Why Japan Was More Evil Than Nazi Germany in WWII (2024)

FAQs

Why were the Japanese feared in ww2? ›

And the reason for that is stated in one word: Bushido. The one characteristic of the World War II Japanese soldier that would never fail to amaze, confound, arouse fear in his foe was his dedication to the code of Bushido, the way of the warrior.

This book documents Japanese atrocities in World War II, including cannibalism, the slaughter and starvation of prisoners of war, rape and enforced prostitution, the murder of noncombatants, and biological warfare experiments.

Japan had the best army, navy, and air force in the Far East. In addition to trained manpower and modern weapons, Japan had in the mandated islands a string of naval and air bases ideally located for an advance to the south.

The Axis powers (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan) were some of the most systematic perpetrators of war crimes in modern history.

Coupled with the Chinese defeat to Great Britain in the Opium Wars, Japan realized the need for modernization. The aggressive expansionist policy before and during WW2 was fueled by such competition. The Japanese military, and eventually most civilians, saw the West as enemies and Japan as a savior.

From what I have read and seen in movies from the period, American soldiers usually referred to the Japanese as the “Japs” or “Nips" as in Nippon.

It was the deployment of a new and terrible weapon, the atomic bomb, which forced the Japanese into a surrender that they had vowed never to accept. Harry Truman would go on to officially name September 2, 1945, V-J Day, the day the Japanese signed the official surrender aboard the USS Missouri.

The Japanese could not possibly win, but they might be able to delay the end of the war into the fall of 1946. If the Americans found the rising casualties intolerable, they might settle for terms less than unconditional surrender.

While it may at first seem like a simple issue of semantics, the use of the word “battle” to describe what happened on December 7, 1941 is categorically incorrect. When it comes to retelling history, accuracy does matter, especially in a case like Pearl Harbor, which was determined later to have been a war crime.

The reasons for the Japanese behaving as they did were complex. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) indoctrinated its soldiers to believe that surrender was dishonourable. POWs were therefore thought to be unworthy of respect. The IJA also relied on physical punishment to discipline its own troops.

Why is Germany allowed to have an army but not Japan? ›

Perhaps the most famous reform was Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution which explicitly disavows war as an instrument of state policy and promises that Japan will never maintain a military.

In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result, approximately 120,000 civilians died. Japan formally surrendered in September 1945.

The Soviet Union and China are believed to have suffered the most total casualties, while an estimated 5,800,000 Poles died, which represents about 20 percent of Poland's prewar population. About 4,200,000 Germans died, and about 1,972,000 Japanese died.

Murder of POW's

According to Mitch-am and Avon Hohenstaufen, the Canadian army unit "The Loyal Edmonton Regiment" murdered German prisoners of war during the invasion of Sicily.

In the Chenogne massacre during the Battle of the Bulge on 1 January 1945, members of the 11th Armored Division killed an estimated 80 German prisoners of war, which were assembled in a field and shot with machine guns. The events were covered up at the time, and none of the perpetrators were ever punished.

The reasons for the Japanese behaving as they did were complex. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) indoctrinated its soldiers to believe that surrender was dishonourable. POWs were therefore thought to be unworthy of respect. The IJA also relied on physical punishment to discipline its own troops.

The American public saw Japan as the biggest threat, but American leaders saw Germany as the biggest threat. A detailed explanation follows. Japan had a powerful navy and air force that destroyed most of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, a force that took decades to build up earlier in the 20th Century, in two hours.

Despite never being charged with a crime, and without due process, Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and communities and incarcerated, simply because of their heritage. For years, many Japanese Americans lived in harsh, overcrowded conditions, surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards.

No. The Japanese army and navy were contemptuous of all American fighting men right up until the surrender. There was grudging respect at times but never fear.