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I am the man responsible for the alliance with Hitler, but nowhere have I promised that we would carry out his anti-Semitic policies in Japan. This is not simply my personal opinion, but it is the opinion of Japan and I have no compunction about announcing it to the world."
-- Yōsuke Matsuoka, Japanese Foreign Minister, 1940-41
Japan, NAZI Germany's Axis partner in the Pacific, does not receive as much attention as the Germans in World War II discussion of atrocities and war crimes. In fact, Japanese attitudes of racial superiority and commitment to imperial expansion piled up a body count that appears to have exceeded that of the Germans in Europe. And the nature of the killing appears to have exceeded the Germans savagery. The lack of attention is in part because those killed were Asians who are not only less familiar to Americans, but who published less about their war-time experiences. And the Japanese, unlike the Germans, after the War have perpetrated the myth that they were actually victims of the War rather than the central players in a vast historical crime of unprecedented dimensions. Many Japanese people share this opinion and to the extent World War II is addressed in Japanese schools, the images that Japanese children are left with is that of Hiroshima rather than the Rape of Nanjing (where far more people were killed than at Hiroshima) and other terrible atrocities. Amid all the blood and gore inflicted on the world (especially China) by the Japanese, there is one slender ray of light. In a rare exception of Axis support for the German Holocaust, Japan not only did not slavishly comply with German missives, but absolutely refused to participate in the Holocaust. As a result not only were Japanese Jews safe, but several thousand European Jews escaping the NAZIs were saved if they reached Japanese controlled areas.
Japanese Jews
Japan is about as far away from Palestine as Jews could get. Christian powers reached Japan soon after the Portuguese rounded the Cape of Good Hope and opened trade with the East (16th century). To preserve social order, the Shogun eventually suppressed Japanese Christians and sharply limited trade with the West. Jews did not reach Japan until after American Commodore Perry and the Black Ships forced Japan to open its ports to foreign commerce (1853). This led directly to the Meiji Restoration (1873) and the modernization of the country. It is in that milieu that the first Jews reached Japan. A closed, conservative society was suddenly opened to new ideas and interested in expanding commercial contacts with the rest of the world. The first Jews who entered Japan, as was the case of Jews in many other countries, were primarily traders (1860s). And as might be expected, the first Jews settled in important ports. Japan had no tradition of anti-Semitism and found the Jews who came to Japan to be knowledgeable about doing business in the West as well as many useful commercial contacts throughout Europe and the United States. This was just the kind of expertise that Japanese merchants and companies needed to do business in the West. There were about 50 Jewish families from several different countries in Yokohama, the principal port near Tokyo (late-1860s). Another Jewish community developed in Nagasaki (1880s). Nagasaki was the port through which much of the trade with Russia was developed. Perhaps this was the reason that Japan's largest Jewish community developed in Nagasaki. Kobe also developed a small Jewish community. Kobe was one of the first ports opened to Westerners. In these ports, Jewish communities developed religious institutions and a Zionist organizations. Yokohama suffered a massive earthquake (1923). After World War I and the Russian Revolution, trade with the new Soviet Russia declined. As a result, Jews in both ports began to gravitate toward Kobe. Kobe today is the location od the oldest surviving Jewish Community of Japan. 【Engel】 And it was the Kobe Jewish community that watched Japan forge an alliance with NAZI Germany while that country escalated a massive anti-Semetic campaign.
The Axis
Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact (September 27, 1940). The agreement allied Germany and Italy (which were at war with Britain at the time) and Japan (which was waging a war in China). Germany and Italy had had been at war with Britain (1939-40). Japan invaded China (1937) had been at war with China. The alliance did not require the partners to join these wars, but it did require them to come to each other's aid if attacked by any other country. The alliance became known as the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis alliance, or commonly the Axis. The three Axis partners recognized German hegemony over most of Europe, Italian hegemony in the Mediterranean, and Japanese hegemony in East Asia. After the Axis agreement was signed, several German allies joined the Axis, but notably Vichy France and Fascist Spain refused to do so. Japan at the time had no Asian allies, except for the puppet state of Manchukuo.
The Axis and the Holocaust
Japan, an Axis nation, was ironically a country where some Jews managed to find refuge during World War II. It is a rare exception to the general rule. Fascism when it first appeared in Europe was not uniformly anti-Semetic. This varied from country to country. Jews were among the early Italian Fascists. This gradually changed as Fascism developed. Fervent nationalism, often with natavist roots, was a common thread of Fascism and as result anti-Semitism became a common component. This escalated after the NAZI seizure of power in Germany (1933). There were, however, substantial variation from country to country. Fascist parties favored both anti-Semetic laws and adherence to the Axis. Italy was a founding member of the Axis, but Hitler had to press Mussolini to issue anti-Semetic laws. And Italian commanders in places like Yugoslavia refused to participate in the Holocaust. The deadly phase of the Holocaust in Italy only began with the German invasion (September 1943). Many Axis partners vigorously participated in the Holocaust (Croatia, Romania, and Slovenia). Others like Bulgaria which had to be forced into the Axis resisted German demands,although Jews were made to wear a 'little' Star of David. Japan was a major Axis partner. Only a small number of Jews were involved, but the Japanese absolutely refused to cooperate in the Holocaust and officially and unofficially saved several thousand Jews.
