The Zero Hour

The Zero Hour, ©MMX

The United States Department of Defense defines psychological warfare as:

“The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives.”

“The Zero Hour” was the first of many radio broadcasts produced by the Japanese Military meant to deter the Allied forces through coercion, propaganda and American pop-music. There were a number Japanese Americans stranded in Japan when the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor. All of them were detained and forced to work for the Emperor’s war machine. A few were made to host “The Zero Hour” (most famously, Iva Toguri).

The show was popular among the Allies, mostly for the music and the sound of a comforting female voice. There was also a segment consisting of messages from American POWs which only served to motivate the soldiers to fight harder. The Allied officers discouraged their men from listening to the show, but in reality, Japan’s psychological war with America was at best merely entertaining.

Victory speaks louder than words.

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kanji translation: “victory”