Imperial Youth Federation
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The Imperial Youth Federation or Imperial Young Association was a political organization charged with guiding all nationalist and militarist indoctrination of young people in Japan during World War II. This political entity was the "Youth Branch" of the nationalist Imperial Way Faction party. It was the Japanese equivalent to the Hitler Youth in Germany and the Balilla and Jioventude del Littorio, fascists youth groups in Italy.
The Federation's leader was Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) Kingoro Hashimoto, who was in charge of leading the political and military training of the young students and children. Membership in the organization was obligatory for young Japanese people through the university level.
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[edit] Theoretical Indoctrination Plan
- Political and cultural lessons, to promote the importance of local culture, religion, and history, as well as the importance of the country in the sacred mission to liberate local areas.
- Theoretical military lessons with respect to the use of maps, manned aircraft, military handbooks, use of military weapons, etc.
- Ideological training in nationalist and militarist doctrines; these lessons were exceptionally profound in the idealistic young people of the Kodoha party.
[edit] Practical Training
- Combination of morning military exercises and training in martial arts, e.g. jiu-jitsu, karate, taekwondo, kendo, ninja, the use of Japanese weapons, e.g. katana, nunchaku, bo, kendo, the wooden sword, and others, hand-to-hand fighting against enemy ambushes, and countermeasures in case of air strikes.
- In advanced stages, training continued in military schools led by military officers, in the use of manned aircraft, training tanks and armored vehicles, cannons, mortars, light machine guns, and light anti-aircraft weapons. All pupils were required to know the use of weapons such as the Nambu pistol, Arisaka rifle and Type 38 carbine.
- Children 12 years and older received training in the use of bayonet-lace rifle, praticing on wooden or grass puppets. Young women received self-defense and first-aid training.
- The most advanced and fanatical of these pupils were entered in the Imperial Youth Corps, the para-military branch of the organization.
[edit] Political Actions
Under orders of the supreme chief, all members aided ideological efforts in Japan, along with the Nation Service Society (the government official syndicate) in requiring all workers to offer voluntary service in weapons and munitions factories, included in their obligatory three free days of vacation. The young women's unit of the Imperial Youth Federation took on a similar mission in Yokohama, where many young women preferred working in cafeterias and bars to working on rice farms. A similar mission occurred in Osaka when the respective youth branch of the political entity with local police suggested to all young women workers that they abandon "pernicious and bad costumes" to work on the rice farms to replace the farmers and industrial workers mobilized to the combat front.
These organizations aided in civil defense measures in assisting antiaircraft refugees, first aid, etc., along with military aid such as watching for hostile aircraft over cities, or for enemy vessels or suspicious activity along the coasts.
[edit] Endings
The Imperial Youth Federation was disbanded, along with other Japanese nationalist organizations, by Allied occupation authorities in 1945, and the supreme chief and other leaders were arrested and charged with war crimes.
