Japanese propaganda in the period just before and during World War II was designed to assist the governing regime. Many of its elements were continuous with pre-war themes of Shōwa statism, including the principles of kokutai, hakkō ichiu, and bushido. New forms of propaganda were developed to persuade occupied countries of the benefits of the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, to undermine American troops' morale, to counteract claims of Japanese atrocities, and to present the war to the Japanese people as victorious. It started with the Second Sino-Japanese War, which merged into World War II. It used a large variety of media to send its messages.
Films
The Film Law of 1939 decreed a "healthy development of the industry" which abolished sexually frivolous films and social issues.James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History p 441 Oftentimes, these films aided national consciousness, present the national and international situation appropriately, and otherwise aid the "public welfare."James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History p 442
The use of propaganda in World War II was extensive, and film was an effective form applied by the Japanese government.Ward, Robert Spencer (1945). Asia for the Asiatics?: The Techniques of Japanese Occupation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Japanese films were produced for a far wider range of audiences than American films of the same period., Navarro, Anthony V. "A Critical Comparison Between Japanese and American Propaganda During World War II." Retrieved 2011-02-04. From the 1920s onward, Japanese film studios produced films legitimizing the colonial project that were set in its colonies of Taiwan, Korea, and on the Chinese mainland.Baskett, Michael (2008). The Attractive Empire: Transnational Film Culture in Imperial Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. By 1945 propaganda film production under the Japanese had expanded throughout the majority of their empire including Manchuria, Shanghai, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
In China, Japan's use of propaganda films was extensive. After Japan's invasion of China, movie houses were among the first establishments to be reopened. Most of the materials being shown were war news reels, Japanese motion pictures, or propaganda shorts paired with traditional Chinese films. Movies were also used in other conquered Asian countries usually with the theme of Japan as Asia's savior against the Western tyrants or spoke of the history of friendly relations between the countries with films such as, The Japan You Don't Know.Desser, D. (1995). "From the opium war to the pacific war: Japanese propaganda films of world war II." Film History 7(1), 32-48.Kushner, Barak (2006). The Thought War: Japanese Imperial Propaganda. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
China's rich history and exotic locations made it a favorite topic of Japanese film makers for over a decade before the outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Of particular note were a popular trio of "continental goodwill films" (大陸親善映画) set throughout the Chinese continent and starring Hasegawa Kazuo as the Japanese male romantic lead with Ri Kōran (Yoshiko Yamaguchi) as his Chinese love interest. Among these films, Song of the White Orchid (1939, 白蘭の歌), China Nights (1940, 支那の夜), and Vow in the Desert (1940, 熱砂の誓い) mixed romantic melodrama with propaganda in order to represent a figurative and literal blending of the two cultures onscreen.Baskett, Michael (2005). "Rediscovering and remembering Manchukuo in Japanese "Goodwill Films" in Crossed Histories: Manchuria in the Age of Empire ed., Mariko Tamanoi. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 120-134.
‘National policy films’ or propaganda pictures used in World War II included combat films such as Mud and Soldiers (1939, 土と兵隊) and Five Scouts (1938, 五人の斥候兵), spy films such as The Spy isn't Dead (1942, 間諜未だ死せず) and They're After You (1942, あなたは狙われている) and lavish period pictures such as The Monkey King (1940, 孫悟空) and Genghis Khan (1943, 成吉斯汗). In the early stages of the war with China, so-called "Humanistic war films" such as The Five Scouts attempted to depict the war without nationalism. But with Pearl Harbor, the Home Ministry demanded more patriotism and "national polity themes" – or war themes.Anthony Rhodes, Propaganda: The art of persuasion: World War II, p250 1976, Chelsea House Publishers, New York Japanese directors of war films set in China had to refrain from explicit anti-Chinese rhetoric, as the risk of alienating the same cultures that the Japanese ostensibly were "liberating" from the yoke of Western colonial oppression was a powerful deterrent, in addition to government pressure. Even so, as the war in China worsened for Japan, action films such as The Tiger of Malay (1943, マライの虎) and espionage dramas like The Man From Chungking (1943, 重慶から来た男) more overtly criminalized China as an enemy of the Empire. In contrast to its representations of China as antiquated and inflexible, Western nations were often portrayed as overindulgent and decadent.Brcak, N., & Pavia, J. R. (1994). "Racism in japanese and U.S. wartime propaganda." Historian 56(4), 671. Such negative stereotypes had to be adjusted when Japanese film makers were asked to collaborate with Nazi film crews on a number of Axis co-productions that followed the conclusion of the Tripartite Pact.Baskett, Michael (2009). "All Beautiful Fascists? Axis Film Culture in Imperial Japan" in The Culture of Japanese Fascismed. Alan Tansman. Duke University Press.
