page_title: Propaganda in Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II
section_title: Cartoons
hierarchical_section_title: Propaganda in Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II / Cartoons
caption_attribution_description: English: KUCHING FORCE. JAPANESE PROPAGANDA. A LARGE SIGN PAINTED ON THE SIDE OF A PUBLIC BUILDING IN KUCHING.
context_page_description: Propaganda in imperial Japan, in the period just before and during World War II, was designed to assist the ruling government of Japan during that time. Many of its elements were continuous with pre-war elements 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.
context_section_description: Cartoonists formed a patriotic association to promote fighting spirit, stir up hatred of the enemy, and encourage people to economize. 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.
caption: A Japanese propaganda in Jawi script found in the town of Kuching, Sarawak after the capturing of the town by the Australian forces.
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