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Introduction This paper is about the cultural policies implemented by the Japanese Military Administration during their occupation of the Philippines (1942-1945). It is the intention of this piece to prove that the orders which the Japanese imposed were directed at suppressing the Filipinos in many aspects of their socio-cultural life. This position ironically contradicts the rosy picture which the Japanese painted for the country, that is, a new Philippines free from dependence on America and proud of its Oriental roots.
Hence, this paper entitled, “Propaganda of Suppression: The Role of Cultural Policies during the Japanese Occupation, 1942-1945,” looks at how a seemingly adorable vision for a colonized country could be a strategic tool to subjugate and suppress its people. To explain how this propaganda worked, this paper will show the two sides of the same coin: the ideal vision articulated in Japan’s cultural policies and their repressive content.
A portion of the discussion of every policy will also present the ideas and corresponding reactions of the Filipinos, to whom these policies were directed at. This is to show that the reactions varied according the nature of the policies. There were few Filipinos who, for example, benefited from one policy, while a magnitude of them experienced hostilities to which they responded through various forms of resistance. One could hardly grasp how he would have survived if he were to live in one of the Philippine’s darkest eras.
Surviving during this time equated to surrendering one’s freedom, liberty, and happiness in exchange for imposed orders that dictated and controlled one’s actions. Defiance only meant punishment or death. And if one were to ask for the reasons behind all these hostilities, widespread social unrest, and extreme poverty, the answers will emanate from only one source, namely, Japan’s cultural policies. The Cultural Policy: Definition and Scope The paper uses the term “cultural policy” to refer to all the implemented policies that targeted the cultural institutions of the Philippines such as ducation and the media. For the purposes of this paper, the policies that emanated from three of the six departments established under the reorganized government, the Executive Commission, are covered: the Departments of Interior; Education, Health, and Public Welfare; and Public Works and Communications. The Department of Interior was given the duty of eradicating the idolization of the United States and Europe by making the Filipinos realize their oriental nature.
Apart from this, it was also the duty of this department to secure peace and order of the country while maintaining good relations with Japan. [1] The Department of Education, Health, and Public Welfare, meanwhile, was further divided into three bureaus, Public Instruction, Private Education, Health, Public Welfare, and the Institute of National Language. Among these bureaus, only Public Instruction, Private Education, and the Institute of National Language are given attention in this paper for they served as the means through which policies on education and language were channeled.
The Bureau of Public Instruction functioned in administering the public school system and in supervising the general school interests of the Philippines under the authorization and orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces or of the Chairman of the Executive Commission. The duty of the Bureau of Private Education was to maintain a general standard of efficiency in all private schools and colleges of the Philippines. It was authorized to supervise, inspect, and regulate the schools and colleges in order to determine the efficiency of their instruction.
And finally, the duty of the Institute of National Language was to make a study of the Filipino languages with a view of developing a national language based on Tagalog. It had the authority to correct, alter, or amend the linguistic forms and expressions of any or all textbooks written in the national language of the Philippines which were intended for adoption as official texts in the schools and colleges. [2] The Department of Public Works and Communications was similarly divided into bureaus, Public Works and Communications.
This paper pays greater attention in the Bureau of Communications which had the exclusive authority to establish, maintain, and discontinue post offices and to establish, operate, and maintain rural free mail delivery, rural money order and postal savings bank service. This, however, controlled all mail and postal businesses conducted in the Philippines. Likewise, it had the exclusive supervision, regulation, and control of all telegraph and telephone lines and radio services, including submarine cables and wireless installations under the jurisdiction of the military government. 3] These were the departments through which the military orders, instructions, and proclamations concerning the socio-cultural aspect of wartime Philippines were channeled. But as to what policies should these departments implement rested upon the powers of the Executive Commission which, despite being headed by a Filipino named Jorge B. Vargas, was under the prerogative and jurisdiction of the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Philippines. Survey of Literature
Since this paper focuses on the policies that emanated from the departments mentioned previously, a wide portion of this research utilized volumes one to thirteen of the Official Journal of the Japanese Military Administration (OJJMA) which served as the “official gazette” of the Executive Commission. The government was reorganized and the Executive Commission was given the power to issue administrative orders on matters covering an extensive field, including city, provincial, and municipal administration. 4] In short, the Executive Commission replaced the Commonwealth Government that happened to be in exile. From January 1942 up to the establishment of the Third Republic in October 1943, the Executive Commission imposed policies in judiciary, finance, economy, and society. And it was in the OJJMA where such policies, including those that concerned education, culture, and public welfare can be found. As part of the propaganda, the OJJMA is expected to contain policies that catered the interests of the colonizers alone, that is why, it is an mportant source for this research to see, mainly in theory, how abusive the Imperial Army was in utilizing its power. Upon the Japanese’s granting of a “phony” Philippine independence, the Third Republic was established and the Executive Commission was disarmed. The OJJMA was replaced with the National Assembly Yearbook which published the acts and resolutions adopted during the regular sessions of the National Assembly. This Yearbook then served as the primary source of the laws passed during the Laurel Administration until its termination in 1945.
To see in substance how the cultural policies materialized, the researcher subscribed to the only periodical that was allowed to circulate during this period, the Tribune. Serving as a mouthpiece of the Japanese propaganda, the Tribune provided reports that propagated false and sensationalized pro-Japanese stance. Furthermore, it did not only publish news articles that were bias against the Allied Powers but it also printed military ordinances and proclamations for the acknowledgement of the masses.
Several publications of the Japanese Military Administration under the Bureau of Information became sources for the research, as well. Articles, for example, in the souvenir book of the Filipino graduates of the New Philippines Cultural Institute (NCPI) in Tagaytay are of good help. Entitled “The Pillars,” the souvenir book explains the rationale of the creation of the NCPI and enumerates the lessons discussed, mostly by the Japanese instructors and a few Filipinos, throughout the training. There is also the Shin-Seiki (New Era) periodical that propagated “positive” effects of the Japanese policies in the Philippines.
