When I see people in charge of crisis management in Western countries expressing an interest in Japan as an “advanced country” in terms of its approach toward anti-terror measures, sometimes I find myself feeling disturbed. It is because not a few of them seem to be identifying the indiscriminate killings by Aum Shinrikyo (the Aum sect) members such as the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack with the special attacks by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, better known as the “suicide attacks”.

Certainly, we know that, as a real phenomenon in the 21st century, terrorist groups like “Islamic fundamentalists” are killing people indiscriminately by such means as “suicide bombing”, etc.

In addition, it is also true that Japan has an accumulation of counterterrorism measures based on modern psychological approaches, since the “Aum attacks” had taken place a few years prior to the “9.11 terrorist attacks.” Furthermore, it may be inevitable that Westerners tend to recall “kamikaze attacks” when they observe the two keywords “Japan” and “suicide bombing” from the Western point of view.

From my point of view, however, rather than referring to the behavior of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, it seems to be more directly helpful to refer to a postwar trend which can be regarded as the “negative legacy” of the Japanese Army. To be specific, it is the special services which such countries as South Korea, China, North Korea, etc., had continued even during the Cold War.

Difference between current terrorist attacks and Japanese’ dedication to “my beloved country” during World War II

Although I did not verify the minute historical facts one by one, I do not think it is an unacceptable mistake to think that these countries built up their own military systems on the basis of the method Japan had been using until World War II ended.

It is true that Islamic fundamentalist groups in the current times often glorify their “suicide attackers” as “brave warriors of the holy war.” I have seen posters of “heroes who sacrificed their lives for jihad” displayed in the street in some news reports.

However, there is a significant difference between the training method adopted by today’s terrorists and the education to foster loyalty toward the Emperor promoted by the Japanese government for a long time until the end of World War II, together with the situation brought by that education -- through both of which boys would be educated even in yearning to die in battle: “When I grow up I’m going to sacrifice my life as a soldier for my beloved country!” just like the soldiers in a moving wartime story “niku-dan-san-yu-shi (The Three Brave Bombers Who Sacrificed Their Own Lives).”