Original subtitles

Why did the people of Japan choose the road to war

April, members of a nationalist group

gathered on the anniversary of the death of a terrorist

Tomeo Sagoya in 1930 he shot the sitting Prime Minister

who would later die of his wounds

His victim had worked to promote democracy

He enjoyed widespread public trust

After that attack several liberal politicians were killed in succession

in acts of terrorism or attempted Coup d'etat

The ideology that fueled these actions

was spread by the biggest right wing media outlet of the pre-war era

Its archives were thought to have been lost

But many issues were recently found in the collection of a key figure from that era

It held that the nation's fundamental identity

based on the sovereignty of the emperor was absolute

and aggressively denounced anything that might lead to its disruption

The newspaper was launched in 1925

during an era of political liberalism now known as the Taisho Democracy

Japanese people had begun to embrace Western culture including movies and music

There was a thriving labor movement

And people felt relatively free to express their ideas

and for the first time adult men were allowed to vote

The government enjoyed strong public support

and managed to keep the military in check

calling it a threat to the nation

Just ten years later the Japanese people were robbed of their freedom

and the country was headed in a very different direction

was a time of change for Japan

I can say that the nation's point of view

has been radically altered

The country was rushing down the path to war

World War II brought death and destruction to the entire Asia Pacific region

it ended in tragedy

74 years later few traces of that grim history remain

Many find it hard to believe

That only ten years before World War II liberalism was thriving in Japan

and that the country could so quickly

succumb to bloodshed and destruction

Hajime Ogawa is a former member of Japan's House of Representatives

His grandfather's name was Heikichi Ogawa

He was first elected to the House of Representatives in the early 1900s

During his time as the Minister of Justice

Heikichi was known as an ultra-nationalist

The first issue of the newspaper was published in 1925

According to Department of Interior records

it had a daily print run of sixteen thousand copies

The newspapers aim was to spread the nationalist ideology of Japaneseism

It held the Japan's national identity

with the emperor as the sovereign ruler was unique

and published numerous articles praising Japan

We found a list of people who supported the newspaper early on

Many of them became vocal proponents of a strong military

Fumimaro Konoe became Prime Minister 12 years later

Kiichiro Hiranuma 14 years later

Future Prime Minister Hideki Tojo was then a lieutenant colonel in the Army

They shared a belief embedded in the Meiji Constitution

that Japan's imperial family was descended from the gods

and that Japan was a special nation

The imperial throne has been occupied by a single dynasty since time immemorial

Our emperor as a god incarnate

undertakes his politics based on morality

All government officials, public servants and politicians

are to emulate the Emperor's infinite and eternal benevolence

and act accordingly

But in the rest of the media and in academia

Japaneseism was considered out of date

An article from the papers early days

warned readers that communism would lead to the nation's destruction

Students, Workers, Revolutionary thought

during the Taisho democracy, liberalism was thriving

Modernization and the idea of progress

had transformed the Japanese lifestyle

Freedom of speech and assembly led to the rise of unionism

Major newspapers carried advertisements for works that had helped spark the Russian revolution

and moved to reform the Japanese society

and scanned the titles for keywords

Time and again, people and ideas that did not conform with the newspapers world view

were attacked with words such as traitors

or unpatriotic

One region was the target of particularly strong criticism

Shimoina in Nagano central Japan

Youth organizations were especially active there

People often got together to study the latest political ideas

A local Historical Research Institute has recording a some of the members

One of these activists was Yasokichi Kobayashi

an elementary school music teacher

We spoke to his son Kunihiko Kobayashi

He says that his father was known throughout the region

for promoting liberal education during the 'Taisho democracy'

Yasokichi used music to promote the beautiful ideal of freedom

but for the nationalists this was a dangerous tendency

How to be advocates of Japaneseism

plan to spread their ideology in the region

We found documentation related to the 'Nihon Shimbun' in the home of a local landowner

Including the letter signed Takeyo Nakatani of the 'Nihon Shimbun'

The letters outlined a scheme to enlist local opinion leaders

then reach out to others

We met his son Hideyo

Nobusuke Kishi would later become Prime Minister

that gave Takeyo a close friend since University

a strong connection inside the government

Takeyo was 26 years old

and a permitted nationalist when the 'Nihon Shimbun' was established

He wrote editorials

He also traveled throughout Japan

to spread the Japaneseism doctrine among young people

Yasokichi Kobayashi the freedom-loving educator

attended one of Nakatani's meetings

The teacher was asked to lead the audience in the song

It was Yasokichi's first introduction to the newspapers ideology

But for many its anti-liberal world view was still a relative out lier

Advocates of Japaneseism had identified another target: The Parliamentary system

they claimed it needed structural change

the Japanese Imperial Diet was established in 1890

Yet the country was still ruled by an oligarchy that included members of the aristocracy

