Evening star., 1937-10-17
How the Japanese Soldier
Is Trained for War
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.


progress OF Japan's undeclared war upon
China Is being watched with an added
interest because it is felt that there Is q
lurking possibility that Occidental ma
tions may be drawn into q general con-
Migration. The World War taught a
good many Americans much concerning
Occidental armies but the Oriental re-
mains little known, especially the mod
ern Oriental fighting man.
While China has been improving her
fighting forces steadily over q number
OF years, the Chinese army Is not the
finished product that Japan's military
force shows. In the event that war
with Japan should ever come, 1t should
be OF interest to know just what manner
OF man the Japanese soldier is.
To begin with, Japan has q universal
CONSUMPTION and every youth must serve
his time The standing army Is MAIN
tanned at about 100000, or three times
the size OF the American Army, but also
there is Reserve list of about 1000 900
capable OF being rapidly modified for
service.
The Japanese share the usual Oriental
fatalism and have been trained to look
upon death, especially In the military
service OF the Emperor, as something to
be at least half welcomed. In q little
manual with which every soldier is
equipped there Is the statement that
death in the service makes the fallen
soldier one of the guardian deities Of his
country and entities him TO unique hon.
ors in the temple. Where youths have
been brought up from childhood with
this idea, they are attuned to the horrors
and dangers of war in q manner which
makes them notably fearless and, there-
fore, dangerous Where natural prowess
is fortified by religion. a peculiarly ehec-
tive fighting man is produced.
h+ ~
The army is drawn almost wholly, save
for officers, from the Japanese peasantry.
The youths enter upon active service at
the age of twenty. Such youth may
have been the chief support Of aging
parents, but that does not exempt him
from service. 1t need not because, IN all
such cases, the Government attends to
the support Of dependent parents during
the service OF sons. AS military service
is regarded as not only a duty but an
honor, there is rarely any repining on
the part Of either conscripts or parents
Always before them the young soldiers
see the motto of the service: Remember
that death is lighter than feather, but
duty Is heavier than a mountain"
~
Immediately upon induction into the
army. the Japanese private soldier begins
the most rigorous life known in any
army in the world. Not even the goose
stepping Germans are so thoroughly and
steadily drilled. The first difficult thing
for the soldier to become accustomed to
is leather shoes. As a peasant he has
never known anything but the wooden
clog or sandal and sometimes months
pass before he can accustom himself to
the conhning leather shoes and wrapped
puttees. Also he undergoes a curious
experience in learning to sleep in bar
rack bunk. Never having slept any
where but on the floor, to perch on a
bunk two feet or more from the floor is
almost dizzying.
He is completely cut OF from his FAM
lily. While he may receive letters from
home he may not receive gifts Of food,
sweets, clothing, or any Of the small
luxuries which families Of soldiers in
other armies are wont to send their
sons. Then, too, he may read only pre-
scribed newspapers and magazines. The
war ministry publishes a newspaper and
4 magazine for the especial use Of the
troops.
The Japanese soldier Is regarded as
particularly dangerous with the bayonet
Before joining the army few Japanese
OF the peasant class ever have handled
a rif1e. 1t Is strange to the soldiers and
even after many months Of training
these peasant soldiers, In the heat of
battle or even maneuvers, will forget
that they have gun, the usual function
OF which is to discharge . projectile.
Subconsciously they will use the gun rs
4 weapon to be welded In the manner
Of the bamboo slaves they had used in
their early days in the back country.
This fact was taken advantage Of by
instructors and training emphasis was
placed on the bayonet. This seems to
come naturally to the japanese soldier,
and 1t is claimed, he is the most prof.
cient man In any army with this weapon.
Contrary to a wide belief Japanese
soldiers rarely know jiu jitsu. Knowl-
edge Of this art Is confined to a relA-
lively few officers so far as the army is
concerned. Actually it is not the mill
tary man at all who is expert in this
art Of defense, but the upper class
civilian.
The Japanese private draws pay ap-
proximately equivalent to 81 q month
and he is expected to save half of that.
Inasmuch as the soldiers life for the
twenty-five months of his conscript
training is almost completely filled with
drill and instruction, he has little time
to spend on amusements. There Is an
extraordinary docility about the Japa-
nese private soldier in camp or barracks.
He may be terror to enemies in the
field, but otherwise he is mild indeed.
He is not the ranting swashbuckler so
typical of most armies. An American
Army observer has reported that after
spending six years In Japan and visiting
every major regimental headquarters. he
failed to fnd one man In the guard
house. 1t is said that . regiment fre-
quently will go for q year without q
case requiring disciplinary measures.
This, OF course, is situation unheard
Of In any other army.
Japanese oficers are graduates Of q
military school. Their life, as young
officers, is about as strict as that OF the
private soldier. A lieutenant draws $40
a month and even as rank rises the pay
remains low. The officers live at home.
for the most part, in peace times. There