My Japan

Last updated
My Japan
My Japan 02 title.JPG
Title screen
Release date
  • 1945 (1945)
Running time
16 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
My Japan, the film.

My Japan is a 1945 [1] American anti-Japanese propaganda short film produced to spur sale of American war bonds. The film takes the form of a mock travelogue of Japan, presented by an impersonated Japanese narrator.

Contents

Background

The film was produced by the War Finance Division, a division of the United States Office of War Information, which was responsible for promoting the sale of all securities offered to the public by the Treasury Department. The 1945 United States Government Manual outlines their rights and responsibilities, stating:

"The sales organization (field) consists of offices in all States, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Alaska, actively operating in recruiting of volunteer committees, sales, and promotional personnel. The Washington organization formulates publicity and promotion campaigns for recommendation to the State committees and for use at the national level."

My Japan was the only film produced by the War Finance Division in 1945.

Content

The pseudo-Japanese narrator. My Japan 04 narrator 2.JPG
The pseudo-Japanese narrator.

The technique used in My Japan is a form of reverse psychology—to make Americans angry with themselves for their materialistic values, and then turn this anger against the enemy:

"How we suffer when you do not have a full tank of gasoline. How devastated we are at the sight of you jammed into pleasure trains. How we tremble when you have to wait to get into the movies, restaurants and nightclubs. ... You are a nation of bargain-hunters."

"They work longer hours than you do, twice as long, quite often. Why not? They are not working for the clock. They are working to win the war! They do not make as much money as you do. Well, they are not working to make money, they are working to win war! They work every day of every week. Is this so strange? They are not working to get days off, they are working to win the war!"

The film also seeks to anger Americans by belittling their military achievements up to that point:

"Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima—you boast of them as major victories. To you, they are. To us, they are minor defeats—the loss of island outposts. You Americans are fond of saying, 'look at the score'. Very well, look at it. You sent your finest troops against these outposts. They died...by the thousands. Here they are, massacred, slaughtered. But you took the islands, you say. Yes, we expected you to. That is why we garrisoned them with second-rate troops. The best of your lives for the worst of ours. We, too, know a thing or two about bargains. You have not yet faced the best of our armies. You have faced only ten percent of our worst!"

Statistical comparisons

The narrator makes many claims about the numbers and quality of the Japanese army in comparison to America's. These can be compared to actual record to determine their integrity. For example:

ClaimStatistical record
"...what you pay to dig a few thousand of us out of caves on Iwo Jima, only a few thousand."20,000 est. Japanese casualties at Iwo Jima (Newcomb)
"Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima... you sent your finest troops against these outposts, they died by the thousands. Here they are massacred, slaughtered."

Casualties at Guadalcanal
America: 4272
Japan: 28,580 (Clancey)
Casualties at Tarawa
America: 3000 est.
Japan: 4700 ("Battle of Tarawa")
Casualties at Iwo Jima
America: 28,686
Japan: 20,000 est. (Newcomb)

"We are prepared to spend ten million lives to defeat you."Japanese population in 1940: approx. 71,933,000
Ages 15–64: approx. 42,080,000
Men ages 15–54: approx. 24,400,000 ("Population")
Total Japanese casualties in World War II: 1,972,000 ("Casualties in World War II")

Propaganda comparisons

Visuals seen in My Japan can also be witnessed in another source of propaganda from 1945, Know Your Enemy: Japan , directed by Frank Capra. These images, having been claimed to be footage taken by the enemy, are placed in a context which allows for the benefits of buying and holding war bonds to be seen.

These duplicate images include workers of rice fields, school children being taught by "trained government personnel", workers in iron factories, volcanoes, and dead soldiers. Each one of these is placed in different contexts to "prove" two separate points: the effectiveness of the Japanese culture and economy as well as the unknown "threat" that Japan held for Americans. The latter was to be corrected through the purchase of war bonds.

