Why was Japan so Evil in World War II?

By | March 14, 2025

[March 14, 2025]  Imperial Japan’s military forces during World War II were notorious for evil acts of heinous war crimes. Why this occurred was studied by historian and British filmmaker Henry Stewart. You can find his video here.  We must ask why Japan was so evil on World War II?

He believes the beginnings of this began sometime around the time Western powers began arriving on Japan’s shores and pushing them to open up. This was a time of great humiliation for the divided country. It resulted in a deep political crisis in Japan, which would transform the country.

This precipitated the Meiji Restoration, where the power of the regional warlords declined, and Japan became more unified around one central figure, the Emperor. A constitutional system was drawn up, modeled on the British. There were radical economic reforms that caused rapid industrialization, and in just a few decades, Japan went from a backward feudal state to an economic powerhouse.

Japan also modernized its military, adopting Western tactics and weaponry. By the end of the 1800s, Japan was unrecognizable. It had become a modern nation and a major power on the international stage. With its astonishing progress came a newfound confidence and arrogance.

Japan now believed it was superior to every other nation in Asia. To prove its worth, it wanted to humble the greatest power of the region, China. China was huge and had enormous control, including the strategically located country of Korea. Korea was a bridge to mainland China, and it had to take it.

In 1894, war broke out and to the surprise of everyone, Japan won. The modernized Japanese military totally outclassed the Chinese. Over the next few years, Japan would continue expanding into Asia and bringing it into conflict with another major power, Russia.

Russia was also expanding into Asia and looking to take Korea and Manchuria. Japan was not going to accept that but opted for an agreement where Russia could get Manchuria and Japan would get Korea. Over several years, Japan attempted to get a deal with the Russian Czar, but they were treated with contempt.

After years of diplomacy, Japan gave up and chose war with Russia. In 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on Russia and, again, everyone expected Japan to lose because Russia was one of the most powerful nations on earth. After two years, Japan outclassed Russia on land and sea. Russia was forced to accept a humiliating peace deal.

Now, Japan was clearly the dominant power in East Asia and had a free hand to do what it wanted. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea. The world took notice, and the British would ally with Japan. This would lead to an important role as Japan seized German colonies in Asia. Their reward was territory, but it was too small for their liking.

Over the years, Japanese resentment over the West continued to grow. Due to political instability in Japan, their government grew more extremist and militarist, wanting expansion in Asia. In 1931, they got their wish as Japan invaded Manchuria, a resource-rich territory. By this time, it was becoming obvious that their military was in charge, not the politicians.

Due to its highly aggressive nature, it faced international condemnation. In response, Japan embraced isolation and withdrew from the League of Nations. In 1936, it allied with Nazi Germany and launched a full-scale invasion of China.

“This invasion of China was the point of no return. For Japan, it cemented their descent into evil.” — Henry Stewart

The Japanese military was truly evil and absolutely comparable to the Nazis. In 1941, the turning point was their attempt to dominate all of Asia and the Pacific. They launched a surprise attack on the American Navy at Pearl Harbor, making an enemy of the United States.

Then, they invaded much of the rest of Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Japan quickly became a giant empire with about 400 million people. However, Japan slowly began to lose the war against the Americans, who employed a strategy of Island hopping, getting closer and closer to Japan by capturing key islands.

By 1945, America had all but won the war, but it wasn’t clear how to get Japan to surrender. In lieu of a costly land invasion, atomic bombs were dropped. This forced Japan to surrender and give up its empire and withdraw from its colonies. These wars cost the lives of about 30 million people. That is what happened in the rise and fall of Imperial Japan.

There is little need to go through the many infamous examples of their cruelty. We now know of the horrible human experimentation; the most infamous was Unit 731. Another was the policy of the Three Alls: kill all, burn all, and loot all. They committed many massacres; the most well-known was at Nanking.

The question is, why was Japan so astonishingly evil?  We can determine how far back this kind of terror behavior goes in their history. Was this a short-term problem?

Long-term, we can surmise that long-standing beliefs and values that go back centuries glorify the warrior, particularly the Samurai. They possessed a strict moral code known as Bushido, which encouraged self-sacrifice for the Emperor. During the interwar period, Japan reverted to its traditions with false notions of greatness and the glorification of violence.

Another important traditional Japanese idea was that the emperor was more than just a human; he was a divine figure. That notion was deeply rooted in Japan’s traditional religion of Shinto. The emperor’s divine lineage gave him tremendous symbolic power. His divine status became a cornerstone of the national ideology, which was used to justify military aggression.

The annexation of Korea and Manchuria and the invasion of China were all framed as fulfilling a sacred mission. They were, in a sense, holy wars, almost a crusade. And all means were allowed.

But Japan had not behaved so badly during other times of war. In fact, three decades earlier, during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War, they didn’t behave with anything like the same brutality. Similarly, during the First World War, German prisoners of war were treated very well.

The contrast between the civilized Japanese Army and the one from World War II is astonishing. What caused such an enormous difference in behavior?

