The Japanese Empire

Part Two: National Overviews

In Part Two of this series, we will be taking a look at the symbols, leaders, tactics, and equipment of each of the major powers. This will be a small selection of archetypes, and is in no way comprehensive, nor does it try to be.

The Hinomaru, or Rising Sun Flag

The Kikumon, a chrysanthemum used as the emblem of the Emperor

The war ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy

The rising sun roundel of Japanese aircraft, commonly known to Americans as the “meatball”

Hirohito, the Showa Emperor

Ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1926 after the death of his father, Emperor Yoshihito, Hirohito had already been ruling Japan since 1921, when he became Prince Regent due to the mental decline of Yoshihito. The period preceding his regency and rule had been characterized by many as the “Taisho Democracy”, as the mental incapacity of the Emperor allowed for mostly unfettered parliamentary rule. The new Emperor moved to affirm his authority, and with the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi in 1932 any semblance of civilian government was gone. This was followed in 1936 by an attempted coup by officers of the Imperial Japanese Army, which the Emperor ordered put down, going so far as to threaten to lead the Imperial Guard personally to destroy the rebels. When the Japanese first began their campaign against China in 1937, although most reports are that he did not object to invasion, and was mainly concerned with eliminating Chinese resistance as quickly as possible to prevent Soviet intervention. During the subsequent invasion, the Emperor tacitly endorsed Japanese war crimes by permitting the undeclared war, and this allowing prisoners to be treated without the rights afforded to prisoners of war, and also personally authorized the use of biochemical weapons in China. As war consumed Europe, he consented to alliance with Germany and Italy, but when talks of Japan entering the conflict began, he objected primarily to the installation of a member of the Imperial family as Prime Minister, concerned that the blame would then be assessed to him (Many sources claim he pushed for peace at this point, but his appointment of hardline militarist Hideki Tojo to the post seems to contradict this). Eventually, Hirohito would give his explicit consent to joining the war, with the direct goal of expanding his Empire into a “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”.

Soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA)

The Japanese soldier of the Second World War wore a light brown uniform with a wide variety of small variations. The general pattern consisted of a cotton or wool tunic with an open collar, with rank insignia on the shoulder, breast or collar, depending on the pattern of uniform. The standard headgear was either the sen-bou, a simply cloth field cap with a visor and chinstrap, often paired with a canvas neck guard to protect against the tropical sun, or the tetsubo, a steel helmet often worn with a cover or netting, which was used to add local foliage for camouflage. Japanese headgear typically featured a simple star insignia in yellow or red, with the Special Naval Landing Forces (Marines) using an anchor emblem. Field gear consisted of a leather belt, with leather ammunition pouches and suspenders, although as the war progressed leather would be replaced in some instances with simple rubberized canvas equipment. Winter uniforms were also available, although these were primarily used in the relatively quiet Manchuria or northern Japan, but would see use on more active fronts such as the Aleutians.

The Type 99 Arisaka

The standard rifle in service to the Imperial Japanese Army was the Arisaka, a bolt action rifle that saw service in two different models: the older 6.5mm Type 38 and the new 7.7mm Type 99. The rifle was actually only based on Nariakira Arisaka’s design, and had, like most Japanese firearms of the period, been designed instead by Kijiro Nambu, a prolific firearms designer responsible also for handguns and machine guns of various types. The Type 38 had served in the Great War, as well as the conflict in China, and the Japanese had come to the conclusion that the 7.92mm Mausers used by the Chinese had superior ballistic performance, and set about modernizing the Type 38 in a new, roughly .30 caliber round, resulting eventually in the Type 99 on the eve of the Second World War. This was a universal short rifle, retaining the distinctive dust cover of the older rifle, as well as the Type 30 sword bayonet. In addition to the new caliber, the rifle had an improved rear aperture sight, which notably had calipers intended for leading aircraft (Chinese aircraft were often extremely primitive, and the intention here was to use volley fire from infantry columns against them), and a protected front sight. The rifle also featured a simple wire monopod for accurate shooting, mounted on the rear barrel band. Another notable feature of the Type 99 is its chrome lined bore, which protected the inside of the barrel from rust in the humid tropical environments the Japanese intended to operate in, as well as the corrosive ammunition of the period, which mated well with inlets in the stock leading to drainage holes, preventing the buildup of water should the rifle be submerged.

As the war progressed, shortages of materials and high attrition rates would lead to a progressive simplification of the Type 99, resulting in what are commonly known as “Last Ditch” varieties, hallmarked by their extremely crude features. Despite this, the Arisaka was one of the strongest and simplest bolt action rifles ever developed, and served dependably in all environments. In addition to the Type 99 and Type 38 rifles, a standard Type 38 carbine and a folding bayonet equipped Type 44 carbine were used, along with a smattering of foreign rifles such as the Italian Type I Carcano and Czech VZ24 Mauser.