Censorship and the American response

There is little evidence to document the American response to My Japan or how effective it was in convincing Americans to buy war bonds. My Japan was part of a massive effort to promote the Mighty 7th War Loan, and separating those motivated by the film from those motivated by other sources is impossible. Government censorship further clouds the issue because the press was largely incapable of printing anything but positive reviews about war bonds and the war effort in general. (Guide to Federal Records) (Reporting from the Front Lines).

Newspaper articles of the time were distinctly pro-war and contribute to the overwhelming number of sources encouraging Americans to buy war bonds:

"Mayor Kelly will open Chicago Day in the 7th war loan drive at noon today, when he and five members of his cabinet will walk the red, white, and blue Victor trail at State and Madison Streets to buy bonds at the State Street Council's Mighty 7th center."(Chicago Daily Tribune).

Modern responses to My Japan are often associated with concerns regarding censorship, racism, and arms development, but rarely offer insight into first-hand reactions in 1945.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ira Hayes</span> Indigenous American United States Marine (1923–1955)

Ira Hamilton Hayes was an Akimel O'odham Indigenous American and a United States Marine during World War II. Hayes was an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Community, located in Pinal and Maricopa counties in Arizona. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve on August 26, 1942, and, after recruit training, volunteered to become a Paramarine. He fought in the Bougainville and Iwo Jima campaigns in the Pacific War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Corps War Memorial</span> National war memorial in Arlington, Virginia, United States

The United States Marine Corps War Memorial is a national memorial located in Arlington County, Virginia. The memorial was dedicated in 1954 to all Marines who have given their lives in defense of the United States since 1775. It is located in Arlington Ridge Park within the George Washington Memorial Parkway, near the Ord-Weitzel Gate to Arlington National Cemetery and the Netherlands Carillon. The memorial was turned over to the National Park Service in 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Tarawa</span> Battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II

The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fight, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richmond K. Turner</span> Admiral in the United States Navy

Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner, commonly known as Kelly Turner, was an admiral of the United States Navy during the Second World War, where he commanded the Amphibious Force in the Pacific theater. Turner was also responsible for the creation of the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) in 1942 that were an early precursor to the United States Navy SEALs.

<i>Flags of Our Fathers</i> (film) 2006 film by Clint Eastwood

Flags of Our Fathers is a 2006 American war drama film directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the 2000 book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy corpsman who were involved in raising the flag on Iwo Jima, and the after effects of that event on their lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowell E. English</span> U.S. Marine Corps Major General

Lowell Edward English was a highly decorated officer in the United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He is most noted for his service as assistant division commander, 3rd Marine Division during Vietnam War and later as commanding general, Task Force Delta. He completed his career as commanding general, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabees in World War II</span> Military unit

When World War II broke out the United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) did not exist. The logistics of a two theater war were daunting to conceive. Rear Admiral Moreell completely understood the issues. What needed to be done was build staging bases to take the war to the enemy, across both oceans, and create the construction force to do the work. Naval Construction Battalions were first conceived at Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks) in the 1930s. The onset of hostilities clarified to Radm. Moreell the need for developing advance bases to project American power. The solution: tap the vast pool of skilled labor in the U.S. Put it in uniform to build anything, anywhere under any conditions and get the Marine Corps to train it. The first volunteers came skilled. To obtain these tradesmen, military age was waived to age 50. It was later found that several past 60 had managed to get in. Men were given advanced rank/pay based upon experience making the Seabees the highest paid group in the U.S. military. The first 60 battalions had an average age of 37.

Charles W. Lindberg was a United States Marine Corps corporal who fought in three island campaigns during World War II. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he was a member of the patrol which captured the top of Mount Suribachi where he helped raise the first U.S. flag on the island on February 23, 1945. Six days later, he was wounded in action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Dexterity</span> Military operation in the South West Pacific by the Allies between December 1943 and February 1944

Operation Dexterity was a military operation, part of Operation Cartwheel in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) for the Allies in the Pacific theater of World War II. The operation was directed by the Supreme Allied Commander in the SWPA, General Douglas MacArthur. Dexterity included amphibious landings at Arawe on 15 December 1943, and Cape Gloucester on 26 December 1943 in the northwest of New Britain, the capture of the Imperial Japanese held Tuluvu aerodrome on the 30 December 1943 and the amphibious landing at Saidor on 2 January 1944. The final battle was the landing at Talasea in March. The operation ended on 9 March 1944.