Personal accounts of a Japanese writer named Asihei Hino were also used by the Bureau of Information to reinforce their desires that Filipinos should realize their own culture and roots. Compiled under the title “The Flowering of Racial Spirit,” the Japanese wanted to demonstrate to the Filipinos how proud their fellow citizens were in their unique culture, not only as Japanese but as Orientals in general. In that way, Filipinos were hoped to be inspired by such simple act of a plain Japanese citizen. President Jose P.
Laurel also published his own book “upon request of the editor of the Propaganda Corps. “[5] Entitled “Forces that Make a Filipino Nation Great,” the Japanese treated it as a “food for thought” being fed by the highest Filipino official to his citizens in hope that they may think and act as Filipinos and as Orientals. The book entitled “Ideals of the New Philippines” is, meanwhile, a collection of addresses and speeches of the Japanese Military Officials before the Filipino people about their aims for the country.
And if there is a collection of speeches and articles made by the Japanese military officials, there are also articles that Filipino collaborators published by themselves. Found in “The Voice of the New Philippines,” the aim of the book was to encourage their fellow Filipinos to follow their footsteps in working with Japan in the attainment of a new Philippines. It has also a Filipino counterpart entitled “Tinig ng Bagong Pilipinas” that was probably directed towards the masses who could have had hard time understanding the English language.
Articles found in both books were, however, edited by the Japanese Propaganda Corps as part of the censorship ordered at that time. The above-mentioned sources surveyed by the researcher were all edited and published by the Bureau of Information of the Japanese Military Administration. They were intended to show the grand plans of Japan for the Filipinos through flowery words of encouragement. Disparity within those same publications will also be utilized through the course of the research to show that they were not entirely pro-Filipino and at the very least, suppressive.
Meanwhile, diaries written during the Occupation served as the primary source in putting a different, and somehow contradicting, perspective about the policies that the Imperial Army propagated. The personal accounts of war veteran Conrado Gar Agustin found in “Men and Memories in Confinement” include all articles that had survived during the war. Aside from his personal journal, the book also included annotated pictures, cartoons, newspaper clips, correspondences he wrote to and received from his fellow guerillas, and flyers he received from the Imperial Army.
Marcial P. Lichauco’s “Dear Mother Putnam,” also a personal narrative, is an account of all the memorable events that took place in the Islands during his time. What is significant about the book is the author’s inclusion of his personal observation, analysis, and viewpoint to every event that was then taking in place. Pres. Jose P. Laurel’s “War Memoirs” is also a narrative about his achievements starting as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court prior to the outbreak of the war up to his becoming the President of Third Republic.
He wrote in it his personal opinion about the events that had been transpiring during his time, including his stand that he was not pro-Japanese and that his stay in the government was in adherence to the orders he received from President Quezon. [6] A collection of guerilla articles, short stories, and poems supporting all Japanese atrocities can be found in “The Voice of the Veteran. ” The same goes with the “Liberator” that went along the tagline, “the only guerilla newspaper during the war. Written by American and Filipino guerillas, the Liberator published extreme anti-Japanese write-ups, articles, and jokes about Filipino collaborators, spies, and Japanese Military officials. “Facing Japan,” meanwhile, is a collection of lecture series delivered before the executive staff of the Office of the Chief of Intelligence of the United States government. From an outsider’s viewpoint, primarily of the Americans, it published lectures and analyses of Japan’s strategy during the war, including their propaganda that was adopted to the Islands.
Aside from primary sources, the researcher also utilized secondary books that provided framework and context to his research. Marcelino Foronda, Jr. ‘s “Cultural Life in the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation, 1942-1945” partly explains the policies of Japan and the rest of his account focused on the cultural arts that flourished during the war. He seemed to look at the policies of the Imperial Army as somewhat beneficial for the Filipinos without looking at the hostilities that materialized in each of them. Armando J. Malay’s “Occupied Philippines” gives an objective and chronological narrative of how Commissioner Jorge B.
Vargas emerged as the head of the Executive Commission. Malay’s account was of great help to the research for it provided a different view of Vargas through the interviews Malay made with him. Ricardo T. Jose’s articles found in the Philippine Studies Journal entitled, “The Tribune During the Japanese Occupation” and “The Tribune as a Tool of Japanese Propaganda, 1942-45” exemplify how the Japanese used the Tribune to manipulate the minds of its readers by means of fictitious and extreme pro-Japanese stance. The first article looked the Tribune both prior to and during the war.
It discusses how the imposed policies on press transformed a reputable daily into an “evil” one. The second article, meanwhile, investigates more deeply the Tribune during the Occupation, 1942 to 1945. It cited specific news articles that the Tribune published to show how it served as a propaganda mouthpiece for the Japanese. Grant K. Goodman’s “An Experiment in Wartime Intercultural Relations” provided a concrete source on how the cultural policies materialized. Goodman documented in it the fifteen-month adventure in Japan of twenty select Filipino young men and women who studied the Japanese culture, customs, and traditions.
Upon their arrival back to the Philippines these young Filipinos were expected to become leaders of their country. There is also Teodoro Agoncillo’s second volume of “The Fateful Years” which provided a general narrative of this particular period in Philippine history. Motoe Terrami-Wada’s dissertation, “The Cultural Front in the Philippines, 1942-1945: Japanese Propaganda and Resistance in Mass Media,” meanwhile, provided help in looking at how the Japanese utilized the media as instruments of propaganda. Importance of the Study
Much has been written about the Japanese occupation of the Philippines but only little did concentrate on the cultural aspect of that time. Furthermore, many people might think that the study of culture places less value in the study of history. But little do they know that culture encompasses all institutions in the society including politics, economics, education, religion, and family. Once culture is suppressed, dysfunction in these institutions would arise leading to extreme poverty resulting from unwavering social unrest.
The researcher thinks that this study best exemplifies such case ??? a three-year period in history wherein public affairs had all been subject to suppressive policies; policies that were dictated against the will of the people, were utilized to control the freedom to learn and express one’s opinions, and were made to limit one’s access in the search for truth. Consequently, the rest of the social institutions like the economy and education remained stagnant so as resistance, social unrest, and extreme poverty were pervasive. An ideal vision
The military conquest of the Japanese was made much easier by attempting to win the hearts of the Filipino people. Such attempt materialized as the Japanese appeared like heroes who finally came to liberate the Islands of their fellow Orientals from more than four hundred years of subjugation under Western colonial rule. The arrival of the advance units of the Japanese forces in Manila on January 2, 1942 was accompanied by their distribution of leaflets saying, “The Japanese Armed Forces wishes to share the well-beings with the officials and people of the native land.
