JAPANESE PREMIER HIDEKI TOJO'S GRADUATION ADDRESS IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY, MANCHUKUO

September 25, 1942

Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service, Federal Communications Commission.

Today, when the Imperial University is holding its graduation exercises, this is a very happy moment. I have been given an opportunity to address all the University graduates. At present, under the August Virtue of our Imperial Household, the Japanese people are carrying out a great task for the establishment of the grand plan of the Greater East Asia sphere. At this moment, you, the graduates, are about to go out into the world, a new world, and this is a happy occasion for you people. Your people are already taking part in the battlefields, and some of them have already been placed in the shrine at Yasukuni. Under the strict guidance of the Government, we have gone through the Manchukuo Incident, and are now in the Greater East Asia War. This is the time when you must offer your all in order to pay back the benevolences given you from Imperial Japan. (Several lines missing) The fight is yet to come. In order to win the Greater East Asia War and establish the Greater East Asia sphere, you must do your best. We have never seen a time when your service was needed so greatly. You are now to be the leaders of Japan in the first line. We have never seen a time when your service was needed so greatly. I honestly wish that you will go through with all kinds of difficulties in the future, when you encounter them, first for the realization of the spirit of Imperial Japan. The brilliant victory is in the Greater East Asia war. You are to watch the spirit of Imperial Japan develop. The most important thing of all is how to retain this Imperial Spirit. When this is realized, you are able to contribute your part. You are to contribute your part in the improvement of education and science. No matter how many difficulties you encounter in the future, you must sacrifice yourself for the improvement of science and education in Japan.


This HTML document was created by GT_HTML 6.0d 09/22/97 11:47 AM.