Robert Lee Sherrod was an American journalist, editor and writer. He was a war correspondent for Time and Life magazines, covering combat from World War II to the Vietnam War. During World War II, embedded with the United States Marine Corps, he covered the battles at Attu, Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. He also authored five books on World War II, including Tarawa: The Story of a Battle (1944) and the definitive History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II (1952). He was an editor of Time during World War II and later editor of The Saturday Evening Post, then vice-president of Curtis Publishing Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">19th Marine Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 19th Marine Regiment was a composite engineer regiment of the United States Marine Corps subordinate to the 3rd Marine Division. It existed from September 1942 until September 1944. In December 1943 there was a large change of command in the regiment. Marine engineer regiments were eventually disbanded in favor of independent engineering battalions within the parent Marine divisions.

Pengshan Air Base is a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) air base, located approximately 1 km east of Gongyi Town, in Pengshan County, Sichuan province, Southwestern China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">18th Marine Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 18th Marine Regiment was a composite engineer regiment of the United States Marine Corps subordinate to the 2nd Marine Division. It was disbanded during the war, with the 1st and 2nd battalions remaining in the Division.

Tarawa Beachhead is a 1958 war film directed by Paul Wendkos. It stars Columbia Pictures contract star Kerwin Mathews in his first leading role and the husband and wife team of Ray Danton and Julie Adams. The working title of the film was Flag over Tarawa and was originally to have starred Ronald Reagan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar F. Peatross</span> U.S. Marine Corps Major General

Oscar Franklin Peatross was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general who served as Marine Raider in World War II and was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism on August 17–18, 1942. He also served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

LCM (2) Vessel used for amphibious landings by the US in World War Two

The Landing Craft, Mechanized Mark 2 or LCM (2) was a landing craft used for amphibious landings early in the United States' involvement in the Second World War. Though its primary purpose was to transport light tanks from ships to enemy-held shores, it was also used to carry guns and stores. The craft was designed by the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair and the initial production contract was let to the American Car & Foundry Company. A total of 147 were built by this company and Higgins Industries. Because of its light load capacity and the rapid production of the superseding LCM (3), the LCM (2) quickly fell out of use following the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942.

USS <i>Antigone</i> (AGP-16) Tender of the United States Navy

USS Antigone was a Portunus-class Motor Torpedo Boat Tender in service with the United States Navy during World War II. Authorized originally as LST-773, She was reclassified Motor Torpedo Boat Tender, and laid down the next day at Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Seneca, IL. On 27 October 1944, she was launched, and put into reduced commission for conversion to a Motor Torpedo Boat Tender. On 5 December 1944, she was decommissioned for the conversion at Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore, MD. 160 days later, on 14 May 1945, Antigone was put into full commission. After serving in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater for a year, Antigone was decommissioned on 27 May 1946, at San Francisco. On 10 June 1947, she was struck from the Naval Register, and sold to the Maritime Administration for final disposal on 6 February 1948 and simultaneously sold to Kaiser & Co., for scrapping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William T. Fairbourn</span> U.S. Marine Corps Major General

William Taro Fairbourn was an American decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general. He is most noted as commanding general of the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade during the Cuban Missile Crisis and later served as commanding general of 1st Marine Division. Fairbourn was later known as a Nuclear arms race activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carey A. Randall</span> U.S. Marine Corps Major General

Carey Allen Randall was a highly decorated officer in the United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general. A veteran of World War II, he is most noted for his service as military assistant to the Secretary of Defense from 1951 to 1960.

Dave Elliott Severance was a United States Marine Corps colonel. During World War II, he served as the commanding officer of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines and led his company in the battle of Iwo Jima. During the battle, Severance ordered his 3rd Platoon to scale Mount Suribachi and raise the flag at the summit.

References

  1. "My Japan / Media Collections Online". Indiana University . The Trustees of Indiana University. Retrieved January 31, 2022.