Chapter I
RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING


Section I. GENERAL

1. ARMS AND SERVICES. The personnel of the Japanese Army is classified as follows:

a. Line branch (Heika). The various arms--Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers, Air Service, and Transport--since 1940 have been grouped under the generic term of Line Branch. This change permits the easy shifting of personnel from one arm to another, but it has not changed the basic functions of the component arms. The personnel is listed without specific designation--that is, Army captain instead of Army Infantry captain.

b. Services (Kakubu). These include the Medical, Veterinary, Intendance, Technical, Judicial, and Military Band departments. Personnel islisted by service--for example, Army veterinary captain or Army technician corporal.

c. Military police branch (Kempei). Formerly listed with the arms, the Military Police branch continues to use a specific designation for personnel--for example, Army Military Police major.

d. Categories for assignment. The following table shows the official categories (Heishu) used for assignments in the Japanese Army. It will be noted that the categories differ slightly for officers and enlisted men--for example, privates are not assigned to chemical warfare, meteorological, and special motor transport, but are, detached from other units for such service.

Officers Warrant and noncommissioned officers Privates
Arms    
Infantry In the Line Branch they are classified according to the type of unit in which they serve. Infantry.
Chemical warfare Tank.
Mechanized (including cavalry) Cavalry.
Field and mountain (light) artillery   Field (light) artillery.
Mountain (light) artillery.
Horse (light) artillery.
Intelligence
Medium artillery   Medium artillery
Heavy artillery   Heavy artillery.
Antiaircraft defense   Antiaircraft defense.
Balloon   Balloon.
Engineers   Engineers
Air (Koku)   Air (Hiko).
Meteorological.    
Railway   Railway.
Signal (Denshin)   Signal (Tsushin).
Transport   Transport.
Special motor transport.    
Infantry mortar   Infantry mortar.
Services    
Technical department:
    Technician
    Air technician
Technical department:
    Technician
    Air technician
Technical department:
    Technician
    Air technician
Technical department:
    Technician
    Air technician
Technical department:
    Technician
    Air technician
Technical department:
    Technician
    Air technician
Intendance department:
    Finance
Intendance department:
    Finance.
    Construction technician.
    Intendance technician.
 
Medical department:
    Surgeon.
    Pharmacy.
    Sanitary.
    Dental.
Medical Department:
 
 
    Sanitary.
    Ward master.
Medical Department:
 
 
    Sanitary.
Veterinary department:
    Veterinary.
    Veterinary duties
Veterinary department:
 
    Veterinary duties.
 
Judicial department.    
Military Band Military Band.  

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2. RANKS.

Below is a tabulation of the various grades in the Japanese Army, their Japanese names, and their normal command. It should be noted that the Japanese have no brigadier-general rank. It also will be noted that one new grade has been added for enlisted men, a rank corresponding to lance corporal but listed among privates (Hei) rather than among noncommissioned officers (Kashikan). The rank of field marshal (Gensui) is not included in the list, since it is an honorary rank granted by the Emperor to generals.

Grade Name Normal command
General Taisho Army commander.
Lieutenant general Chujo Division commander.
Major general Shosho Infantry group or brigade commander.
Colonel Taisa Regimental commander.
Lieutenant colonel Chusa Second-in-command of regiment.
Major Shosa Battalion commander.
Captain Tai-i Company commander.
First lieutenant Chu-i Platoon commander
Second lieutenant Sho-i Platoon commander
Warrant officer Jun-i Command and administrative duties.
Sergeant major Socho First sergeant.
Sergeant Gunso Squad (section) leader.
Corporal Gocho Squad (section)leader.
Lance corporal (leading private). Heicho  
Superior private Jotohei  
First-class private Ittohei  
Second-class private Nitohei  

