*** World War II Japan casualties








World War II: Japan--Casualties

Japanese World War II casualties
Figure 1.--Here the Japanese Empress inspects the grounds of a Catholic orphanage (April 13, 1946). The children lost their parents during the War. The orphanage was located in the Fujisawa neigborhood of Tokyo Most of th children lost their prentrs becuse of the fire bombing of Tokyo. The Emperess paid a visit to the chapel. The children are waving Japanese flags to greet her. Japan does a wonderful job of remmbering the approximately 0.5 million Japanese civilians that perished in the War, primarily the result of the American Strategic Bombing Campaign. What we do so see is the Japanese paying homage to the more than 20 million poeople killed as a result of the Japanese invasion of China and territories in Southeast Asian and the Pacific. Not only are they not rembered, the horrors visited on these innocent people is largely hidden from the Japanese people, especially the school children.

Japanese casualties until the final year of the War were almost entirely military. Seeing the images of the atomic bombing of Japan, it would seem that Japan must have suffered the greatest casualties of the War. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Japanese casualties were small fraction of the casualties in the contrivers that they invaded and the brutal occupation imposed. The Japanese seized Manchuria, but there was only limited fighting and minimal casualties (1931). Chang and the Nationalists declined to contest the aggression. The Japanese launched the Second Sino-Japanese War by invading China proper (1937). Here the nationalist fought and there were casualties on both sides. After heavy combat and the lost of the best Nationalist units, the nationalist began to withdraw into the interior. Fighting continued, but at a lower level. Casualties declined, but continued. More important for the Japanese was the strain on the economy. After 4 years of fighting the casualties mounted, although only a fraction of Nationalist casualties let alone the enormous civilian casualties in China. Japanese civilians were affected by the economic strain and family losses. But as the Chinese had no appreciable navy and air forces there were no loss of life on the Home Islands. The Japanese attack on the American Fleet at Pearl Harbor, as strange as it may sound. was intended to finally end the fighting in China (December 1941). Of course it did not. Casualties at first were limited as the Japanese swept over the Pacific and Southeast Asia, this began to change after Midway (June 1942). The loss of carriers at Midway and declining control of ocean area meant the the Imperial Navy could no longer provide Japanese soldiers the support they needed. And casualties began to mount, especially after high performance aircraft and new ships began to pour out of American factories and shipyards. The losses sustained only added to the steady stream of losses from China. Even so the level of losses should not be overestimated. Japanese garrisons might fight to the death on a Pacific island, but there were only so many men that could be crammed on to a Pacific island, even defeat in Burma did not involve massive losses. There were substantial losses in the Philippines and Okinawa, but not crippling losses. The strain of war had begun to affect Japanese civilians from an early point, primarily due to food shortages and the American submarine campaign meant that their victories in the Pacific and Southwest Asian would not benefit civilians or aid the war economy. The loss of the Marianas meant that the United States could begin the strategic bombing campaign (June-July 1944). This meant that for the first time, Japanese civilians faced not only shortages, but death and destruction from the skies. American bombers methodically reduced Japan's timber and paper cities to glowing ash heaps even before dropping the two atomic bombs. Japanese military casualties totaled over 2.1 million men. Civilian casualties resulting from military action, mostly the strategic bombing campaign totaled about 0.5 million people. Another 0.5 million civilians may have perished from malnutrition and related diseases. Today in Japan discussion of the War gives great attention to civilian casualties. There is virtually no appreciation for 1) Japanese Army actions against their own civilians and 2) how small Japanese civilian casualties were in comparison the civilians who were killed by Japanese soldiers or who perished in famines caused by the Japanese occupation actions in China, the Pacific, and Southeast Asia.

Comparisons

Seeing the images of the atomic bombing of Japan, it would seem that Japan must have suffered the greatest casualties of the War. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Japanese casualties were small fraction of the casualties that they inflicted on the contrivers that they invaded and the brutal occupation imposed. Lost in the contemporary discussion of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Is that Japanese civilian casualties were relatively light. The bulk of the civilians casualties in the Asian-Pacific War (1937-45) were the people in the countries Japan invaded--especially China. The Japanese were responsible for over 20 million mostly civilian deaths. And this barbaric slaughter only ended after the two bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 1945).