Wait for the arrival of the Japanese troops with confidence and ease. “[7] Aside from leaflets containing messages in bit, posters pasted on public spaces notified the people of the so-called Japanese’s aim of occupation of the Philippines. “The purpose of the Japanese expeditionary force to your country,” one of its stanzas states, “is to drive away American sovereignty and to give support to establish the Philippines for the Filipinos. Our motive is just and fair and we solely wish you peace and prosperity and earnestly hope that ‘Philippines for the Filipinos’ can be established as a nation in the Far East. [8] Both these leaflet and poster, however, mentioned warnings that, “making resistance or taking hostile actions against the Japanese Armed Forces (JAF) in any manner leads the whole native land into the ashes. Therefore,” the message concludes, “everyone should come under the protection of the Japanese Armed Forces without seeing even one drop of blood and should continue daily business as usual. “[9] For the Japanese to start executing their plans of action, they had to first pacify the dreaded public and make it appear that situations were normal.
What they first did was to remove from the minds of the public the notion that the latter was being pacified. They reported that peace conditions retained since their arrival. But beneath that, pacification campaigns had already been ongoing: curfew hour at 8pm was imposed,[10] surrendering of firearms and ammunitions at the Villamor Hall of the University of the Philippines was ordered,[11] and posters warning Filipino hostilities were posted everywhere. [12] These pacification campaigns were later on announced to be effective in maintaining peace and order.
On January 5, the Tribune reported that “very few cases were recorded on the police blotter, indicating that peace and order conditions in the city are satisfactory. “[13] Simultaneous to the pacification missions was the Troops’ reiteration of their aim for the Philippines. “As repeatedly declared by the Japanese Forces,” the spokesman of the Japanese Army and Navy announced, “the very purpose of Japan in this war is to crush the American armed forces in this country and in the Pacific as well, but not to make the Filipinos their enemies. [14] He added that they “intended to destroy the American military forces here and to establish a new state, namely ‘the Asia for Asiatics’ and the reconstruction of the Philippines in Greater East Asia. “[15] It was along the lines of the program “Asia for Asiatics, Philippines for the Filipinos” through which the Imperial Army channeled their cultural policies. To put this theory into practice, they targeted the education sector and released an order that served as the basic principles of educational reform in the Philippines. Contained in Order No. , through the Executive Commission, utmost efforts were needed to renovate the education in the Philippines. The new education in the country, to the minds of the Japanese, should encourage the promotion of friendly relations with Japan; the eradication of too much reliance on the West, especially on the USA and Great Britain; the fostering of a New Filipino culture based on the self-consciousness of the people of the Orient; the learning of the Japanese language and eventual termination of the use of English; the opening of elementary education and vocational education; and the promotion of the spirit of love of labor. 16] On one look, the foregoing principles were not too much idealistic to attain. At the very least, they are basic to every country that recognizes independence and sovereignty. The realization of a country’s people to promote its national interest with strong adherence to their native roots while putting discrimination to foreign influences is vital to every country that realizes its capability to stand on its own. But maintaining friendly relations with neighbor countries is, at the same time, beneficial in terms of establishing trade partnerships, for example.
Furthermore, the promotion of basic education is the most fundamental requirement in advancing progress, sharing knowledge, and maintaining the continuity of the country’s traditions, identity, and leadership. And the spirit of love of labor is unquestioningly important and instinctive of every individual for his personal survival. But these principles proved to be impossible to achieve for the Filipinos when one is to ask: “who imposed these policies, for whom these policies were directed at, and for what purpose? The imposed basic principles of educational reform in the Philippines was unattainable because those were being imposed by a colonizer, appearing to be friendly to his subjects, to achieve the goals he desired, not for his colony, but for his own country. Promoting friendly relations with a colonizing nation is somehow equated to surrendering the colonized people’s rights and freedom. The eradication of too much reliance from a previous colonizer only to replace it with the present colonizer’s ideologies and language is similarly equated to allowing the colonized to be subjugated under a new rule.
Promotion of basic education that conceals the truth while advocating distorted knowledge is like putting one’s self into prison of ignorance. And finally, encouragement of the spirit of love of labor, not for one’s benefit, but for his “masters’ ” leads only to his own starvation. The above-mentioned principles were, in theory, favorable and beneficial for the Filipinos. But what made them inauspicious was through the means they were materialized. The ironies about the basic educational reform would become more evident as this paper reaches the second part of its discussion ??? the suppression underlying these cultural policies.
Suppressive motives unleashed A country colonizes another because of its vested interests on the latter. One probable reason as to why Japan occupied the Philippines was to prevent its enemy, the United States, from utilizing the Filipinos to wage war against her. Japan’s occupation of the Philippines did not only prevent that from happening, but it also provided her with the luxury of manipulating the minds of the subjugated people through the propaganda and policies she imposed.
These policies were made to effect through the departments and bureaus of the Executive Commission, the Departments of Interior; Education, Health and Public Welfare; and the Bureau of Communications. Policies on Education Order No. 2 set the major lines along which the Philippines would develop. To ensure the cultivation of this order, the Imperial Army placed it under the responsibility of the Department of Education above anything else. The following day after the imposition of Order No. 2, the Director-General of the Military Administration instructed Commissioner Claro M.
Recto of the Department of Education, Health, and Public Welfare to disseminate to the principals, teachers, and other school authorities the basic elements of the said order before the reopening of schools. [17] Accordingly, the basic principles should be strictly followed and observed. Furthermore, part of that instruction stated that greater priority to reopen earlier was given to the elementary, public, and vocational schools than high school, private, and general schools, respectively. [18] The priority that was given to the elementary, public, and vocational schools emanated from another order instructed by the Imperial Army to Recto.