Section II. CONSCRIPTION SYSTEM

1. GENERAL. a. In peacetime all male Japanese subjects between the ages of 17 and 40 are subject to service in the Armed Forces. Some may postpone their service, but only those seriously disabled and certain criminals are exempted by law. Since all Japanese are obliged by law to attend primary school for 6 years, this is the minimum educational standard for the Army. The 20-year-olds were examined yearly and classified according to fitness for service. From those fit for active service, the desired number was inducted into the Army and given 2 years' training. All others were put into a reserve designed for furnishing replacements and given a small amount of training. Those classified as fit for limited service were given no training but were put into the 2d National Army, where they, as well as the boys between 17 and 20 years of age, were liable to call in case of emergency.

b. Under the stress of war, many modifications have occurred. The term of enlistment has been prolonged to 3 years and more, depending upon the circumstances. Reservists of various categories have been called up as needed to form new units or to furnish replacements for units in the field. The extent to which men assigned to the 2d National Army have been used is not clear. The recruits continue to be called up, but the training given them usually takes the form of 3 months in Japan proper and as much more in Japan or occupied areas as circumstances require. (See fig. 2.)

2. CONSCRIPTION SYSTEM AS OF 1941. a. Conscription classes. Every Japanese male is subject to military service. If a youth's twentieth birthday occurs before 2 December, he reports and is examined for service in the 16 April-31 July period preceding his birthday. If his twentieth birthday occurs after 2 December, he reports and is examined in the 16 April-31 July period following his birthday. He is given physical and mental examinations and classified according to his fitness for military service in the following manner:

Class A--Not less than 1.52 meters (5 ft.) in height, and in good physical condition. Available for active service.

Class B-1. Taller than 1.5 meters (4 ft. 11 in.) but under the standard of Class A. Available for active service.

Class B-2--Same as B-1, but with poorer hearing and eyesight. Available for 1st Conscript Reserve.

Class B-3--Same as B-2, but with poorer eyesight and general physical condition. Available for 2d Conscript Reserve.

Class C--(a) Same height as B-3, but in poorer physical condition. (b) Of 1.45 meters (4 ft. 9 in.) to 1.5 meters (4 ft. 11 in.) in height, and not suffering from a disabling ailment. Available for service in the National Army; assigned to 2d National Army.

Class D--(a) Less than 1.45 meters in height. (b) Suffering from certain specific ailments which are not readily improved by treatment. Rejected as unfit for service.

Class F--Suffering from a temporary ailment. Reexamined yearly.

Enough men from Classes A and B-1 are chosen to fill the requirements of the Armed Forces, and the others are put in the Conscript Reserve, along with men from Classes B-2 and B-3. All men of Class C automatically go into the 2d National Army, along with those between 17 and 20 who are not in the Armed Forces.

b. Active service conscripts (Genekihei). Those men who are assigned to active service in a given year are called to the colors for a period

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of 2 years as of 1 December of that year. They have already been classified according to physical condition, aptitude, and training, and allotted accordingly to the various arms and services, while certain promising individuals have been earmarked as officer material. Training begins on various dates from 1 December and lasts until November of the second year. Upon completion of 2 years of active service, trainees are assigned to the First Reserve (Yobieki) for 15 years 4 months. During that time they may be called for training for five periods up to 35 days each, or for fewer periodsif any tour of duty is prolonged as much as 50 days. While in reserve they are also subject to the annual inspection muster. After this service in the First Reserve, they go into the 1st National Army until they reach the age of 40.

Figure 2. Classes of service in peacetime
Figure 2. Classes of service in peacetime.

c. Conscript, or replacement, reservists (Hojuhei). These are made up of men from Classes B-2 and B-3, and from those in Classes A and B-1 who are not needed to fill the yearly quota of the standing army. They may be summoned for a period of training not to exceed 180 days, and after 17 years 4 months, during which time theyare subject to an annual inspection muster, they, too, enter the 1st National Army until they reach the age of 40. The Conscript Reserve is divided into the 1st Conscript Reserve and the 2d Conscript Reserve, the distinction between the two being based purely on the physical qualifications of the men.

d. National Army conscripts (Kokuminhei). The 1st National Army is composed of men between the ages of 37 and 40 years who have served in the First Reserve and the Conscript Reserve and who are therefore either fully or partly trained. The 2d National Army is composedmainly of men who have been classified as fit only for limited service (Class C). They are given no training but are subject to call in emergency. Men between 17 and 20 years of age who are not in the Armed Forces are, automatically, also a part of the 2d National Army.

