3. Japanese racial superiority was official government policy and taught in Japanese schools
In a reflection of Hirohito’s personal beliefs, the official policy of the Showa regime was that the Japanese were racially and spiritually superior to other Asians. As the growth of nationalism took hold in Japan, this belief extended to all of the world’s races. Japanese values and culture were defined by the Yamato-damashii or “Yamato Spirit”. It became propagandized by the exponents of nationalism in Showa Japan. Originally, the term carried religious and cultural connotations, but in the Showa period, it came to reflect the spirit of the Japanese people.
Unlike many terms linked with racism, Yamato-damashii came to be used not to denigrate other races and cultures, but to express the superiority of the Japanese. In this manner, it was reflective of the Aryan superiority and Master Race of the Nazis. Through its use, the Japanese considered themselves to be superior to all races. Which, by definition, made all other races inferior. The term was used to separate the knowledge and learning which had been imported from Japan in ancient times – and later from western culture – and make it superior through the infusion of the spirit of the Japanese people. Taught in all schools, children in Showa Japan were trained to believe that their race was superior to all others due to their Japanese spirit.