The Thought War
Subtitle: Japanese Imperial Propaganda
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: November 15, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 242
ISBN-13: 9780824829209
Subjects: Asian / Middle Eastern history: Second World War; Propaganda; Second World War, 1939-1945; Military - World War II; History - General History; History; History - Military / War; Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1937-1945; History: World; Japan; Asia - Japan; Propaganda, Japanese; Psychological aspects; Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945
Description: "The Thought War is the first book in English to examine the full extent of Japan's wartime propaganda. Based on a wide range of archival material and sources in Japanese, Chinese, and English, it explores the propaganda programs of the Japanese government from 1931 to 1945, demonstrating the true scope of imperial propaganda and its pervasive influence, an influence that is still felt today. Contrary to popular postwar rhetoric, it was not emperor worship or military authoritarianism that led an entire nation to war. Rather, it was the creation of a powerful image of Japan as the leader of modern Asia and the belief that the Japanese could and would guide Asia to a new, glorious period of reform that appealed to imperial subjects.

Kushner analyzes the role of the police and military in defining socially acceptable belief and behavior by using their influence to root out malcontents. His research is the first of its kind to treat propaganda as a profession in wartime Japan. The Thought War will be important for not only students of Japanese history and culture but also those interested in comparative studies of World War II and the increasingly popular propaganda studies of the United States, Nazi Germany, Stalin's Russia, and the United Kingdom."--Jacket.