e. Exemption and deferment. No exemption is allowed by law except for criminals and the permanently disabled. Japanese living abroad, except those in Manchuria and China, may request postponement of examination annually for a period of 1 year, and unless they return to Japan for more

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than 90 days at a time they will be excused from military service upon reaching the age of 37 years. When a man's enlistment will work a hardship on his family, his service may be deferred for 2 years, and if the distress lasts until he is 37 years of age, he is excused from service. Students who have not finished their education may postpone their service up to various ages, depending upon the school they attend, but in no instance beyond 26 years of age.

f. Reduction and extension. Graduates of normal schools may have their terms of service shortened by not more than 60 days, and graduates of youth schools (sec. IV, par. 1a) by an indefinite period. The terms of all conscripts may be lengthened in cases of necessity.

g. Volunteers. Two kinds of volunteers are recognized by law: males between the ages of 17 and 20 years, over 1.60 meters (5 feet 2.8 inches) in height, and in Class A or B-1 as to physical condition; and conscripts who volunteer for immediate service without waiting to be selected. A special Army volunteer system was established for Koreans in 1938 and for Formosans in 1942. There is also an extensive apprentice system which trains youthful volunteers for technical work in both Army and Navy.

3. RECENT CHANGES IN THE CONSCRIPTION SYSTEM. a. Age limits. The military age has been lowered to 19, and the liability for service extended to 31 March of the year in which the subject becomes 45.

b. Deferment. Deferment has been cancelled for all students except those in specified types of study, mainly technical or scientific; and for Japanese in the southern regions occupied by the Japanese Army, where, as formerly for Japanese in Manchuria and China, examinations are conducted at nearby military headquarters or consulates.

c. Conscription of Koreans. Military conscription of Koreans has been decreed, to begin in 1944, and of Formosans, to begin in 1945. Koreans and Formosans have been recruited in increasing numbers during the past few years as civilian laborers under the direct supervision of the Army and the Navy. These laborers, who receive no military training, are used in construction corps.

d. Exemption of specialists and technicians. It is reported that exemption from military service now is granted to specialist and skilled technicians, especially in airplane industries, arsenals, and munition factories.

e. Term of service. The nominal term of service is now 3 years.

Section III. PROCUREMENT OF OFFICERS

1. COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. a. General. (1) There are two general classifications of officer personnel in the Japanese Army: Regular Army officers and reserve officers. There are three distinct types of officers, depending upon their background and education.

(a) Those who have graduated through the full course at the Japanese Military Academy.

(b) Those who have obtained commissions either through the reserve officer candidate courses after serving in the ranks or direct from technical institutions.

(c) Former warrant and noncommissioned officers who have risen from the ranks.

(2) All candidates for commission serve as probational officers with their assigned units for a period of 2 to 6 months after completion of training.

b. Regular Army officers. These may be further classified according to their training as follows:

(1) Graduates of the Military Academy and the Air Academy as officers of the line branch.

(2) Graduates of technical and scientific institutions and of the Intendance School as officers of the services. Most of these are selected while still in school and are educated at government expense in specified universities and colleges which offer stipulated curricula. University graduates receive their commissions as first lieutenant.

(3) Selected warrant and noncommissioned officers in the active service under 38 years of age who became candidates for commission (Shoi Kohosha) and received 1-year courses at the Military Academy, the Air Academy, the Military Police school, or other Army schools. In peacetime they do not usually advance beyond the grade of captain because of retirement for age.

c. Reserve officers. (1) These are made up chiefly of Class A reserve officer candidates (Koshu Kambu Kohosei) who have passed the necessary course. They are drawn from regular conscripts who have certain educational qualifications (formerly the equivalent of 2 years at high school, now lower). After 3 months of training in their unit, they become candidates, and after a further 3 months they are classified by examination into "A" candidates, those suitable for officers, and "B" candidates, those suitable for noncommissioned officers. The "A" candidates then are sent to one of the regular courses for reserve officer candidates. (Sec. IV, par. 3). Upon receiving a commission, in time of peace, they usually pass into the reserve from which they may be called to active duty in time of war. These reserve officers recalled to active duty (Shoshu Shoko) comprise a large proportion of Japanese officers in the present war.