Military

Japanese casualties until the final year of the War were almost entirely military. Some authors contend that that World War II began with Japanese seizure of Chinese Manchuria (1931). There were casualties in China beginning with the seizure of Manchuria, but no very many. Chang and the Nationalists decided not to contest Manchuria militarily. The Japanese seized Manchuria, but there was only limited fighting and minimal casualties (1931). Chang and the Nationalists declined to contest the aggression. Really large casualties began with the invasion of China (1937). A major Japanese slogan during World War II was 'One hundred million hearts beating as one'. The War for the Japanese began with the invasion of China (July 1937). Japanese losses compared to those of the Chinese were low, but not inconsequential given the war unlike what was anticipated continued for nearly 5 years before Pearl Harbor. It was in China that the bulk of the Japanese Army would be deployed and really substantial casualties would begin to be sustained. This was because the fighting was conducted in China and the Pacific Islands far from the Home Islands. Civilians had to make sacrifices. Rationing was instituted as a result of the campaign in China (1938). But there were no significant civilian casualties until the Americans began bombing Japan's industrial cities. The Japanese carrier attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into the War (December 1941). Unlike in China, in the Pacific Japanese casualties could be massive, much larger than Allied casualties. Only it was in China where the bulk of the Japanese Army was posted. The remains of a fallen Japanese soldier were supposed to be returned to his family in a white-shrouded box (shiroki no hako) with his ashes -- the spirit of the war dead (eirei). In reality the dead were cremated en masse on the battlefield and ashes scooped at random into the boxes. This was justified as the soldier remaining united with his fallen comrades. The soldier’s identity tag or a final letter written by him may have been included in the boxes as relics of the fallen, but in the chaos of war this often did not occur. In China it may have been possible as the Japanese Army was on the offensive and the bodies of the dead could be recovered. This continued to be the case in the first months of the Pacific War, but the situation changed dramatically after decisive naval battle at Midway (June 1942). In contrast to the fighting in China, Japanese casualties were very high. In some campaigns the ratio was 10 Japanese soldiers for every 1 American. The number of soldiers involved in the these campaigns were relatively small compared to the campaign in China. Only on the Philippines and Okinawa were major forces involved. There were also major casualties in Burma and the Indian border. In all these cases there was no way to return the white boxes with the ashes of the fallen. The greatest military casualties came at the end of the War with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. Most of these men would die in Soviet prison camps. Few would ever return to Japan. The Japanese launched the Second Sino-Japanese War by invading China proper (1937). Here the nationalist fought and there were casualties on both sides. After heavy combat and the lost of the best Nationalist units, the nationalist began to withdraw into the interior. Fighting continued, but at a lower level. Casualties declined, but continued. More important for the Japanese was the strain on the economy. After 4 years of fighting the casualties mounted, although only a fraction of Nationalist casualties let alone the enormous civilian casualties in China. Japanese civilians were affected by the economic strain and family losses. But as the Chinese had no appreciable navy and air forces there were no loss of life on the Home Islands. The Japanese attack on the American Fleet at Pearl Harbor, as strange as it may sound. was intended to finally end the fighting in China (December 1941). Of course it did not. Casualties at first were limited as the Japanese swept over the Pacific and Southeast Asia, this began to change after Midway (June 1942). The loss of carriers at Midway and declining control of ocean area meant the the Imperial Navy could no longer provide Japanese soldiers the support they needed. And casualties began to mount, especially after high performance aircraft and new ships began to pour out of American factories and shipyards. The losses sustained only added to the steady stream of losses from China. Even so the level of losses should not be overestimated. Japanese garrisons might fight to the death on a Pacific island, but there were only so many men that could be crammed on to a Pacific island, even defeat in Burma did not involve massive losses. There were substantial losses in the Philippines and Okinawa, but not crippling losses.

Civilians

The strain of war had begun to affect Japanese civilians from an early point, primarily due to food shortages. The Japanese had to begin rationing only a year after invading China (1938). The strain of the War in China was bad enough, but then the Pacifc War following Pearl Harbor significantly added to it. The Japanese almost immediately acquired the vast resources of Southern Resource Zone (SRZ). This could have supplied their war industry and fed their people. Only the Japanese Maru (merchant) fleet was inadequate for the task. Supplying far-flung bases throughout the vast Pacific was a daunting task. The Americans could do it,especially with the new Liberty Ships, the Japanese were hard pressed. The Maru fleet was adequate for peace time, but not for war--especially the Pacific War with the need to transport large quantities of material across the vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean. Thus shortages grew and increasingly affected life on the home front. The American submarine campaign campaign, got off to a slow start, but by late-1943 began to wreak real damage on the Marus and serious shortages began to affect the Japanese war economy. This meant both raw material for the war industries as well as food for the civilian population. The American submarine campaign meant that their victories in the Pacific and Southwest Asian would not benefit civilians or aid the war economy. The American submarine campaign would not only create shortages, but by the end of the War would bring the Japanese people to the brink of starvation. But there were still no significant civilian loss of life. The loss of the Marianas, however, was a game changer. It meant that the United States could begin the Strategic Bombing Campaign (June-July 1944). One of the many faulty assumptions made by the Japanese military when they launched the war in China (1937) and the Pacific War (1941) was that the Japanese Home Islands were invulnerable and could not be bombed. This assumption was valid enough based on existing 1941 technology. But of course the crucible of war is a catalyst for technological innovation--especially for an economy as large and dynamic as that of the United States. And less than 3 years after Pearl Harbor, the Americans had the B-29 Super Fortress-which the Japanese began to refer to as the B-San. This meant that for the first time, Japanese civilians faced not only shortages, but death and destruction from the skies. While distance had made Japanese cities hard to get to, they were in fact the most vulnerable cities in the world. This began (June 1944), but was largely ineffectual until several months later after air strikes from the Marianas were launched with revised tactics (March 1945). The wood and paper construction of residential areas surrounding the war factories were essentially vast tinder boxes. And American bombers began tp methodically reducing those cities and the people within them to glowing ash heaps -- even before dropping the two atomic bombs (August 1945). Civilian casualties resulting from military action, mostly the strategic bombing campaign totaled about 0.5 million people. Another 0.5 million civilians may have perished from malnutrition and related diseases. In World War II terms, these are relatively small numbers. They are limited because Japan began evacuating children from the cities (late-1944). And then when the bombing began in earnest, people began fleeing the cities.

Japanese Discussion

Today in Japan discussion of the War gives great attention to civilian casualties. This is understandable, especially given the fact that two atomic bombs were used by the Americans. Any country's assessment of the War inevitably as to address loss of life. What is not so understandable is that there is virtually no appreciation for 1) Japanese Army actions against their own civilians and 2) how small Japanese civilian casualties were in comparison to the civilians who were killed by Japanese soldiers or who perished in famines caused by the Japanese occupation actions in China, the Pacific, and Southeast Asia. If you visit the memorials, for example, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki you can't but be impressed with how tastefully in typical Japanese fashion it is all done. But the Japanese school children who visit these memorials each year leave wondering, "Why did the Americans do such a terrible thing to our beautiful, peaceful country." They have no idea of the unbelievable brutality and vast destruction and death wrought by their country. y their country.







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Created: 12:48 PM 12/16/2021
Last updated: 3:59 PM 11/12/2023