The Type 14 Nambu pistol

The most common handgun in Japanese service was the Nambu Type 14, an elegant looking but problematic sidearm. The weapon as obtained by Japanese officers via private purchase from arsenals, and used an eight round magazine to feed its 8x22mm cartridges. The odd shape of these required to distinctive grip angle of the weapon, but still resulted in poor feeding reliability. The firing pin of the weapon was fairly fragile as well, with the problem being significant enough to warrant the issue of an additional pin that was carried in the holster.

The Japanese also made use of a wide variety of other handguns. The Type 94 Nambu was a compact handgun of a radically different design compared to the Type 14, and was popular with pilots and vehicle crews, although it’s exposed sear made it prone to accidental discharge when handled improperly. In addition, the older Type 26 9mm revolver remained in service, along with the .32 Hamada. As Japanese officers were to purchase their own sidearms, a wide variety of international designs also appeared across the Japanese military.

The Japanese did not place as much priority on submachine guns as the European powers, having purchased realtively small numbers of the German MP28 and Austrian MP34 in the interwar period. It was not until the after the war had begun that a domestic design would enter production, with the Type 100 entering limited service in late 1942, and only entering full production in 1944, never really being available in significant numbers.

Japanese machine guns were widely varied, including the Type 11, Type 92 (a version of the British Lewis Gun), and the Type 96 and Type 99, both variants of teh Czech ZB26 in 6.5mm and 7.7mm, respectively. Also ubiquitous was the Type 92 heavy machine gun, which fed 7.7mm cartridges from a Hotchkiss feed strip at a charachteristic rate of fire, leading to the nickname “Japanese Woodpecker”.

A Nakajima KI-43 fighter, known to the Allies as the Oscar

Like the United States, the Japanese did not have an independent Air Force, instead having a separate Imperial Japanese Army Air Corps and Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service. The Army Air Corps operated a large number of aircraft, separate from the designs of the Navy, and is less well known in the United States, as the primacy of the Imperial Navy in the Pacific as opposed to the Asian mainland is better remembered. Most Army fighter aircraft were designed by Kawasaki or Nakaima, and were generally fast and maneuverable, but suffered from a lack of armor protection that was endemic to Japanese designs. A fleet of medium bombers were also in use, although the Japanese described them as heavy types, they were more comperable to other nation’s medium types. The Imperial Army Air Corps operated in all theaters in range of Japanese land bases, although it concentrated on close support of ground forces, as the Imperial Navy had primacy over the Army in the eyes of the government, and thus it was not until late in the war that the two services attempted to integrate their roles in air defense of Japan.

A Type 95 Ha-Go light tank in Malaya

The Japanese took inspiration from French doctrine concerning the use of tanks, with light tanks being used to augment or even replace cavalry in their missions and medium tanks being used for infantry support, rather than seperate armored formations. The vehicles themselves were typical of the interwar period, with relatively light armament and weapons, but unlike other powers the primacy of the Imperial Navy resulted in lackluster development of tank design, and as a result Japanese tanks were almost always outclassed when faced with American, British or Soviet armor during the conflict, and were so scattered in their deployment so as to have relatively little bearing on operations.

The battleship Yamato

The Imperial Japanese Navy was at the dawn of the war one of the most powerful in the world, with a fleet of modern battleships and carriers to rival any other power. The doctrine of the Imperial Navy was based around the use of overwhelming surface power supported by air power from their carriers. This doctrine had a notable lack of submarine commerce raiding, and, most notably, anti-submarine warfare, as the Japanese intended to wipe out enemy fleets in one stroke. This deceisive battle, or Kantai Kessen, would likely take place somewhere in the western Pacific, and would be decided above all else by the big guns of massive, modern battleships. To this end, the Japanese would develop a series of powerful cruisers and battleships, ending in the Yamato Class, two of the largest and most powerful battleships ever constructed, including a main battery of 18 inch guns, the largest ever fitted to a warship. These would be supported by fleet carriers, particularly after the Japanese observed the success of other powers during the early years of the European War. The greatest danger posed to the Imperial Navy was the fact that Japan itself lacked resources needed to replace fleet losses, requiring the Imperial Navy to defeat the Americans or British quickly in a conflict before their losses became unsustainable.

Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero fighters

The Imperial Japanese Navy also took priority in regard to the air defense of Japan, as opposed to the Army aviation of other powers. The premier Japanese fighter was the iconic Mitsubishi A6M, known to the allies as the Zero. This fighter was famed for it’s extreme maneuverability and rate of climb, as well as impressive speed. It’s major weakness, as far as performance is concerned, was in a dive, as the light aircraft could not keep up with heavier designs from elsewhere in the world. The Zero, like most Japanese aircraft, achieved this performance by sacrificing armor protection, basically providing no protection to the pilot or critical systems at all should they be hit. Also in service was the Aichi D3A five bomber, called Val by the Allies, an aircraft whose fixed and spatted undercarriage was reminiscent of its contemporary the German JU87 Stuka, although it’s radial engine and wing layout was more typical of Japanese types. The Nakajima B5N, or Kate, was also in service, an excellent torpedo bomber using the Japanese Type 91 torpedo, an excellent design capable of running at much shallower depths than other designs.