Japan's Wartime Propaganda : ‘Sino-Japanese War Relations Coverage in the Shashinsyuhou

At the time of the Sino-Japanese War, there were various political forces in mainland China, But they can be divided into three main groups: the Kuomintang Government of Chiang Kai-shek, the Nanjing Government, and the Manchukuo. In order to inspire the Japanese people to fight for the war and to carry out propaganda for war co-operation, the Shashinsyuhou used each political force in China differently to conduct the war. First, it completely ignored the other side of the Sino-Japanese War, the Kuomintang government, and did not publish any articles about Chiang Kai-shek himself, but emphasised his responsibility for starting the anti-Japanese war. It also reported only the victories of the Japanese army in the Sino-Japanese War and showed Chinese people living peacefully in Japanese occupied territories. Second, it emphasised the friendly relationship between Wang Jingwei's Nanjing government, which represented ‘official China’, and Japan, and reported in detail on the Nanjing government's cooperation in the conduct of the war. Thus, there were many articles about Wang Jingwei and the Nanjing government related to politics and diplomacy. Thirdly, the Manchukuo section of the Shashinsyuhou focused on the migration and settlement of Japanese people and the development of agriculture, resources, and heavy industry, which were necessary for Japan to wage war. It also emphasised the military aspect of Manchukuo, which bordered the Soviet Union. As such, the Sino-Japanese War period's Shashinsyuhou utilised the different regimes in mainland China from different angles to inspire the Japanese people to fight.