use of his name is the pay-off in army business power politics. How business used to run the Emperor but now the military does. Some historical information on how the Emperor functions, and who are his advisors.

5. Japan's Road to War. A check list of recent Japanese political and military history. Starts with 1936.

6. The Citizen-Subject. The Japanese civilian is tough and patient. He has always worked hard and eaten little. Now he works harder and eats less. Examines farmers, women, workers, etc.

7. The Control of H. Fujino. He is quite sure he makes up his mind for himself. His shrewd government is delighted to have him think so. Basically, how people were brainwashed by the Japanese government's propaganda machine and control of the mass media.

8. Little Industry, Big War. To grow strong enough to win, Japan's industry needs the new empire. But Japan can't have her war and her empire, too.

9. The Geography of Conquest. Japan had two great geographical opportunities. She fumbled both.

10. The Army Had Its Day. But it was too Western in China, and too Oriental in the Pacific. Its last hope is that we may not try to defeat it completely.

11. Asia for the Japanese. The little Nipponese carpetbaggers overrun their conquered land. Many are stupid and brutal , but they make things hot for our side.

12. When the Jap Came to Manila. A first-hand account of what happened after January 2, 1942.

Main Index
Japan main page
Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page