Under the Shadow of the Rising Sun: Japan and the Jews during the Holocaust Era

by Meron Medzini

Even before Japan joined Nazi Germany in the Axis Alliance, its leaders clarified to the Nazi regime that the attitude of the Japanese government and people to the Jews was totally different than that of the official German position and that it had no intention of taking measures against the Jews that could be seen as racially motivated. During World War II some 40,000 Jews found themselves under Japanese occupation in Manchuria, China and countries of South East Asia. Virtually all of them survived the war, unlike their brethren in Europe. This book traces the evolution of Japan's policy towards the Jews from the beginning of the 20th century, the existence of anti-Semitism in Japan, and why Japan ignored repeated Nazi demands to become involved in the "final solution."

Genres: Japan

236 pages, Hardcover

Published October 31, 2016

About the author

Meiron Medzini (Hebrew: מירון מדזיני) is Professor Emeritus of Japanese Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, former spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office of Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, and Yitzhak Rabin (first term), and head of the Government Press Office.

Reviews

[Lizzy B · Rating 4 out of 5]

The takeaways: Japan could have done better, but it also could have done much worse re: its treatment of Jews. There was some antisemitism, but that sometimes worked in Jews’ favor (e.g. believing that Jews controlled America so being nice to Jews would appease their government). Japan had to juggle many different priorities and generally made pragmatic decisions in this case, even if often misinformed, halting, or contradictory.

One aspect of history this author often points out is how easily events could have gone one way or the other. He brings up not just what happened, but also many half-baked, never-realized plans and ideas. This view is perhaps informed by the author’s position as press secretary to Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War(!!). For me, I wonder if I would have appreciated Japanese culture today if they had also carried out the Holocaust, or if there could have been an even cooler scenario where Japan saved tons more Jews and we had a national kinship.

He also emphasizes logistical struggles, e.g. the lack of linguistic understanding of Jewish communities in Japan’s regions resulting in their not having much societal influence, the resources that would have been needed to transport Jews to Nazi death camps that Japan did not care to allocate, etc.

Was fun to learn about the Jewish communities in ESEA - did not know much about the Iraqi or Russian communities beforehand.

Writing-wise, a clear and concise book that sometimes reads like a museum exhibit. The most typos I have seen in a published book in recent memory, even with these smaller-run, academic books I’ve imbibed recently, but I suppose I am grateful for the translation.

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to Medzini, Japan generally did not mistreat Jews during World War II, either in Japan or in places conquered by Japan. Japan did imprison and mistreat citizens of its wartime enemies such as the UK and the US; however, Jewish prisoners were no more mistreated than anyone else. One limited exception to this pattern was the Shanghai ghetto; stateless refugees were forced into a small, crowded area. But even this was nothing like Nazi ghettoes; Jews could leave and enter the ghetto, and refugees were not executed or tortured. Moreover, Russian Jews were exempt from the ghetto; Japan still hoped to avoid provoking Russian entry into the war against Japan.

Why was this? Medzini explains that the Japanese generally were apathetic about Jews; despite German pressure, they saw no need to invest resources in harming them. Even though there was some anti-Semitism in Japan, such anti-Semitism actually discouraged mistreatment of Jews; some policymakers had been exposed to propaganda about Jewish power, and they thought it was a bad idea to antagonize this mysterious (to them) group.

On the other hand, Japan was no more eager than the rest of the world to admit Jewish refugees. Even Japan's most famous "righteous gentile", Sugihara Chinune (the Japanese consul in Lithuania in 1940) issued transit visas that helped Jews reach a variety of places through Japan. I learned some surprising (to me) facts about Sugihara. At the time, he probably didn't know how helpful he was: at the time, Jews were trying to avoid the Soviet Union (which then controlled Lithuania) rather than Germany, so it is unclear whether either Sugihara nor his beneficiaries knew that leaving Lithuania was as much of a life-and-death matter as it turned out to be. Unlike similar officials in other nations, Sugihara was not immediately punished by his superiors: after the Soviet Union closed the Japanese consulate in Lithuania, Sugihara was transferred to a variety of other European posts.