On April 28, 1942, Recto received orders from Maj. Gen. Hayashi, Dir. Gen. of the Imperial Army, notifying him of the approved textbooks that had already been screened by the Textbook Examining Committee (TEC), a board comprised of both Filipino and Japanese scholars. Those textbooks, which contained eliminated portions about America and even about the Philippines, would serve as the official books to be used in public elementary schools in the country. [19] Apparently, the TEC had prioritized the screening of elementary textbooks alone.
Screening of high school textbooks was finished just by the early part of June. That is why instructions concerning the textbooks to be used in public high schools in the Philippines were delayed to July 11,[20] when classes on public elementary schools had already been starting. Some portions of the books approved by the TEC were deleted. Common eliminated parts from both public elementary and high schools textbooks were the words “Commonwealth of the Philippines,” “Department of Public Instruction,” and “Bureau of Education. ” All illustrations of both Filipino and American flags were eliminated as well. 21] In English and Reading books, poems and essays about the United States were eliminated. The poem “America” and short story “An American Knight” were, for example, deleted from the prescribed grade five textbook entitled “The Philippine Readers” by Camilo Osias. Even the “Philippine Hymn” found in pages 277 and 281 of the same book was eliminated. [22] In elementary Mathematics and Music books, meanwhile, all numerical calculations about the US currency and songs such as “Philippine Hymn” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” were also deleted, respectively. 23] The same trend went with high school textbooks. Essays entitled “How to Vote,” “Customs as Basis for Law,” “China, the Senior Nation,” and “Reference to American Influence over the Philippine Islands” were, for instance, eliminated from the First Year book on Reading entitled “Philippine High School Readers, Book 1. “[24] Private schools in general were, meanwhile, given lesser priority than the public schools. According to a memorandum issued to Comm.
Recto concerning the reopening of private elementary schools, “in case the private elementary schools in the Philippines want to reopen, the permission shall be given to them after you have instructed them to use nothing but the textbooks which were designated by Instruction no. 18, dated April 28, 1942, to be used in the public elementary schools in the Philippines. “[25] Agricultural high schools were also given priority as they had to reopen “as soon as possible,” according to the instruction forwarded to Comm. Recto.
The instruction states that “the spirit of the new educational principles shall be fully understood” and “students shall be instructed to be in accord with the new agricultural course of the Philippines departing from old customs. “[26] The Japanese’s dire need to reopen agricultural high schools resulted from extreme starvation that was prevalent then. They needed agricultural experts who would find ways to alleviate the widening poverty. But to the Filipino minds, the production of crops was not intended to be sold or to be fed to their mouths; they were intended for the Japanese consumption instead.
This was the reason why the common sentiment of the Filipinos, especially of the farmers, during this time was that, the Japanese were interested in agricultural output not to help the Filipino farmers alleviate the critical food situation, but to grab the fruits of their labor. [27] If one were to live during this period, he would not have probably enjoyed the benefits of the educational system because information was either distorted or concealed. Aside from the screening of public school textbooks, wide portion of publications that were kept in the libraries of schools, colleges, and universities had to be surveyed and inspected as well. [28] Books that, to the Japanese inspectors, “are written for anti-Japanese propaganda purposes; propagate democracy and aim at alienating Axis powers from one another; repudiate war; are in contradiction with the fundamental principles of the Philippine educational renovation; and are improper in the enforcement of military administration”[29] were all subject to confiscation.
This could probably be the reason why, in one issue of the Tribune, then National Library Director Eulogio B. Rodriguez emphasized that “there is a general tendency among the readers to read books about Asia. All the Japanese-English dictionaries available in the Library,” he added, “have been borrowed and many readers have made reservations for these books. “[30] On one hand, such statement could imply that Filipinos’ curiosity about Asia was aroused by the arrival of the Japanese.
But on the other hand, it could also imply that books about Asia and Japan were in demand because there was no other book available other than those. The rest of the books were either confiscated or burned as they were found to have been containing the above-mentioned qualities. Inasmuch as it may seem that control on education was prevalent, the Japanese government also provided cultural exchange in which the Filipinos took part of.
Lasting for fifteen months, from July 9, 1943 until October 1944, the twenty Filipino students who had been chosen to visit Japan had to immerse themselves with the Japanese culture and way of life in hope that upon their arrival back to the Philippines, they could impart whatever lessons they learned from their experiences. [31] This opportunity, however, became available only to the children of Filipino collaborators and prominent families. Education in the lower level remained inert as sources of knowledge were controlled.
These drastic changes in the educational system of the Philippines were made to remove from the minds of the Filipino youth, at an early stage, the high regard for the West. Such manipulation of the mind was added with the teaching of the Japanese language which, on the other hand, was made to divert Filipinos’ attention to the Japanese. Policies on Language As part of the basic principles of the educational reform in the Philippines, that is, the effort to diffuse the Japanese language in the Philippines, the Japanese executed rigorous measures in guaranteeing the implementation of such task.
Policies about which language to use were more lenient as compared to the policies on other areas of culture that will be discussed later. Military Ordinance No. 13, for instance, allowed the use of any language common to the Filipinos. It stated that, “the official languages for public use in the future shall be Japanese and Tagalog languages. However, for the time being, the use of English language will be allowed. “[32] The Japanese might have realized the necessity to allow the continuation of the use of English since after all, their language was completely foreign to the Filipino mind.
But at the very onset of their occupation, the Japanese were already adamant in insisting the teaching of Nippongo to the Filipinos. Just two days after the occupation of Manila, the Tribune reported that, “the officers and soldiers conversed cordially with the Filipinos who gathered around them about their plans of teaching Japanese and Tagalog languages in schools which the Military Administration would soon open. “[33] Serious in making Nippongo part of the Filipino consciousness, language lessons were aired over at KZRH during Saturdays of the week, from 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm.