(2) There are recent announcements of a new system for training special reserve officer candidates by which boys between 15 and 20 years of age, with educations equivalent to the third year of middle school, may become noncommissioned officers at the end of 11/2 years' training. Then they become eligible for selection for training to become reserve officers or, by special examination, Regular Army officers. The branches open to the candidates

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are air, shipping troops, signal troops, technicians, and air technicians.

d. Special volunteer officers (Tokubetsu Shigan Shoko). Until recently these were taken from field and company officers in the reserve who were allowed to volunteer for active service for a period of 2 years, and for additional periods of 1 year until they attained specified age limits. According to recent information, this designation appears now to be given regularly to young reserve officer candidates after they have served a probationary period with troops. Special volunteer officers may qualify by examination for a 1-year course at the Military Academy, after which they become special volunteer regular officers and may rise to be majors.

2. WARRANT AND NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS. Warrant officers (Junshikan) are usually selected by the promotion of noncommissioned officers and are treated as officers. There are only three ranks of noncommissioned officer (Kashikan): sergeant major; sergeant; and corporal. In addition to those obtained by regular promotion and those who are recalled to duty from the reserve, noncommissioned officers are recruited mainly from the following sources:

a. Noncommissioned officer schools. Conscripts who after about 3 months' active service in the Army volunteer to become noncommissioned officers and after 9 additional months in special training with troops are selected to become noncommissioned officer candidates (Kashikan Kohosha). They are then given a period of training, formerly 1 year but now shortened, at one of the noncommissioned officer schools (Kyodo Gakko) or at one of the Army branch schools or service schools.

b. Class "B", reserve officer candidates.

c. Apprentices. Apprentices in the various units open to Army Youth Soldiers (Rikugun Shonenhei)--see section IV, par. 1.

Section IV. TRAINING

1. PRECONSCRIPTIONAL TRAINING. a. In schools. In Japan military indoctrination begins from infancy. Formal regimentation and training begin at about the age of 8 years, when, beginning with the third year of primary school, all boys are given semi-military training by their teachers. Those going on to middle school, higher school, college, or university receive military training under Regular Army officers. In peacetime this amounts to 2 or more hours per week with 4 to 6 days of annual maneuvers, but recently the amount of time devoted to military subjects has been greatly increased. Those who take up employment after finishing primary school receive considerable military training at youth schools (Seinen Gakko) set up for their particular benefit by the Government. Aviation training in schools, particularly in the use of gliders, has recently received much emphasis. Numerous courses of purely military nature are being added to the curriculum in order to turn the middle schools into a training camp for cadets, and the universities and higher schools into military academies for reserves.

b. In Army apprentice units.

An Army apprentice system to procure trained noncommissioned officers in technical fields at ages below the conscription minimum has grown rapidly in recent years, especially in aviation. The Japanese Navy and Merchant Marine have also developed extensive training of a similar nature. The Army apprentices, called Army Youth Soldiers (Rikugun Shonenhei) , are primary school graduates who begin their apprentice training at the age of 14 or 15 years (lowered from 15 or 16 years in 1943). At some point in their training they are inducted into the Army as youth soldiers with the rank of superior private, serve as lance corporals (leading private) for a probationary period of 6 months after graduation, and then become corporals. These apprentices take one of the following courses:

(1) Aviation (Shonen Hikohei). The usual course lasts 3 years. After a first year at a general aviation school at Tokyo or Otsu, all students are divided into three groups. Pilots go to Utsunomiya or Kumagai, signalmen to Air Signal School, and mechanics to Tokorozawa or Gifu. They spend 2 years at one of these special schools, the last year as youth soldiers in the Army. Those with special qualifications may omit the first year and go directly to flying school at Tachiarai or maintenance school at Gifu.

(2) Signal (Shonen Tsushinhei). Two years at the Army Youth Signal School.

(3) Tank (Shonen Senshahei). Two years at Army Youth Tank School near Mt. Fuji.