Chiune Sugihara (1939-40)
Jews were able to find refuge in Japan primarily because of a remarkable diplomat in Kaunas, Lithuania. The Dutch Consul, Jan Zwartendijk, also attempted to save Jews. He offered Jewish refugees, mostly from Poland, landing permits and transit visas to Curacao, an island in the Dutch West Indies. The Baltic republic of Lithuania was one of the small countries caught between the Soviet Union and NAZI Germany. Chiune Sugihara, the first representative of the Japanese consulate in Lithuania, who arrived days before the NAZI invasion of Poland. He assisted Jewish refugees for no other apparent reason than humanitarian compassion. In the sad story of the Lithuania Holocaust, Sugihara and his visas were one of the few life lines for a doomed people. The NAZIs blocked any escape west and north for Polish Jews. But there were routes east and south, however, difficult. One was the Trans-Siberian Railway across the Soviet Union which ended at the Pacific port of Vladivostok. The Soviets prevented many Polish Jews from entering their portion of occupied Poland, in several cases firing on refugees. An estimated 10,000 Polish Jews managed to enter neutral Lithuania before it was seized by the Soviets (May 1940). About 5,000 of those Jews were able to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway and reach Japan. Sugihara, disobeying orders from the Japanese Foreign Minister, issued an estimated 10,000 Japanese visas. And Soviet officials, presumably so as not to cause problems with the Japanese (and not understanding that the Foreign Ministry disapproved), honored these visas and allowed the Jewish refugees to cross the Soviet Union. As many as 10,000 Jews may have been saved. 【Levine】 Sugihara worked nonstop issuing visas for Jews in the months until Russia annexed Lithuania (August 1940). He was forced to leave the country, but reportedly was passing blank visas out of the window of his train as it pulled away from the station. Sugihara's heroism and disregard of orders from the Foreign Ministry has been recognized by the State of Israel and honored at Yad Vashem. His actions, however, cost him his career. Getting out of Lithuania was the beginning of a long, often harrowing journey on the Trans-Siberian railroad, more than a thousand mile journey that often took weeks until reaching Japanese occupied Manchukuo.
Refugee Treatment in Japan
While Sugihara's actions violated the Ministry's direct orders, when the Jews reached Japan the Japanese Government as well as individuals treated them with considerable compassion. The Japanese Government assisted Jews and Jewish organizations, such as the National Council of Jews in Asia. They provided food, shelter, and transportation. Individual Japanese purely out of compassion and charity provided Jewish refugees people free medical service, gifts and food. By all accounts they were treated with decency and generosity. One group of the refugees were about 500 students, rabbis, and families from the Yeshiva of Mir, the only European institute of Talmudic learning to remain intact throughout the Holocaust. While the Yeshiva attempted to reach the West, it established a study hall (Beit Midrash) in a Kobe neighborhood. The Japanese had never seen a yeshiva before, even among the country's small Japanese community. The daily regime at the Yeshiva was 18 hours of study, including fervent singing and praying. Security officers were ordered to examine the school. The yeshiva was not only granted a government 'clearance', but concluded that the rabbis and students were 'Holy idealists'. The refugees from Lithuania lived peacefully in Japan for 3-8 months (1940-41). The German Barbarossa invasion cut off the flow of further refugees. Some were able to reach America, Canada, and Latin America.
Japanese Tourist Bureau (JTB)
Diplomat Chiune Sugihara appears to have acted entirely on his own initiative. Another lesser-known effort to assist Jews was under way in Japan itself to assist the mostly impoverished Jewish refugees. The Japan Tourist Bureau (JTB) was the country's main tourist agency for unknown reasons agreed to help American Jews distribute aid money to refugees fleeing the NAZI holocaust in Europe. It is unclear why the JTB decided to do this. Some reports suggest that they had the approval of the Foreign ministry. It is possible that the individuals involved were acting out of humanitarian motives. The Foreign Ministry may have thought that this could help reverse Japan's increasingly bad press in America. We are not sure to what extent the officials involved were aware of NAZI propaganda, but one of Goebbels standard talking points was that Jews dominated American industry, banking, and the media. This aid which was cut off by the Pearl Harbor attack (December 1941), had helped the refugees at critical window of opportunity fulfill immigration requirements and sustain themselves upon reaching Japanese territory. This route of course ended with Barbarossa. Lithuania was occupied by the Germans within days. The decision to aid Jewish refuges was made despite Japan's developing ties with NAZI Germany. The JTB assigned representatives to assist the refugees at various stages of their journey. One of the JTB officials involved in this effort was Tatsuo Osako. After being hired by the JTB, in his second year he was ordered to work as an escort and clerk on Japanese ships that took the refugees across the Sea of Japan to Japan. Osako has written very little about his efforts. He did write in his college alumni publication "The Jews that I saw at that time had no passports and were stateless, they were refugees that had fled Europe and were generally downcast, some with vacant eyes that projected the loneliness of people in exile."