Conducted by Japanese professors, an outline of the topics to be taught was printed in the news section of the Tribune in the morning to prepare its listeners to the lessons come 6:00 pm of that same day. [34] And as what will be discussed later on in the policies on communications, greater time was allotted to the airing of news delivered in Japanese. To prove that their language had increasingly become the dominant one in East Asia, the Japanese released news saying that English was already a “forgotten” language in Malaya. The study of the Japanese language,” one Indonesian correspondent reported, “has already gone far beyond the elementary salutations of ‘Chavo’ and ‘Sayonara’ during the past five months. ” He added that, “English equivalents have disappeared from the vocabulary of the Malaysians even before they wrote it. “[35] This example of a fictitious report being propagated by the Tribune was made to manipulate the minds of its readers. A language or any non-tangible thing that has been part of one’s consciousness for a long period of time could not be easily removed nor replaced with another one.
But whether the news was true or not, this only exemplified Japanese’s strong adherence to the promise declared in the basic principles of educational reform in the country. It was only in January 1943 when the Imperial Army took more formal steps in the teaching of Nippongo. As part of the affairs concerning the Department of Interior, a proclamation prescribing the qualifications for teachers of Nippongo in the Philippines was released. 36] “Aspiring teachers,” the proclamation announced, “were required to take examination about reading, translation, grammar, composition, dictation, and conversation of Nippongo; Japanese history and culture; and the teaching methods of Nippongo. “[37] But in some schools like the Santa Escolastica College, the teaching of Nippongo took place much earlier as the Imperial Army used it as a prerequisite to reopen the school’s Department of Music. [38]
Inasmuch as the teaching of Nippongo played a vital role in propagating the basic principles of educational reform, it, however, contradicted the duty placed upon the Institute of National Language, a Japanese-created office under the Department of Education, Health and Public Welfare. The end goal placed to the Institute was the development of a national language based on Tagalog. But looking at the policies that were implemented, there was no attempt in attaining that goal and on the contrary, much attention was given in the teaching of the Japanese language.
The responsibility of cultivating the basic principles in educational reform including the teaching of the Japanese language was given to the Education Department. But suppressive policies that emanated from the Bureau of Communications were more evident and wider in scope. Policies on Communication On Radio Long before the release of Order No. 2, efforts to control the spread of any information, vital against the Japanese, had already been made. On January 9, 1942, the Imperial Forces ordered the “prohibition from using amateur radio stations, irrespective of the nationality of the owner. [39] This proclamation was further expanded with the inclusion of all wireless apparatus, including wireless telegraph and telephone communications, as subjects to prohibition. [40] Aside from these proclamations, the Japanese also installed necessary equipment to jam the air whenever broadcasts from London and San Francisco were ongoing. [41] Through these measures, the Imperial Army would be guaranteed that listeners could pay attention only to the radio station that promoted pro-Japanese sentiments, the KZRH.
Since the prohibition covered only the usage of wireless apparatus and the airing of any radio stations other than the local station, tuning in to foreign broadcasts was still possible. And despite the Army’s installation of the equipment jamming the air whenever foreign broadcasts were on, one listener noted that, “a good receiver, however, can get these stations just the same so I have the slightest doubt that, eventually, we shall be required to remove our antennae and to tune only on the local station. “[42] The listener was right.
Six months later, another military order was released concerning the use of radio. On July 24, 1942, listening to radio broadcasts other than the KZRH was imposed. [43] And to ensure that there would be no means by which anyone could receive or broadcast any statement, whether it may be pro or anti-Japanese, the general usage of antennas, except for short antennas found in every house, became prohibited. [44] In short, only radio-receiving sets were allowed to function, otherwise, offenders would be severely punished.
The KZRH, being the one and only news provider during this period, served as a tool in manipulating the Filipino mind. Throughout its daily broadcast, greater time was provided for the news delivered in Japanese and for programs propagating the Japanese advocacy of “Asia for Asiatics”. During this time, the KZRH was signing on at 12:45 pm with the airing of news in Japanese lasting for two hours and fifteen minutes. This was followed with a feature segment entitled, “Bushido: Soul of Japan” at 3 pm. Subsequent to this program were news delivered in English, Tagalog, Spanish, and Visayan languages.
Each of them was to air for 30 minutes only. At 6:00 pm, another feature segment about the Japanese was to air, to be followed by another program at 7:40 pm entitled, “Glimpses of Greater East Asia: The Modern Side of Japan. “[45] During Sundays, vespers were conducted. They aired from 6:00-6:30 pm upon the leadership of the United Church of Manila,[46] an organization of Churches that urged for collaboration. [47] This one-way communication, where listeners were treated as mere passive recipients of unverified and sometimes distorted information, was detrimental.
Listeners were not even allowed to express their opinions on what was happening then. Information influences how one thinks and if every bit of repeated information comes from only one source, the effects might be detrimental to the listener. But Filipinos remained vigilant yet wary in searching for truth. They were aware that the paranoia of the Imperial Army to release multiple proclamations and orders containing controls with the use of radio could only mean one thing: the concealment of true information.
The bombarding of controlled and pro-Japanese information was, however, not limited to radio broadcasts alone. Periodicals were similarly censored and ensured to propagate nothing, but pro-Japanese sentiments. On Print On February 7, 1942, the Imperial Army issued a proclamation requiring anyone who wanted to print and publish a newspaper, magazine, or pamphlet to obtain permit from the Military Administration. [48] But the proclamation did not only require permit to publish for it also required publications “to undergo censorship of the authorities. [49] Control of information, to the minds of the Japanese, could prevent impediments to the execution of their desired goals. But one month prior to that proclamation, the Tribune had already been circulating in the market containing news reports that sounded too pro-Japanese. Unknown to the reading public, the Tribune was put under censorship since January 5, 1942. [50] Notwithstanding this fact, there was never a day when the Tribune failed to release issues as it continuously published like no incident of censorship happened.
If the reading public wanted to be up-to-date of the events that were transpiring they had no choice but to subscribe to it since only the Tribune and its sister publications, the “Vanguardia” and “Taliba,” were allowed to circulate. Its rivals, the “Manila Daily Bulletin” and “Herald,” were terminated by the Japanese because of their anti-Axis stance. The publication office of the Herald was destroyed by low flying bombers few days after the Japanese entered Manila, while the offices of the Manila Bulletin were seized upon the arrival of the Japanese forces. [51]
As to why the Tribune was chosen to serve as the propaganda mouthpiece of the Japanese, it was because of their non-committal stance and avoidance to incur enmity, both from the Allied and Axis powers. [52] This evasive position the Tribune had been portraying for a long time reinforced the desires of the Japanese to seize and use it as a tool through which their propaganda would be channeled because the reading people would have had hard time questioning its credibility. The Tribune was completely “new” in form and in substance. The price and the number of pages dropped to P. 05 and to four pages, respectively.
