Japanese Women and World War II - Research Paper Example

Module Japanese Women and World War II The Second World War was the most widespread war with the majority of the nations participating. More than 100 million military personnel were involved in the war that saw many deaths and casualties. Among the most recognized catastrophes were the holocaust and the use of the atomic bomb in the war. It is recognized as the deadliest conflict in human history because it claimed more than 50 million fatalities and resulted in the destruction of property worth billions of dollars. It involved the world’s great powers where countries formed two opposing military alliances known as the allies and the axis. The war started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The reason behind the massive destruction was that the participating nations committed all their industrial, economic and scientific capabilities so as to win the war (Global History network). Among the participants of the war was Japan. The country joined the war in 1937 after the Japanese army invaded China and captured its capital city; Beijing. This move was opposed by other nations including the Soviet Union which signed the non-aggressive pact with China pledging material support. This terminated the China’s prior cooperation with Germany. In 1939, the Japanese forces flooded the yellow river thus stalling the Chinese-Japanese invasion and consequently giving China time to mount a formidable defense. Later, the Japanese decided to invade the Soviet Union where their army experienced their first serious defeat. At this time, Japanese army developed cracks with some factions opposing the move to continue invading China allies. They thus proposed that they should abandon Soviet interests and focus efforts towards Europe and the Americas. This was a grave military and tactical mistake based on what transpired. Unites States responded to Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor by dropping atomic bombs on two Japanese towns; Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Millions died, property worth millions of dollars destroyed, and to date, scores of Japanese people suffer ailments like cancer that are directly or indirectly related to the two bombings (Kazuko). Majority of the participants in the war were the energetic men who could withstand tough conditions. This meant that women and children were left at home in most of the participating nations. Japan was not an exception where thousands of Japanese men went to the battle field. However, the women who were left behind also played significant roles in the war. Many women were left to look after their families and thus engaged in many income generating activities. As a result, women had a tough time supporting the fragile and growing economy. Among the most notable roles of the Japanese women during this war was that they solely took charge of their families’ welfare. This meant that they had to establish a source of income to feed the children and cater for other essential needs. This was undoubtedly a daunting task for them since in the Japanese society women were viewed as unable to perform tasks designated for men (Joseph). As a result of the Japanese women being taken as inferior to men, the roles usually played by men were left unattended. The war, however, claimed many Japanese men’s lives, which meant that the roles performed by the slain men had to be performed by women. Only a few men returned home during and after the war with many coming as a wounded lot and thus unable to perform many tasks to fed for their families. Hence, it was inevitable for the big number of widowed women to take up jobs so that they could sustain their families. With the Japanese’ women being taken as lesser human beings, it was not easy for them to secure jobs in industries where men were labeled as the most suitable candidates. As a result, women were forced into various volunteer associations which did not involve factory work in a direct manner. As a result, of the heavy losses of men to the war, the government and the industries were left with no option but to hire the available work force which was primarily composed of women. Despite the Japanese women taking the positions previously held by men, the industries did not pay women equal salaries to their male counterparts irrespective of whether they did same duties and under the same working conditions. This is because women were subjected to a double-edged sword treatment right from the social background. Culturally and socially women were perceived as the weaker sex when compared with their men counterparts. As a result, women who took up positions previously held by men were given lower remuneration than the men who had left the positions to participate in the world war. The drastic reduction in men population in the Japanese society forced the government and industries to absorb as many women as were available. This meant that all women who were unmarried and old enough to leave school, or about fifteen years of age were forced to work. The government also went ahead to encourage women who were able to work to join their counterparts who were already working. As a result, majority of the women who were left behind had no choice but to abandon their home chores and join the men-deficient work force. This move ensured that the country’s industries continued to survive and consequently produced profits which were channeled to finance the war. The Japanese’ women also provided moral support to the men who were at war. This is because a majority of these Japanese men had the hope of winning the war and going back to their families. As a result, soldiers fought with determination so that they could win and go back to their women (Hey). Besides the Japanese women being a critical source of inspiration for their men at war, they were, unfortunately, abused as sex slaves. This happened to those women who were unfortunate to be captured by the opposing army. After being captured, they were treated like ordinary slaves and forced to perform the worst of duties including being sex slaves. As a result, there was an increase in sexually transmitted diseases with the women suffering more than men. Furthermore, there were births of children from mixed races arising from raping of Japanese women by opposing soldiers. The Japanese women also took the difficult task of taking care of the wounded and weak soldiers. This happened because, from the war, there were scores of Japanese soldiers who kept returning home with severe injuries. The soldiers required constant attention from people who could clean and dress their wounds. The Japanese women took up this task and hence helped the injured soldiers to recuperate. Many of these women performed these roles as employed nurses or concerned wives, sisters, mothers, relatives or friends. When the war escalated, there was the need to have people acting as informants in regards to the direction the war was taking. The majority of the people who were left behind in Japan were women and children; hence women had to take up the role of activists where they were expected to educate and inform the people on the importance and justification of the war. This task was difficult since women had a lower social rank than men meaning that it was hard for their word to have any force. Consequently, there was a need to have some men leading the campaign as women performed minor and menial duties. As a result of their efforts, the war was largely supported by a majority of the Japanese people and hence the government was able to use the resources without much opposition from the general population (Wilson). The fact that the women were taken as lesser people and hence responsible for taking care of the wounded men, compelled the Japanese army to carry them as nurses to the battle fields to take care of the injured men. Some women were in the battle field and saw it all as their men were being massacred. This forced some women nurses to take up arms and protect themselves. As a result, the idea of having women as real soldiers in the battle field was born. From that instance, the Japanese government started recruiting many strong and able women into the army. Therefore, the Japanese women started participating in the war as soldiers. After the war, Japan was left with relatively low men population. This meant that there were many widows left to look after the families. This translated to the scenario where women were transformed from men dependants to families’ breadwinner. Women were compelled to take up many more jobs that were formerly within the male domain. This was difficult since the war did not change the mentality of the Japanese people from viewing women as inferior people to men. CONCLUSION The World War II was the biggest war in history with the highest numbers of victims and most of the countries participating including Japan. It is, however, clear that battles would not have been successful without the women’s contributions and efforts. This was through the direct and indirect participation either in the battle field or back at home i.e. in Japan. It is clear that the Japanese women played many vital roles during the Japanese participation in the World War II. Works Cited Global History network. Japanese. Women and Japanese War Efforts. 2011. Web. 4 Nov, 2011. Hey Jeffrey. Japan after World War II. 2009. 4 Nov, 2011. Web Joseph Rhawn. Koizumi, Sex Slaves, & the Nightmare of Nanking. 2005. Web. 11 Nov, 2011. Kazuko Watanabe. Forced Into Sexual Labor For Japanese Soldiers. 2001. Web. 11 Nov, 2011. Wilson Barbara. Women Were There! 1996. Web. 4 Nov, 2011. Read More