Almost all newspapers in Japan, regardless of their scales in business, had become the military mouthpiece. The publications banged the drum for the military with contents that were distortion of the truth, describing the action of invasion as self-defence.

These were, however, actually the propaganda of the 'sacred war' (seisen). Initially, these publications were reporting the progress of various military conflicts and the situation of China. The sales of these publications continued to surge, yielding lucrative return for the publishers.Īs television and radio broadcasting were not common at that time, these publications were the only available channel for the general public to acquire information on the wars. Obviously, this type of publications was very attractive to the Japanese public, who were so uncertain about the future of the country hard hit by economic crisis. With the support of the Japanese government and military departments, eye-catching photos related to the wars were featured on the covers of different periodicals and journals. Such rivalry led to serious antagonistic feelings of the powers against Japan, which further led to the discontent of Japanese militarists.Īfter the Mukden Incident in 1931, Japanese media sent reporters to the battlefront to cover detailed stories. The rise of strengthened Japan, however, threatened the interests of the western powers in China. The victories in Sino-Japanese War (1894) and Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) inspired Japan to spread her interests throughout Asia. Japan was greatly strengthened after the Meiji Restoration. Upper Gallery, Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence Paper Weapons: Wartime Japanese Propaganda Publications

Russo japanese war propaganda