This is what Henry Stewart believes to be the answer:

  1. There was a huge anti-Western resentment caused by Japan getting repeatedly humiliated. Their resentment destabilized politics which in turn allowed the military to get far too much power.
  2. This led to a dark stain of insular nationalism, which also drove Japan’s determination to industrialize and modernize quickly to show that it was not inferior.
  3. During post-WWI1, when the League of Nations was created, Japan reasonably requested that a clause stating all nations would be treated equally based on race be included. That was rejected, another humiliating blow politically.
  4. In 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty was an agreement between the five major naval powers to determine the size of their navies. It was unfair to Japan.
  5. A few years later, America passed an immigration act that restricted immigration from Asia and Japan. Japan took this as a message they weren’t welcome in the West.
  6. Throughout the 1920s, Japanese politics experienced an unstable transition from the old political order to a more modern democratic system. But this happened quickly, and the old order was fearful of a left-wing movement’s development. Laws were passed to exclude the leftists.
  7. This led to a swing toward an authoritarian state, which was made worse by economic problems. Poverty began to soar, made worse by the global financial crash of 1929. Mainstream political parties were discredited, and politics became more extreme.
  8. By the mid-1930s, Japan had been essentially taken over by the military creating a military dictatorship. The Generals ceased to pay attention to the civilian government. With that, the military did as it wished.
  9. A war in Manchuria, initiated by the Japanese army, precipitated a chain of events that further weakened the Japanese government and strengthened the army. But eventually in the struggle, the military won out over their government.

The atrocities committed during WW2 were a direct result of that military takeover. Japan’s army in Manchuria developed an especially brutal and evil culture. Leaders of this army oversaw many atrocities like the Nan King Massacre and non-military atrocities like human experiments

Japan came to be controlled by the most brutal, psychopathic subsection of its society. The men running the shoe weren’t just ordinary members of the military. They turned Japan into something totally alien to what it had been just a few decades earlier.

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Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

15 thoughts on “Why was Japan so Evil in World War II?

  1. Kenny Foster

    Sir, just catching up on my reading …. been overworked lately with all the problems at home and work. Glad that I got an extra few minutes to write a few words. Keep these lessons coming our way.

    Reply
  2. Otto Z. Zuckermann

    8. By the mid-1930s, Japan had been essentially taken over by the military creating a military dictatorship. The Generals ceased to pay attention to the civilian government. With that, the military did as it wished.
    ========
    Well, that would play a part but I think we are ignoring what the regular Japanese wanted. I don’t see their society as being supportive of the brutal methods used during the war. Especially considering the history as Mr. Stewart laid out here. Well done sir.

    Reply
    1. Mr. T.J. Asper

      Japan is a great culture so I can’t imagine them being so evil.

      Reply
  3. Bryan Z. Lee

    “Why Were the Japanese So Cruel in World War II?”
    https://www.historynet.com/a-culture-of-cruelty/
    Japan’s wartime barbarism had its roots in the nation’s feudal history. From the early 17th century until the 1868 Meiji Restoration, a hereditary military dictatorship known as the Tokugawa shogunate ruled Japan, isolating it from the rest of the world. For more than two centuries the samurai—a class of military nobility whose bushido (“way of the warrior”) code demanded rigid loyalty to their liege lord and suicidal bravery in battle—governed society, demanding and receiving their subjects’ unquestioning obedience.

    I’m sure that Gen. Satterfield would agree that it is more complex than that.

    Reply
    1. Vanguard

      Military success and imperial expansion at home bred jingoism and xenophobia, prompting various theorists to link the “racial superiority” of the Japanese to the perceived superiority of the imperial dynasty.

      Reply
  4. Pink Cloud

    Interesting take on the lead up to WWII and the Japanese Army and Navy atrocities. Mainly the army since they are more hands on. Let us not forget either that their tactic was extreme aggression and placing fear into the hearts of their enemies. The problem was they had poor strategies to deal with America. The fact they attacked the US at Pearl Harbor was a fool’s errand and a major strategic error. This shows their thinking was faulty and that eventually they would be defeated … but only after a long, deadly series of battles. They were hoping for an enemy that would just go away. Well, that didn’t work out too well. The West was not going to give up.

    Reply
  5. Rusty D

    I’m slowly discovering that there are many theories about the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire from the late 1800s until 1945 when they were eventually crushed by America and the West. What happened to turn them into fanatical killers on the battlefield is probably something between an International Intrigue story and a psycho list of personality disorders. My money is on the fact there were no controls over the leadership of either the military or civilian government. I would hope that today’s Japanese have taken a good look at themselves and learned not to repeat that mistake. And, IMHO, taking the path of pacifism is not the answer.

    Reply
    1. Edward G.

      Rusty, good point, especially about them taking a look inside themselves as a society and what went off the rails to cause so many to adopt a kill all strategy – The Three Alls. Let us all not forget that much of mankind is always on the brink of hell.

      Reply
      1. Pastor John 🙏

        This is a lesson for us all. Never stray from your Christian teachings. ✝

        Reply
      2. Dead Pool Guy

        Humankind is always on the edge. Be careful what you do and that your values are clear and studied.

        Reply
  6. Under the Bridge

    Another question is how did Japan reverse course after the war? They completely flipped. It’s more than just losing the war but I think the rise of a wise civil society and government.

    Reply
  7. Yusaf from Texas

    Great find and even though I don’t think Henry Stewart is a historian, this was an informative summary of why Japan’s army was so brutal in WWII.

    Reply

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