Its first issues under the Japanese rule reduced to tabloid size, half that of the prewar paper. [53] But as conditions settled, so did the paper, as its pages grew to eight yet its price increased to P. 10. [54] To project an image of a hardworking publication, ready to provide the people with relevant news about the ongoing war, the Tribune was made to come out seven days a week. On Sundays, the Sunday Tribune Magazine was released containing feature articles in replacement of news. But those articles remained pro-Japanese or if not, they were tips on livelihood production as poverty was widespread.
In an edition of the Sunday Tribune, for instance, a story about an old woman living in Malate who found “good life” by planting upo vegetable was published. The story narrates that, “the woman was able to have sold more than P45 worth of upo from an improvised garden plot she created. “[55] Such story was probably made to demonstrate Filipinos’ adherence to one of the principles of basic education, that is, the spirit of love of labor. But on another perspective, the story showed the attempts of the Japanese to conceal the negative economic realities by portraying a “normal” Philippines.
The Tribune, in substance, was generally mediocre. Proclamations, military orders, and warnings replaced editorials and columns. Speeches delivered by both Japanese and Filipino leaders encouraging collaboration, particularly those by Chairman Jorge Vargas and Commissioner Benigno Aquino, were made headlines. [56] And to assert that the Japanese Occupation was of good intention, news portraying individual Filipinos’ cordial experiences in dealing with the Japanese sentries were made headlines, as well. 57] But as to the reason why friendly relations between Japanese and Filipino individuals were observed, it was because warnings and corresponding punishments towards Filipino hostilities were published. As there was no other periodical circulating in the market other than the Tribune, American and Filipino guerillas formulated a gazette publishing counter-propaganda tactics and news. This aimed at conveying to the public that what they read from the dominating periodical was no longer at true all.
The Liberator, which, however, was biased to the Americans and Filipinos in distress, published satirical criticisms to the Imperial Army, Filipino collaborators, and even to the Tribune. To convey that lies committed in the Tribune was numerous, it published a joke expressing that the Tribune’s false reports had already come to the knowledge of St. Peter. [58] On Postal Matters If sources of information were controlled, so were the personal correspondences of people. As ordered to Chairman Vargas, the prerequisite or the reopening of Postal Administration in the Philippines was the establishment of a system of censorship that should be placed under the “guidance” of the Military Police. [59] Allowed postal forms were limited to letters, postcards, newspapers authorized by the Imperial Army, printed matters for publicity purposes approved by the Imperial Army, and postal money orders. [60] Restrictions with the use of language and the use of codes were also observed. Only Japanese, Tagalog, English, and Spanish were allowed to use as mediums of communication for “efficient censorship. Secret methods of communication through the use of code-words and argots were also prohibited. And finally, the name of the sender and his address was obligatory. [61] Defiance to these rules meant confiscation of the postal form. One guerilla veteran, however, noted that confiscation was not the only penalty against prohibited postal forms. In worst cases, offenders were put to death. “The group of Roman de Santos, one of the very first voluntary-organized propaganda units in the city, who printed a handy, elaborate, and effective anti-Japanese pamphlet,” the veteran recounts, “was arrested and brought to Fort Santiago.
They were taken out early in June and shortly after the war, [they were] discovered to have been executed and buried in a common grave somewhere in the Chinese Cemetery. “[62] These forms of suppression articulated in Japan’s cultural policies did not wane even if the Philippines received her “independence” from Japan in October 1943. Even though the Republic government re-emerged under President Jose P. Laurel’s leadership, hostilities continued and the President was ineffective in terminating them. The Puppet Republic and the Continuation of Suppression
Twenty-nine months after the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the country received her “independence” from Japan with a government in form but not in substance. Known as the Third Republic, the new government had a Constitution ratified by the members of the Legislature of the Commonwealth Government through the National Assembly. [63] The Executive Commission, in the mean time, promulgated an election law under which an election was held in the manner provided. [64] A unanimous decision put Jose P. Laurel to his position as President-elect of the newly established Republic of the Philippines.
And the momentous day had finally come to the Filipinos on October 14, 1943, when the Philippine National Anthem was once again heard and the Philippine flag was seen hoisted. [65] A lot of Filipinos, however, gave little applause to the proclamation as they treated it like a huge joke made by Japan. That common sentiment of the Filipinos emanated from learning that the dissolution of the Military Administration, the primary source of all policies of control and hostilities, only meant replacement with the Japanese Embassy headed by the by the Military Administration’s same officer, the Commander-in-chief of the Japanese forces.
And logically, the stay of the Commander-in-Chief to the Islands meant that his forces would also remain. [66] In the ceremonies of the declaration of independence, a part of it paid to the usual homage given to the Japanese Emperor where the crowd was required to bow in the direction of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. [67] This, at the very least, solidified people’s feeling that the Republic of the Philippines was merely a government in form but not in substance. After the ceremonies and promptly at 5:30 pm, then Comm.
Recto who was now the appointed Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs signed, along with Ambassador Murata of Japan, the pact of alliance between the two countries. The treaty entailed close cooperation on political, economic, and military matters to the prosecution of War of the Greater East Asia. [68] This only implied that the Philippines would also be responsible in waging war against the United States as it was now committed to work with Japan on the latter’s war campaign. The Laurel Administration was ineffective enough to terminate Japanese hostilities that remained to be rampant.
Censorship of mail, for example, was ratified in the first regular session of the National Assembly and it was known as Act no. 15. [69] Perhaps, the only act passed that had a few semblances on culture but, in any case, encouraged Filipinism was the “act granting rewards to Filipino citizens who make any useful discovery or invention utilizing native materials, creating a board on inventions, and appropriating funds thereof. “[70] But alleviating, if not ending, the hostilities that continued to happen, was, to President Laurel, far from achieving.