As Westerners increasingly fought in the Pacific Theater, the Japanese directed their prejudices towards them as well. In Fire on That Flag! (1944, あの旗を撃て！) the cowardice of the fleeing American military is juxtaposed with the moral supremacy of the imperial Japanese army during the occupation of the Philippines. Japan's first full-length animated feature film Momotarō: Divine Soldiers of the Sea (1945, 桃太郎海の神兵) similarly portrays the Americans and British in Singapore as morally decadent and physically weak "devils". A sub-category of the costume picture is the samurai movie. Themes used within these films include self-sacrifice and honor to the emperor. Japanese films often did not shy away from the use of suffering, often portraying its troops as the underdog. This had the effect of making Japan look as though it was the victim inciting greater sympathy from its audience. The propaganda pieces also often illustrated the Japanese people as pure and virtuous, depicting them as both racially and morally superior. The war is portrayed as continuous and is usually not adequately explained.
Some other examples of propaganda films include Momotarō no Umiwashi and The Most Beautiful.
Magazines and newspapers
Magazines supported the war from its beginnings as the Second Sino-Japanese War with stories of heroism, tales of war widows, and advice on making do.James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History p 427
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, control tightened, aided by the patriotism of many reporters.James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History p 490-1 Magazines were told that the cause of the war was the enemy's egoistic desire to rule the world, and ordered, under the guise of requests, to promote anti-American and anti-British sentiment.Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, Japan At War: An Oral History p66 When Jun'ichirō Tanizaki began to serialize his novel Sasameyuki, a nostalgic account of pre-war family life, the editors of Chūōkōron were warned it did not contribute to the needed war spirit. Despite Tanizaki's history of treating Westernization and modernization as corrupting, a "sentimental" tale of "bouregeoise family life" was not acceptable.James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History p 491 Fearful of losing supplies of paper, it cut off the serialization.Marius B. Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan p 643 A year later Chūōkōron and Kaizō were forced to "voluntarily" dissolve after police beat confessions out of "Communist" staffers.
Newspapers added columnists to whip up martial fervor.Marius B. Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan p 644 Magazines were ordered to print militaristic slogans.Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, Japan At War: An Oral History p67 An article "Americanism as the Enemy" said that the Japanese should study American dynamism, stemming from its social structure, which was taken as praise despite the editor's having added "as the Enemy" to the title, and resulted in the withdrawal of the issue.Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, Japan At War: An Oral History p68
Cartoons
Cartoonists formed a patriotic association to promote fighting spirit, stir up hatred of the enemy, and encourage people to economize.Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, Japan At War: An Oral History p95 A notable example was the Norakuro manga, which began pre-war as humorous episodes of anthropomorphic dogs in the army, but eventually developed into propaganda tales of military exploits against the "pigs army" on the "continent" - a thinly veiled reference to the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Cartoons were also used to create informational papers, to instruct occupied populations, and also soldiers about the countries they occupied.Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook, Japan At War: An Oral History p96
Kamishibai Kamishibai (paper theater), originally a popular form of street-corner entertainment for children, was appropriated by the Japanese state as an effective medium for propaganda. Recognizing kamishibai's wide appeal and its accessibility across class and regional lines, government and military institutions utilized it to spread wartime ideology and mobilize public support for the war effort. The simplicity and emotional immediacy of kamishibai, combined with its visual storytelling, made it a particularly potent form of soft propaganda.
By the late 1930s, organizations such as the Nippon Kyōiku Kamishibai Kyōkai (National Association for Educational Kamishibai), originally founded by progressive educators, were producing storycards that increasingly reflected state-sanctioned messages. While early educational kamishibai often emphasized moral tales about rural hardship and working-class virtue, these narratives were soon repurposed to promote ideals of loyalty, duty, and sacrifice for the nation. While some narratives subtly conveyed the hardships and futility of war, they did so in a way that encouraged continued endurance and solidarity. Kamishibai plays during the war were often aimed at mixed-age audiences, including adults.
As the war intensified, kamishibai was actively deployed both within Japan and across its expanding empire, including colonized Korea, Taiwan, and occupied regions of China. Plays like Kawaii mago musume ("My Cute Granddaughter", 1942) served as vehicles for cultural assimilation, encouraging colonial subjects to adopt Japanese language and identity. These stories not only reinforced nationalist ideology but also promoted the image of a benevolent empire uniting its diverse populations under imperial rule.
Unlike the lively and improvisational performances of traditional street-corner kamishibai, wartime kamishibai presentations were highly regulated. Performers—often schoolteachers, conscripted women, or local community leaders—were instructed to read scripts verbatim, avoid humor, and suppress their personal presence to ensure that the state's message remained central. The medium's portability and performative nature were highlighted in slogans such as “anytime, anywhere, and by anyone,” reflecting the regime's emphasis on widespread ideological dissemination.
Books
The Shinmin no Michi or Path of Subjects described what the Japanese should aspire to be, and depicted Western culture as corrupt.John W. Dower, War Without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War p24