In 1925 Universal male suffrage was established

A new framework was created

Debates among political parties their members elected by the public

became the basis for making policy

the cabinet was made up of popularly elected members

and it was able to keep a tight rein on the military

Ichiro Hatoyama

who became Prime Minister after the war

Many people agreed with Hatoyama's call for free open debate

The people's hearts are calling out for freedom

the principle of idealizing freedom

and the refusal to accept intervention

these will always form the foundation of humanity

This is the belief flowing through our veins

and cannot be eliminated

In the late 1920s the Imperial Diet

was deliberating the country's policy toward Asia, Europe and the United States

Gunboat diplomacy or International cooperation

Military build up or Disarmament

The country's future path was energetically debated

Many nationalists called for expanding the military

and a more aggressive approach to diplomacy

We found a large map of Asia

Northeastern China where Japan would build a puppet state

is highlighted in pink

The Nationalists believed that Japan and not the West

was destined to become the dominant force in Asia

In 1930, five years after the 'Nihon Shimbun' boon was launched

The paper criticized the government's national defense policy

This was the turning point

Osachi Hamaguchi's cabinet which advocated for shrinking the military

had signed the treaty the Navy had opposed it

Prime Minister Hamaguchi's party

It had won that year's election in a landslide

The London Naval Treaty marks a new epoch in human civilization

We have reached a stable era

in which all nations will strive for coexistence and coal prosperity

The idea of a smaller military was very popular

the turning delegation received an enthusiastic welcome

It accused its members of violating the Constitution

The issue in question was Supreme Command set for in the Constitution

which gave the Emperor control over the military

The newspaper said that by signing the London Naval Treaty

the cabinet had violated the principle of Supreme Command

and thus the Emperor's jurisdiction

had secretly joined forces with factions within the Navy

They insisted that politics should be handled by the Emperor

The issue of Supreme Command went on to shake up the parliamentary government

The opposition party jumped on the newspapers accusation

They used it to attack the ruling party

With regard to the military's Supreme Command

the government has taken a bold step

by making changes to the national defense plan

against the will of the chief of the naval General Staff

Prime Minister Hamaguchi responded in the Diet

saying the Empire's National Defense is extremely strong

but he did not offer any evidence

Politics without proof is a form of political violence

At this point, Hatoyama had no clue that the Supreme Command issue

would rob the house of its right to engage in free and open debate

Neither did the major newspapers which treated it as purely political matter

They did not foresee its devastating impact on freedom of speech

The military would later use Supreme Command

as a shield to repel any opinion I didn't agree with

and advance their own agenda

The Nationalists had persuaded the public

that the government had violated the Emperor's Supreme Command

Then they became even more radical

was secretly communicating with Ikki Kita

This political thinker had called for reshaping the nation

and had a strong influence on young officers

In 1930, the year of the London Naval Conference

Japan slipped into economic depression

People were suffering

but the government seemed powerless

Many rural families were forced to sell their daughters

Young people became enraged

They began to sympathize with the nationalists

who themselves were growing increasingly radical

One of them was Tameo Sagoya

He had drifted from job to job then joined a right-wing group

One month after the London Naval Treaty was signed

Sagoya went to Tokyo Station

and shotted Prime Minister Hamaguchi twice in the belly

Yoshihiro Sagoya is Tomeo's son

Only once that his father tell him about the moment he fired the shots

Signing the London Treaty had made Hamaguchi immensely popular

Huge crowds turned out for his funeral

After the war Takeyo Nakatani had this to say

about the incident that brought about the collapse of the Parliamentary System

one year after the shooting of Hamaguchi

the spirit of 'Taisho democracy' changed drastically

After staging the Manchurian incident as a pretext

Japan's imperial army invaded northeastern China in September 1931

Meanwhile the schoolteacher Yasokichi Kobayashi

was still working to instill liberal values through music

Many of his students were undernourished

The global depression had built the local filth industry a devastating blow

At the same time

the country was rife with stories of official corruption and bribery

People lost hope in the parliamentary system they had once supported

Against this backdrop

the same people who had advocated for shrinking the military only a short time before

started enthusiastically backing the invasion of Manchuria

that brought honor to the Japanese nation

Yasokichi's diary entries took on an entirely new tone

The Emperor is at the core of the nation spirit

The people must stand up and do their best

to complete the mission of the great Japan

I believe only in the military our work in Manchuria is a great deed

brought about by our Imperial system

It is not an invasion, it is a holy war

Yasokichi was disheartened

he realized that freedom could not save people

Then came a series of terror attacks aimed at restructuring the nation

A year after the Manchurian incident

former Minister of Finance Junnosuke Inoue was killed

that same year a group of young naval officers killed Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai

Politicians who valued that the democratic process became the targets of terror attacks

Many ones influential voices were silenced by fear

Inukai's attackers were court-martialed

that they chosen to sacrifice themselves in order to save the nation

Many people showed compassion for the accused

Prosecutors received letters from all over the country

Some from children begging them to be lenient

This banner reads prayers for reduced sentences for May 15th incident defendants

Nine young men cut off their little fingers

and sent them to the authorities to ask for a reduction of the sentence

A conversation between an officer who directed the attack and Takeyo Nakatani was recorded

In Shimoina

Yasokichi Kobayashi had left his job and gotten involved in politics

He'd launched a nationalist group

and was immersed in editing its journal

More than 30 of his friends had joined him

The attitudes of the Japanese had changed radically in just a few years

People who had celebrated the 'Taisho Democracy' spirit of freedom fell into despair

and pledged their allegiance to Japaneseism once considered a fringe ideology

Then in 1935

a crucial incident helped put an end to freedom of speech

and the parliamentary system

The Organ Theory

The term appeared frequently in 1935

It referred to a generally accepted interpretation of the Constitution

that defined the role of the Emperor

The Theory held that the Emperor was just one organ of the state

and he worked in concert with other organs of the governmental body

According to this interpretation

the party chosen by the public assembled the cabinet

National policy was enacted democratically

The Theory was developed by Tatsukichi Minobe of Tokyo Imperial University

He was a leading authority on Japanese constitutional law

Dictatorial government is a one-party system

Government opponents are labeled as traitors

and their lives can be endangered

The advantage of the parliamentary system is its tolerance of opposition

saying it shook the nation's foundations

Political ideologue Muneki Minoda

wrote 31 articles for the paper harshly criticizing the theory

Minobe's constitutional interpretation

unmasks his barbaric campaign

to make us believe in the sovereignty of the people and democracy

Looking and see for yourself

this national identity and fringing barbarian of a philosopher

whose theories would overturn the Imperial Constitution

completely undermines the supreme power

Muneki Minoda's family granted us their first ever interview

His son showed us some of Munechi 's belongings

Muneki bitterly attacked people and ideas he opposed

but at home he was a man of few words

His loyalty to the Emperor was unshakable

Every morning the family had to pray at the household altar

and chant the Meiji Emperor's poems

Life is the principle of life

Life supports our lives

We call that: Japan

For Muneki Imperial Japan was holy

but denial of the Emperor Organ Theory

opened up dangerous possibilities

It could lead to the military using Supreme Command as a shield and seizing control

The army used Muneki's theory to their advantage

Army ministers Senjuro Hayashi denounced it in the Diet

Unacceptable discourse should disappear from this world

We hope it ceases to exist

The movement spread ordinary people began to attack the emperor organ theory

This album was discovered in a farmhouse in Nagano

People in military uniform are on their way to Tokyo

to march and protest against the Emperor Organ Theory

This picture was taken at the demonstration

The music teacher Yasokichi Kobayashi was there too

The movement drew the government to issue two declarations

dissolving the Emperor Organ Theory

They said the theory should be eliminated

Minobe's book was baned

Four month after the declarations, thugs stormed into his home and shot him

he was verily injuryed

Then after a 10-year run

was a time of change for Japan

I can say that the nation's point of view

has been completely unaltered

Cover our country's fate is now clearest

Here with I express my deepest gratitude

Heikichi Ogawa passed away in 1942

He didn't witness the ultimate consequences of his actions

The Japanese people who saw freedoms slip through their fingers

were now on the road to war

Fading broke out across the Asia-Pacific region

Countless lives were lost

A land was left blackened and scarred

had helped fan the flames of war

Six months after Japan's defeat he committed suicide

Today Japan has a million border

and has entered a new era

But 74 years ago

Yasokichi Kobayashi the former liberal educator

encouraged people to join the war machine

As an active member of the Imperial rural assistance association

which later helped create a totalitarian state

After the war, he worked as an office worker and raised six children

But he never discussed the war with his family

This is Yasokichi's diary

All the pages between July 13th 1945

and the day the war ended had been ripped out