8. The Lunatic Japanese-Brazilian Cult
As seen with the League of Blood, above, Japan and Japanese society were vulnerable to fanatical lunatic movements in the years leading up to WWII. That vulnerability persisted both during the war and in its immediate aftermath. During WWII, Japan put up a fanatical fight. The conflict still ended in abject Japanese defeat, with the country forced to throw in the towel and surrender in 1945. The shock sent many Japanese into paroxysms of grief, and quite a few around the bend and into denialism. For them – especially those outside the country who did not get to see with their own eyes enemy troops occupying Japan – news of the surrender was “fake news”.
Most eventually came to their senses and accepted reality, but many persisted in resisting facts. Thus, thousands of Japanese soldiers in isolated locales around the former Japanese empire kept on fighting, for months, years, or even decades. In Brazil, which hosted a sizeable Japanese immigrant community, a lunatic group sprang up to terrorize people into denying that Japan had surrendered. As seen below, things got pretty weird.