Anti-Semitism
Perhaps because Japan had such a small Christian and Muslim population, as well as few Jews, anti-Semitism was virtually unknown. The entire historical context of anti-Semitism was lacking in Japan. To the Japanese, the Jews looked like other Europeans. Japanese anti-Jewish activity appears minimal. There was far more anti-Semetic activity in America than Japan. There are scattered accounts of Jews losing jobs during World War II. Music schools where Jewish musicians taught were closed, bu this appears to have been an anti-Western action than an anti-Jewish one.
Japanese Policy
German efforts to induce the Japanese to adopt anti-Semetic policies were ignored by Japanese officials. We have been unable to determine why. Ideas about Jewish capital and influence may have been involved, but we know of no detailed study as to the sources of Japanese Jewish policies. The decision was made from the very top and with some determination. Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yosuke told a group of Jewish businessmen, "I am the man responsible for the alliance with Hitler, but nowhere have I promised that we would carry out his anti-Semitic policies in Japan. This is not simply my personal opinion, it is the opinion of Japan, and I have no compunction about announcing it to the world." (December 31, 1940). To our knowledge, Matsuoka never explained on what basis he reached this decision and historians can only speculate. And one should not assume that it was an aversion to racial prejudice. Apart of the ethos promoted by the Japanese militarists was racism and the superiority of the Japanese people. Part of the savagery exhibited by Japanese soldiers in China and other places was this deep-seated feeling of racial superiority. And this racism was directed not only against Westerners, but other Asian people as well. In fact it was primarily directed at other Asians because these were the countries occupied by Japan during the War.
Passage to the West
About half of the Jewish refugees from Lithuania manage to obtain passage out of Japan. Most went to the United States and Canada. A few found passage to Latin America, although most countries were not anxious to issue visas to Jews.
Pearl Harbor (December 1941)
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7) launched the Pacific War. The flow of Jewish refugees from Lithuania had ended aear earlir becaise of the Soviet Annexation of Lithuania. But the Jews that managed to escape were slowly making their way from Japan to safety. The major impediment was obtaining entrance visas from the United States, Canada, and other countries. The Pacific War launched by Japan cut off the possibility of further exits (December 1941).
Shanghai
Shanghai was the business and commercial capital of China. It was the first target of Japanese armies invading China (1937). Despite determined Nationalist resistance, the Japanese seized Shanghai, except for the International Settlement. As a result, the history of Jews in China during the Holocaust, became more of a Japanese matter. This was especially the case after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent Pacific War cut off the ability of the refugees to leave Japan and Japanese occupied areas. About half of the Lithuanian refugees were still in Japan. Japanese authorities had not planned to permanently accept the refugees. They were deported to what had been the International Settlement in Shanghai which the Japanese seized after Pearl Harbor. Shanghai was apparently selected because other European nationals were interned there. The entire Yeshiva of Mir was among the refugees relocated to Shanghai. A kind of ghetto was established there. Life was not easy, but the Japanese did not single out the Jewish refugees for mistreatment. The Germans were aware of this and the German Foreign Ministry made a determined effort to convince the Japanese to the 'relocate', meaning murder, the Jews in the Shanghai ghetto.
German Protests
NAZI officials from an early stage attempted to convince the Japanese to adopt anti-Semitic policies, but had little success. The Axis alliance was not all that close. Just because the Germans requested something did not mean the Japanese complied. The same was true for the Germans most importantly , they held back much of their advanced weapons technology until late in the War. The Soviet origins of some of the refugees may have been another factor in Japanese policy. Japanese-German relations before the War were dominated by an anti-Soviet orientation. As Japan did not join the NAZI Barbarossa offensive, perhaps they did not want to risk a diplomatic incident by actions against Soviet citizens. That is, however, unclear.
Individuals
We do not have much information on the individuals saved by Japanese policies. But we know about one Polish boy, Edward Finder, who was united with his mother in San Francisco because of this escape route.
Modern Japan
The Japanese after World War II have generally perpetrated the myth that Japan was a victim of the War and has refused to confront the enormity of Japanese war crimes and atrocities perpetrated in China and other occupied countries. Partly as a result of this widely held view in Japan, many Japanese have come to sympathize with Jewish suffering during the War. A difficult to assess number of Japanese see parallels between their own personal and family wartime tragedies and those experienced by European Jews a NAZI hands. Many schools began assigning Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl as required reading after it appeared (1952). Copies of the book are commonly seen in Japanese homes. Schools commonly organize student essay contests about the book. There is even a company named after her, Anne Co., Ltd. Films about the Holocaust frequently run in Japan, both on television and in the movie theaters. The award-winning Italian movie 'Life is Beautiful' proved very popular. The trials of NAZI war criminals attracts considerable press interest, far more than the trials of Japan's own war criminals. A Holocaust Museum has been established in Hiroshima. The location of course resulted from Hiroshima being the city where the United States dropped the first atomic bomb. A Holocaust Resource Center operated in in Tokyo. Many Japanese equate Hiroshima with Auschwitz and some popular poetry makes this analogy.
Sources
Engel, Tamar. "The Jews of Kobe" (Summer 1995).
Levine, Hillel. In Search of Sugihara (1996).
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