(4) Artillery (Shonen Hohei). Two years at the Army Field Artillery School, the Army Heavy Artillery School, or the Army Air Defense School.

(5) Ordnance. There is a 2-year course at the Army Ordnance School similar to the apprentice courses described above.

2. CONSCRIPT TRAINING (see sec. II).

a. In peacetime the training of men assigned to active service (Classes A and B-1) covers a period of 2 years. The first year for the infantry is usually divided into four periods as follows:

January to May. Recruit training. This includes general instruction, squad (section) training, bayonet training, and target practice. In February a march of 5 days, with bivouacking at night, is held to train men in endurance of cold.
June and July. Target practice, field works, platoon and company training, and bayonet training. Marching 20 miles a day.

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August. Company and battalion training,field work, combat firing, swimming, and bayonet fighting. Marching 25 miles a day.

October and November. Battalion and regimental training. Combat firing. Autumn maneuvers.

b. It will be noted from the above program how the infantry training progresses from the smallest unit, the squad (section) , to platoon, company, battalion, and regimental training, and culminates in combined maneuvers at the end of the year. In the second year, the periods of training are similar, but more time is allotted to specialist training in the respective branches.

c. Throughout the course of training, special attention is given to the inculcation of "morale" or spiritual instruction. The "Imperial Rescript to Soldiers," issued by the Emperor Meiji on 4 January 1882, is frequently read to the men, and the five principles of military ethics contained therein--loyalty, courtesy, courage, truthfulness, and frugality--are much emphasized.

d. First and Second Conscript reserves have to undergo a 6 months' period of training. The training is not so intensive as that given to active service men, but nevertheless endeavors to cover, in a comparatively shorter time, all that the active service men have learned in their 2-year course.

e. In peacetime, men who have served the compulsory 2 years of active service with the Army and subsequently been relegated to the First Reserve must undergo further military training from time to time during their period of liability (see sec. II). It is known that under stress of wartime conditions, the minimum periods of training prescribed in peacetime have not been continued.

f. Conscripts may often receive the bulk of their training in operational areas. The Japanese are known to have used the Chinese Theater for training purposes, where men perform garrison duties and sometimes get actual combat experience during their period of training.

g. Japanese infantry training is a gradual toughening-up process that grows in intensity, until, finally, long marches with full equipment and stiff endurance tests are used to produce ability to withstand hunger and fatigue for long periods.

3. TRAINING OF OFFICERS AND NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. a. General. The thorough training of Japanese troops is attributable in turn to the thorough training of the officers and noncommissioned officers, who are largely the products of the Army schools. The school training, though somewhat narrow, arbitrary, and inflexible in its system of indoctrination, is progressive, thorough, and modern. However, its rigidity often has inhibited originality of thought and action.

b. General training of regular line officers. Most regular line officers who reach field grade are graduates of the Military Academy(Rikugun Shikan Gakko). Candidates are rigidly selected from graduates of 3-year courses at one of the military preparatory school (Rikugun Yonen Gakko) at Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Sendai, and Kumamoto, and from other applicants who possess the proper physical and educational qualifications. These applicants may be enlisted men in the active service--noncommissioned officers under 25 years of age and privates under 22, or applicants-at-large between 16 and 18 years of age. In peacetime, cadet training consisted of 2 years at the Junior Military Academy (Rikugun Yoka Shikan Gakko) at Asaka in Saitama-Ken; 8 months duty with troops in a designated branch of service; and 1 year 8 months at the Military Academy at Zama in Kanagawa-Ken, or, in the case of air officers, at the Air Academy in Tokyo. After graduation candidates spend 4 months on probation in the grade of sergeant major before receiving a commission. Instruction at the Military Academy is confined almost entirely to general military subjects and practical work in the branch to which the cadet is assigned. There are also 1-year courses for special volunteer officers and for enlisted candidates for commissions (Shoi Kohosha).

