The death of that Japanese soldier who surrendered in the 70s got me wondering what factors made the Japanese so much more fanatical than other combatants, at least to va lay perspective. Sure, the Russians & Nazis were brutal, but it seems the Japanese were unique in their unwillingness to surrender, and to instead take on suicide missions, kamikaze strikes, banzai charges, etc.
So I just wonder what cultural factors were at play here. For instance, the only modern equivalent to that willingness to die for one's cause is religious fervor. Yet I've been under the impression that Shinto was more of a cultural/ceremonial tradition than a passionate faith that inspired its followers to lay down their lives for advancement in the afterlife.
Is this a post war change? Just what benefit did an individual Japanese citizens think would come to them in exchange for sacrificing their lives? Did they really believe the emperor was literally a god, or was this more ceremonial? Was there any significant opposition to the war in Japanese society?
Most Japanese soldiers launched suicide attacks as an act of desperation. They had been told that if they were captured they would shame their families, which in all honesty was probably not as big of a factor as the idea that if they were captured by the Americans they would be tortured and killed. It also didn't help that Americans did, in fact, kill many would-be prisoners, partly because some surrendering troops would only pretend to surrender and would in fact be carrying a grenade or some other weapon. Nor did it help that some American soldiers took war trophies in the form of skulls or remains of Japanese troops, like this guy here: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/AWM_072837.jpg
For these soldiers, going forth and dying a (relatively quick) death in defense of your family and your nation was better than being tortured and mutilated. At least if they died "honorably," their bodies could be retrieved by their comrades, and they could be buried back home in Japan, instead of being carrion food or a war trophy on some American's PT-boat. Just like in Okinawa, where a large amount of civilians killed themselves because they were afraid that with the American victory they would be raped and killed horribly.
Other suicide attacks had less to do with anything relating to religion or the emperor. Did they believe the emperor was a god? They certainly understood that he was divine. But the emperor had historically wielded little power and had relatively little influence in how things were done. Some soldiers did so because in accordance with the bushido code, they felt that they needed to die an honorable death in battle. Matome Ugaki, the chief of staff of the Imperial Navy, lead a kamikaze attack after the Japanese announced their surrender. He blamed himself for not doing enough to defend Japan, and for not leading his men well, and decided to make up for this by leading the last kamikaze attack of the war.
There was some opposition to the war in Japanese society. The socialists and communists in general opposed the war, although the Imperial government heavily cracked down on them. A large chunk of the IJN also opposed the war, as did many Western-educated industry and zaibatsu leaders, as they felt that there was no way Japan could possibly keep up with America's industrial might. Even a few IJA members opposed the war, including Kanji Ishiwara, who was the IJA officer that was responsible for the Mukden incident whereby Japan essentially annexed Manchuria. He believed in the Greater East-Asian Co-Prosperity sphere, and he actually advocated that Hideki Tojo be tried and executed for treason shortly before he was forced to retire. That being said, opposition to the war was relatively not as open as compared to other countries. This was partly due to effective education and propaganda within Japan, and partly due to extreme amounts of peer pressure.
It has a lot to do with the Bushido code, its perversion, propaganda, and the downward atrocity spiral.
The code of Bushido teaches that while it is dishonorable for yourself to surrender, you are supposed to treat surrendered enemies with respect. Modern (post black fleet) Japan was actually known for this. During the Boxer Rebellion the Japanese embassy compound was one of the few that took in Chinese citizen fearing the violence. During the Russo-Japanese war the international press was shocked at how well the Japanese treated captured Russian soldiers and sailors.
After this, however, a right-leaning military faction started gaining power. They started to emphasize the racist superiority of the Yamato race, and the 'protective' colonial expansionism of the 'Greater co-prosperity sphere'.
They also started to promote a version of bushido where not only was it dishonorable to surrender, if anyone else did, they had no honor and therefore they were fair game. This is put into practice during the invasion of China.
As war with America became more inevitable, the propaganda began to emphasize the 'softness' of the Americans, and the horrible treatment a Japanese soldier could expect if they did surrender. After fighting started the reciprocal atrocity spiral reinforced their idea of horrible treatment. This became so effective that the Japanese military was able to convince a portion of civilians on Okinawa that death was preferable to capture so they killed themselves and their families.
A good book that explicitly covers this transition is Warriors of the Rising Sun: A History of the Japanese Military by Robert B. Edgerton.
I used to know more than I did on the subject, yet one key piece of information that I can tell you, is that historically, the emperor - which by this stage had broken down the power struggles between the imperial household and the military rival, the Shogun - was seen as a god incarnate.
Whilst somewhat different from the portrayal of the god-emperor cult in Roman society, in Shinto mythos, the emperor was still a descendant of Ameratsu, who was one of the early deities in Japanese folklore.
It was this belief that divine influence was ruling over their lives that was a fraction of why Japanese soldiers could be, but not always were, driven with such zeal. It was also why the ubiquitous photograph of the emperor standing next to General MacArthur was such a contrasting reminder that the supposed god was still a mortal man of flesh and blood, and a diminuitive man who seemed poor in health at that.
*Edited for incorrect name...