According to him, “the frequent arrests, tortures, and disappearance of good people; the commandeering of houses, animals, automobiles, trucks, and properties of private citizens; the complete disregard of human dignity; the conqueror’s complex; and their domination of and dictation to our Government and Government officials…made it evident that the Filipinos were doomed under Japanese occupation…I was correct in repeatedly announcing that the primordial policy of the Government was that of ‘national survival. ‘”[71]
Atrocities persisted and it stopped only on July 4, 1945 as Gen. McArthur issued a proclamation in which he declared that, climaxing the “greatest disaster ever sustained by the Japanese arms,” the entire Philippines was thereby declared “liberated and the Philippine campaigns can be regarded as virtually closed. ” The twenty-three Japanese positions in the Philippines were “practically annihilated. “[72] The Hiroshima bombing on August 6 made Japanese military officials realize the imperative for them to surrender. 73] And realizing the futility of continuing the Republic because of the reoccupation of the Philippines by the Unites States, the reestablishment of the Commonwealth Government, and Japan’s surrender in the nearest time, President Laurel decreed that the Republic of the Philippines ceased to exist on August 17. [74] And on September 2, 1945, Japan’s official surrender signed on board the battleship Missouri at Tokyo Bay[75] also signified the official termination of the Japanese atrocities in the Philippines.
Conclusion This paper has shown both the grand plans of Japan for the Philippines, through the Order No. 2, and the suppression that materialized in it through the policies that the Japanese implemented in areas the of education and communication. Partly, the paper also showed general impressions of the Filipinos in every discussion of the policies made. The Japanese came from an imperialistic environment that controlled much of their daily lives.
Their arrival to a country that was beginning to embrace the newly inherited concepts of democracy and individual identity did not just blend with the imperialistic policies they imposed. Especially that the Philippines was bound to receive her independence in 1946 from the United States, the Filipinos would no longer allow any force to subjugate them once again, impeding their most-awaited moment of independence. The Filipinos did their part as they defied the policies imposed by the Japanese notwithstanding the equivalent punishments that waited.
It was just apparent that the Imperial Army was more powerful than them. Hence, the end result of this peculiar blending of cultures and ideologies was nothing but three years of Japanese atrocities and Filipino resistance ??? a picture that best describes the life during the Japanese Occupation. The Japanese could have had won the hearts of the Filipinos more easily because both of them are Orientals. Furthermore, the vision that Japan presented to the eyes of the Filipinos was of great help for the Philippines as she was set to gain her independence soon.
The Philippines could have inherited some aspects proposed by Japan that today might have been part of Filipino customs. But the hostilities the Japanese had inflicted to the Filipinos, justified by their cultural policies, restricted them from proving their good intentions and nonetheless resulted in widespread social unrest and extreme poverty. Bibliography Primary Sources Newspapers “Nippongo. ” Shin-Seiki (September 1943): pp. 9-10 “Nippongo in Daitoa. ” Shin-Seiki (September 1943): p. 15. Official Journal of the Japanese Military Administration. vols. 1-13. January 1942-September 1943. Shorts ??? Too Late. ” Sunday Tribune Magazine (July 1942): p. 3. Taliba. March 1942. The Liberator. May-August 1943. The Tribune. January 1942-September 1954. Diaries and Memoirs Buenafe, Manuel E, ed. The Voice of the Veteran. Manila: Republic Promotion, 1946. Gar Agustin, Conrado. Men and Memories in Confinement: Excerpts from a diary written in prison during the Japanese Occupation, June 21, 1942 to February 5, 1945. Manila: MCS Enterprises, 1977. Laurel, Jose P. War Memoirs. Manila: Jose P. Laurel Memorial Foundation, 1962. Lichauco, Marcial P. “Dear Mother Putnam”: A Diary of the War I the Philippines.
Manila, 1949. Recto, Claro M. Three Years Enemy Occupation: The Issue of Political Collaboration in the Philippines. Manila: People’s Publishers, 1946. Villamor, Cayetano M. My Guerilla Years. Cebu: The Villamor Publishing House, 1960. Published Books Aquino, Benigno S. , Jorge B. Vargas, et. al. Voice of the New Philippines, vol. 3. Manila: Department of Information, 1943. ____________. Tinig ng Bagong Pilipinas, vol. 3. Manila: Kagawarang Tagapagbalita, 1943. De Leon, J. R. Ang Pagtaas ni Jose P. Laurel. Manila: E. Floro, 1944. Hino, Asihei. The Flowering of Racial Spirit. Translated by Kazi-O Nisinia.
Manila: Department of Information, 1942. Laurel, Jose P. Forces that Make A Filipino Nation Great. Manila: Board of Information, 1944. Mitchell, Major. “Radio and the Press,” in Facing Japan: A series of lectures delivered before the executive Staff of the Office if the Chief of Intelligence. Philippines: Manila, 1945. National Assembly Yearbook, 1st ed. , vol. 7. Manila: Government Printing Office, 1943. New Order. Manila: Board of Information, 1943. Pillars of the Nation. Tagaytay: New Philippines Cultural Inst. , 1943. Pillars: New Philippines Cultural Institute Souvenir Yearbook.