c. Staff training of regular line officers. Courses at the General Staff College (Rikugun Daigakko) in Tokyo are open ordinarily to company officers who have had not more than 8 years of commissioned service and at least 1 year with troops, but in wartime they have been opened to officers of units in fighting zones, irrespective of age or grade. In peacetime, a regular 3-year course in command and staff work, a 1-year version of the regular course, and a 4-month special course for aviation general staff work are offered.

d. Training reserve officers (sec. III, par. 1c). Class A reserve officer candidates, after completing at least 6 months of training with units, take various courses specially designed for them. They are trained in reserve officer schools at Morioka, Toyohashi, Kurume, Maebashi, Kumamoto, Sendai, and Mukden for infantry; at Toyohashi for artillery; at Kurume for transport; and at special reserve officer candidate courses in schools for cavalry, engineers, signal, medical, veterinary, intendance, and certain phases of artillery. The instruction, normally lasting 11 months but reduced in some instances to 6, covers, principally, training regulations and tactical textbooks, accompanied by practical training which, although somewhat elementary, is carried out realistically and thoroughly. Upon graduation, the candidates serve with units on probation for about 4 months before receiving their commissions.

e. Training of noncommissioned officers. Except for apprentices (sec. IV, par. 1b and class B reserve officer candidates (sec. III, par. 1c) , noncommissioned officer candidates are trained at one of the noncommissioned officer schools at Sendai, Kumamoto, Toyohashi, and Kungchuling (Manchuria). These schools are devoted almost entirely to infantry,

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except for some artillery and cavalry training at Toyohashi. Candidates in artillery, cavalry, engineers, signal, veterinary, intendance, and ordnance are trained at the respective Army branch and services schools. Special courses, usually technical, for noncommissioned officers are also given in these schools, as well as in the Tank School, the Military Police School, the various air schools, the Medical School, and the Mechanized Equipment Maintenance School.

f. Training in Army branch schools. Thefollowing schools offer special courses for officers and conduct research in the technical aspects of the branch concerned:

Infantry School near Chiba City. Field Artillery School near Chiba City. Heavy Artillery School at Uraga, Kanagawa-ken. Air Defense School in Chiba City. Cavalry School in Chiba-ken (horse and mechanized). Engineer School at Matsudo, Chiba-ken. Tank schools at Chiba in Japan, and at Kungchuling and Ssuping (Kai) in Manchuria. Signal School at Onomura, Kanagawa-ken. Transport School at Tokyo. Military Police School at Tokyo. Air schools (See par. 10 h).

g. Training in Army services schools. TheArmy obtains its officers for the services by granting commissions to graduates of higher institutions after they have served 2 months with troops as probational officers. Most of them have been chosen beforehand and had their technical education paid for by the Army. The Army services schools are designed to supplement the technical training obtained in civilian institutions and to adapt that knowledge to military purposes. The Intendance School has also a cadet course for intendance officers similar to that for line officers at the Military Academy. Recent changes point to an effort to keep pace with increased mechanization and the use of highly technical equipment in the Army. The following may be classed as Army services schools:

Medical School at Tokyo. Veterinary School at Tokyo. Intendance School at Tokyo. Science School (formerly Artillery and Engineer School) at Tokyo. Ordnance School (formerly Artificer School) at Onomura, Kanagawa-ken. Narashino School in Chiba-ken (chemical warfare). Toyama School at Tokyo (physical training,military music). Mechanized Equipment Maintenance Schoolat Tokyo.

h. Air training. (1) In addition to "spiritual training" and inculcation of the martial spirit, increasing efforts have been directed toward making Japanese youth air-minded. As far as information is available, pilots are drawn from the following sources:

Youth air schools. Universities, higher, and middle schools. Civilian training centers.

In order to encourage volunteers for the air branch of the Army, elementary instruction in air mechanics is given from primary school upward. Construction of model airplanes is taught, and some schools have gliders for training purposes. By means of such encouragement, more pupils are drawn into the youth air schools, after finishing the primary school course at the age of 14 years. (See sec. IV, par. 1b.)

