Korean Opium for Japan's Wars

Very little has been reported about the opium fields in northern Korea. During the occupation, Korean farmers were forced to grow opium for Japan's opium operations in China. This secret opium war was conducted with full approval from Tokyo as a state po licy, under the directives of an official Japanese umbrella organization, the China Affairs Board.
Editor's note: I grew up near one of the opium farms at the Korea-Manchuria border. Japanese police spent more time protecting opium crops than fighting Korean partisans. Koreans were allowed to keep the opium seeds - which young school kids (y ours truly include) would steal to eat.
The Board was responsible for political, economic, and cultural affairs in occupied China. This organization was run by Prince Konoye, and the ministers of war, the navy, finance and foreign affairs of the time. Japan's opium trafficking was designed to w eaken the Chinese people's will to resist and to provide substantial revenues to finance Japanese military and economic aggression.

Japan's opium policy in Taiwan

by Danny Chi
1. Money. Got lots of money from the Taiwanese. (So Japan could beat the Chinese "losers".)

2. To weaken Taiwanese.

Bao3 Zhang4 (head of a subdivision of a district) had the right to sell the opium for the Japanese government to the licenced opium-smoking Taiwanese.

3. Therefore, some of these Bao-Zhangs would naturally become "Japanese Sons" or Japanese's "walking dogs" (lackey).

According to Japan's official statistics, there were about 169000 Taiwanese opium smokers in 1900.

In the beginning, smoking opium was unformly allowed in Taiwan. Later, when the Japanese needed urgently *lots* of money for their military expansion, their opium policy in Taiwan changed:

They wanted to encourage the Taiwanese to smoke *more* opium.

The first step was that they had someone write an article in Japan's official newspaper in Taiwan, "Zhao1 He2 Xin1 Wen2", claiming that opium was *good* for human's health. Of course here the "human" meant "Taiwanese" only....

The cast of players of the Japan's Opium War and sex slavery of Korean school girls:
Doihara, General Kenji (1883-1948). Commander, Kwantung Army, 1938-40; Supreme War Council, 1940-43; army commander in Singapore, 1944-45. Deeply involved in the army's drug trafficking in Manchuria. Later ran brutal POW and internee camps in Malaya, Sum atra, Java and Borneo.

Itagaki, General Seishiro (1885-1948). Chief of staff, Kwantung Army, 1936-37; minister of war, 1938-39; chief, army general staff, 1939; commander in Korea, 1941; Supreme War Council, 1943; commander in Singapore, 1945. Troops under his command in China and elsewhere terrorized prisoners and civilians. Was responsible for prison camps in Java, Sumatra, Malaya, Borneo and elsewhere.

Kimura, General Heitaro (1888-1948). Chief of staff, Kwantung Army, 1940-41; vice minister of war, 1941-43; Supreme War Council, 1943; army commander in Burma, 1944-45. Helped plan the China and Pacific wars, including surprise attacks. Involved in the br utalization of the Allied POWs and was the field commander in Burma when civilian and POW slave labor built and died on the Siam-Burma Railway.

Tojo, General Hideki (1884-1948). Chief, Manchurian secret police, 1935; councilor, Manchurian Affairs Bureau, 1936; chief of staff, Kwantung Army, 1937-38; vice minister of war, 1938; minister of war 1940-44; premier, 1941-44. Considered the arch-crimina l of the Pacific War. Tojo assumed full responsibility for all the actions of his government and the military during the war.

Kaya, Okinori (1889-1977). Minister of finance, 1937-38, 1941-44; president, North China Development Company, 1939-41. An early advocate of selling narcotics to the Chinese to finance the expenses of the occupation forces.

Koiso, General Kuniaki (1880-1950). Vice minister of war, 1932; chief of staff, Kwantung Army, 1932-34; army commander in Korea, 1935-38; minister of overseas affairs, 1939; governor-general, Korea, 1942-44; premier 1944-45. Was known among the Korean pop ulation as "the Tiger of Korea" because of his brutality. As premier, he was aware of POW death camps.

Minami, General Jiro (1874-1955). Minister of war, 1931; Supreme War Council, 1931-34; commander, Kwantung Army, 1934-36; governor-general, Korea, 1936-42; privy Council, 1942-45. An early leader of the army clique that controlled Japan in the 1930s and 1 940s. Ruled Japan's Korean colony with an iron fist.

Suzuki, General Teiichi (1888- ). chief, China Affairs Bureau, 1938-41; president, Cabinet Planning Board, and minister without portfolio, 1941-43; adviser to the cabinet, 1943-44. An early and active supporter of militarism. Involved in Japan's drug traf ficking in China and approved the use of POWs and civilians as slave laborers.