Tagaytay: New Philippines Cultural Inst. , 1943. Secondary Sources Books Agoncillo, Teodoro A. The Fateful Years. Quezon City: UP Press, 2001 Foronda, Marcelino A. , Jr. , Cultural Life in the Philippines During the Japanese Occupation, 1942-1945. Manila: Philippine National Historical Society, 1975. Malay, Armando J. Occupied Philippines. Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1967. Thesis Terami-Wada, Motoe. “The Cultural Front in the Philippines, 1942-1945: Japanese Propaganda and Filipino Resistance in Mass Media. ” M. A. Thesis, U. P. Diliman, 1984. Unpublished Material Goodman, Grant K. An Experiment in Wartime Intercultural Relations: Philippine Students in Japan, 1943-1945. ” TMs (photocopy). Southeast Asia Program, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Published Journals Jose, Ricardo T. “The Tribune During the Japanese Occupation. ” Philippine Studies Journal (1990) : pp. 45-64 ____________. “The Tribune as a Tool of Japanese Propaganda, 1942-45. ” Philippine Studies Journal (1990): pp. 135-150. ———————– [1] “Guiding Principles of Administration,” Official Journal of the Japanese Military Administration (OJJMA), vol. 2, sec. , p. 29. [2] Ibid. , vol. 1, sec. 8, pp. 75-77 [3] Ibid. , p. 77. [4] Jose P. Laurel, War Memoirs (Manila: Jose P. Laurel Memorial Foundation, Inc. , 1962), p. 10. [5] Jose P. Laurel, Forces that Make a Filipino Nation Great (Manila: Bureau of Information, 1944), p. 2. [6] Laurel, War Memoirs, p. 14. [7] “Head of the Nipponese Forces Urges Calm,” The Tribune, 3 January 1942, p. 1. [8] Armando J. Malay, “Occupied Philippines” (Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1967), p. 32. [9] “Head of the Nipponese,” p. 1. [10] “Occupation of Manila by Japanese, Peaceful,” The Tribune, 4 January 1942, p. 2. 11] “New Orders for the Holders of Firearms,” The Tribune, 5 January 1942, p. 1. [12] “Warning,” The Tribune, 5 January 1942, p. 2. [13] City Police Continue to Help Maintain Order,” The Tribune, 5 January 1942, p. 3. [14] “‘Asia for Asiatics, Philippines for Filipinos’, says Spokesman,” The Tribune, 4 January 1942, p. 2. [15] Ibid. [16] “Order concerning the Basic Principles of education in the Philippines,” OJJMA, vol. 1, p. 13. [17] “Instruction no. 2,” OJJMA, vol. 1, p. 14. [18] Ibid. [19] “Instruction no. 18,” OJJMA, vol. 3, p. 1 [20] “Instruction no. 49,” OJJMA, vol. 6, sec. 1, p. 1. 21] “Instruction no. 18,” OJJMA, p. 1. [22] Ibid. , pp. 6-7. [23] Ibid. , pp. 5-6 [24] “Instruction no. 49,”OJJMA, vol. 6, pp. 1-3. [25] “Instruction no. 35,” OJJMA, vol. 4, p. 2. [26] “Instruction no. 61,” OJJMA, vol. 6, p. 11. [27] Teodoro A. Agoncillo, The Fateful Years, vol. 2 (Quezon City: UP Press, 2001), p. 500. [28] “Instruction no. 16,” OJJMA, vol. 4, sec. 3, p. 4. [29] Ibid. [30] “People Take to Reading as Amusement Places are Closed,” The Tribune, 21 January 1942, p. 3. [31] Grant K. Goodman, “An Experiment in Wartime Intercultural Relations” (Data Paper, Cornell University, 1962), p. 6 [32] “Military Ordinance no. 13,” OJJMA, vol. 6, p. 14. [33] “Japanese Will Open Schools,” The Tribune, 4 January 1942, p. 3. [34] The Tribune, 4 July 1942, p. 2. [35] “English Forgotten Language in Malaya,” The Tribune, 1 July 1942, p. 4. [36] “Prescribing the qualification for teachers of Nippongo in the Philippines,” OJJMA, vol. 9, sec. 1, p. 2. [37] Ibid. [38] “Instruction no. 93,” OJJMA, vol. 7, p. 2. [39] “January 9, 1942 Proclamation,” OJJMA, vol. 1, sec. 3, p. 17. [40] “January 13, 1942 Proclamation,” OJJMA, vol. 1, p. 19. [41] Marcial P. Lichauco, Dear Mother Putnam (N. . : privately printed, 1949), p. 18. [42] Ibid. [43] “Military Ordinance No. 17,” OJJMA, vol. 6, p. 21. [44] Ibid. [45] The Tribune, 4 July 1942, p. 2. [46] “Sunday Vespers at United Church,” The Tribune, 4 July 1942, p. 3. [47] “Causes leading to ‘Holy War’, explained by Japanese Officer,” The Tribune, 6 July 1942, p. 3. [48] “February 7, 1942 Proclamation,” OJJMA, vol. 1, p. 13 [49] Ibid. [50] Ricardo T. Jose, “The Tribune during the Japanese Occupation,” Philippine Studies Journal 38 (1990): p. 50. [51] Lichauco, p. 107. [52] Ibid. [53] Ricardo T.
Jose, “The Tribune as a Tool of Japanese Propaganda, 1942-45,” Philippine Studies Journal 38 (1990): p. 135. [54] Ibid. , p. 137. [55] “From Shorts ??? Too Late,” Sunday Tribune Magazine, 5 July 1942, p. 3. [56] “Vargas, Aquino Urge Full Collaboration,” The Tribune, 23 January 1942, p. 1. [57] “Japanese Sentries Prove Friendly to City Residents,” The Tribune, 4 January 1942, p. 3. [58] “Saint Peter reads ‘Tribune,'” The Liberator, July 1942, p. 3. [59] “Order Concerning the Reopening of Postal Administration in the Philippines,” OJJMA, vol. no. 1, sec. 3, p. 23. [60] “Instruction no. 4,” OJJMA, vol. o. 1, p. 30. [61] Ibid. [62] Conrado Gar Agustin, Men and Memories in Confinement (Manila: MCS Enterprises, Inc. , 1972), p. 3. [63] Laurel, War Memoirs, p. 16. [64] Ibid. [65] Lichauco, p. 131. [66] Ibid. [67] Ibid. , 129. [68] Laurel, War Memoirs, p. 18. [69] “Act no. 15,” National Assembly Yearbook, vol. 1, p. 84. [70] “Act no. 55,” National Assembly Yearbook, vol. 1, p. 127. [71] Laurel, War Memoirs, p. 19. [72] Free Philippines, 28 February 1945, quoted in Agoncillo, The Fateful Years, vol. 2, p. 820. [73] Agoncillo, p. 835. [74] Laurel, War Memoirs, p. 45. [75] Agoncillo, p. 835.