(2) Prospective pilots for the Army Air Service are sent to special training schools, where initial army air training is given. Six such schools in Japan, and one each in Korea and Manchuria, have been reported. The course at these schools formerly lasted 10 months but now has been reduced to 3 months. More time is given to theoretical training than to actual flying. After this initial training, candidates are separated into bomber, fighter, and reconnaissance pilots; gunners; and technicians. Those found unfit for flight duties are relegated to ground assignments.

(3) Those selected for advanced training are sent to Army training schools, which are reported as follows:

(4) Operational training is the function of the regular establishment; 1 training division, 4 independent training brigades, 10 training regiments and 13 training units have been identified and appear to be charged with this responsibility,

Section V. PROMOTION, PAY, AND AWARDS

1. PROMOTION. a. A recruit entering the Army is given the rank of 2nd-dass private and, as a rule, is automatically promoted to 1st-class private after 6 months. According to regulations, the minimum time in which promotion may be made from 1st-class private to superior private is one year, and from superior private to lance corporal 6 months; nevertheless, qualified 1st-class privates have been promoted to the superior grade within 6 months.

b. Enlisted men can be promoted to the various ranks of noncommissioned and warrant officers without taking the course at a noncommissioned officers' school, provided they have the necessary qualifications. Minimum time limits within which promotion

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can be made to a higher rank, after assumption of the preceding lower rank, have been laid down, by Imperial Ordinance as follows:

c. All noncommissioned officer promotions are subject to recommendation and selection, and in time of war the process of promotion is considerably accelerated in accordance with the demands of the situation. Men who have taken courses at noncommissioned officers' schools may gain promotion more rapidly than those who have not done so.

d. Minimum periods of service in any one rank before promotion can be attained have also been laid down for officers. However, according to an Imperial Ordinance promulgated in March 1941, both officers and enlisted men can be advanced by as much as two grades at a time for particularly meritorious service in the field, distinguished service in military affairs, retirement from service because of wounds or illness, or, posthumously, if killed in battle. As a rule company officers must serve 3 years with troops before promotion to field officers, and field officers 2 years before promotion to general officers, but in wartime exceptions to this rule are made. General officers are appointed by the Emperor from lists of eligible officers submitted by the Minister of War. Other officers are appointed by the Minister of War with the Emperor's approval. Commanders of independent units, in appropriate cases, may be especially entrusted with the power to determine promotion.

2. PAY. a. The basic rates of pay of Japanese officers and men would be considered low, judged by American and European standards. Japanese standards of living are lower, but in recognition of rising living costs in Japan and the resultant need to safeguard the livelihood of the soldier's dependents, additional pay is now allowed to all ranks. These payments range from 80 percent to a little more than 100 percent of basic pay, according to the country or area in which the soldier is called upon to serve. Overseas pay was also formerly given for service in Formosa, Manchuria, and Korea, but the rates of pay listed below are believed to represent those now in force.

b. Extra pay is also granted to technicians and bandsmen; warrant and noncommissioned officers in the Military police; and personnel employed as interpreters. Pay to both officers and enlisted personnel varies according to the length of service within each grade. Officers are usually paid in the last 10 days of each month, and other ranks every 10 days. Before going into the field 10 days' pay or more may be advanced. Japanese Army pay books, which have thin khaki covers, are usuallycarried on the person; in them the owner's name and the name or code number of his unit will normally be found.

c. The following table shows the basic rates of pay in the Japanese Army (figures in Japanese Yen per month).

General 550.00  
Lieutenant general 483.33  
Major General 416.66  
Colonel 310.00-370.00 (Three pay classes.)
Lieutenant colonel 220.00-310.00 (Four pay classes.)
Major 170.00-220.00 (Four pay classes.)
Captain 122.00-155.00 (Three pay classes.)
First lieutenant 85.00-94.16 (Two pay classes.)
Second lieutenant 70.83  
Probational officer 25.00-40.00  
Warrant officer 80.00-110.00 (Four pay classes.)
Sergeant major 32.00-75.00 (Four pay classes.)
Sergeant 23.00-30.00 (Three pay classes.)
Corporal 20.00  
Lance corporal (leading private) 13.50  
Superior private 10.50  
First-class private 9.00  
Second-class private 6.00-9.00 (For grades B and A respectively.)

Prior to 7 December 1041, one yen was approximately equivalent to 23 cents (U. S.) and 1s/2d (British).

3. DECORATIONS AND AWARDS. The granting of medals, decorations, and citations for valor, distinguished and meritorious service, good conduct, and long service figures prominently in the Japanese military system. In peace, decorations are awarded by boards assembled at the War Ministry or important military stations, on the recommendation of divisional commanders. In the field, Army commanders may award up to and including the fifth class of the Order of the Golden Kite. All awards are finally approved by the War Ministry Boards, and decorations are issued, with a certificate from the Emperor, to the commanders of units concerned. They are distributed to officers by the divisional commander and to enlisted men by the unit commander. Decorations are returned to the War Ministry on the death of the recipient. All soldiers who have served with good conduct in a campaign receive a decoration or medal of some kind. A list of the principal decorations awarded in the Japanese Army will be found under Chapter XI.

Section VI. MORALE, DISCIPLINE, AND EFFICIENCY

1. MORALE. a. The individual Japanese soldier's whole outlook and attitude to life are naturally influenced by his home life, his schooling, his particular social environment with its innumerable repressing conventions, and his military training.

b. In the Japanese social system, individualism has no place. Children are taught that, as members of the family, they must obey their parents implicitly and, forgetting their own selfish desires, help each and every one of the family at all times. This system of obedience and loyalty is extended to the community and Japanese life as a whole; it permeates upward from the family unit through neighborhood

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associations, schools, factories, and other larger organizations, till finally the whole Japanese nation is imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice, obedience, and loyalty to the Emperor himself.

c. Superimposed on this community structure is the indoctrination of ancestor worship and of the divine origin of the Emperor and the Japanese race. Since the restoration of the Imperial rule in 1868 the Japanese Government has laid much stress on the divine origin of the race and its titular head, and has amplified this teaching by describing Japan's warlike ventures as "divine missions. " Famous examples of heroism and military feats in Japan's history are extolled on stage and screen, in literature, and on the radio; hero worship is encouraged. Regimentation of the Japanese national life by government authorities, with their numerous and all-embracing regulations, has been a feature for many centuries.

d. Throughout his military training the Japanese soldier is not allowed to forget all he has been taught in the home, school, or factory. It is drummed into him again and again while his military training proceeds by repeated lectures from unit commanders, given under the guise of "spiritual training" (Seishin Kyoiku). The object of all this concentrated spiritual training is to imbue the Japanese soldier with a spirit which can endure and even be spurred on to further endeavors when the hardships of warfare are encountered. But even though his officers appear to have an ardor which might be called fanaticism, the private soldier is characterized more by blind and unquestioning subservience to authority. The determination of the Japanese soldier to fight to the last or commit suicide rather than be taken prisoner, displayed in the early stages of the war, may be prompted partly byfear of the treatment he may receive at the hands of his captors. More likely it is motivated by the disgrace which he realizes would be brought on his family should he fall into the enemy's hands.

2. DISCIPLINE. a. Because of his training and background the Japanese soldier is generally well disciplined and very amenable to law and order. With firm leadership, the discipline to which he has been accustomed in Japan can be, and usually is, maintained in the field and in territories under Japanese occupation.

b. Elated with success in war and imbued with the idea of Japanese racial superiority, the Japanese soldier is apt to adopt a superior attitude towards conquered people and to forget the strict instructions given him during military training. Numerous instances of breaches of the military laws have occurred, and evidence shows that crimes of rape, plundering, drunkenness, and robbery have been committed. Cases of soldiers deserting their posts, or mutilating themselves in order to avoid taking part in combat, are not unknown, and a few cases of insubordination and desertion also have been reported.

3. EFFICIENCY. It already has been shown (par. 1) that the Japanese soldier in civilian life is a subservient unit in the Japanese family system, and that individualism is discouraged. In the army his position is similar. Army training and the Japanese social system place emphasis on teamwork rather than on individual enterprise. As a member of a squad (section) , platoon, or company, the Japanese soldier meticulously performs duties allotted to him; he is an efficient cog in the machine and will carry out instructions to the letter.

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