Sadao Araki quotes

Sadao Araki was a Japanese general and political leader influential during the early Shōwa period. A prominent figure in the rise of Japanese militarism, he served as Army Minister and later as Education Minister. He played a key role in shaping imperialist and nationalist policies in prewar Japan. Here are 19 of his quotes:

It is Japan's mission to be supreme in Asia, the South Seas and eventually the four corners of the world.

Sadao Araki

Give me a Japanese division armed with bamboo spears and I'll wipe out the entire Russian Far Eastern Army.

Sadao Araki

If we have a thousand bamboo spears, there's nothing to worry about a war with the Soviet Union.

Sadao Araki

In order to have enough of the raw materials...which will be lacking in wartime, we should plan to acquire and use foreign resources existing in our expected sphere of influence, such as Sakhalim, China, and the Southern Pacific.

Sadao Araki

What sort of government is it that permits so many children to go to school hungry, without even a morsel of food in their stomachs? It cannot be! It must not be!

Sadao Araki

In appointing our Ambassador to the United States at this important time, with the 1936 crisis ahead, such considerations as dignity, past career, equity and sentiment must be discarded and a man of ability chosen in the interests of the country. In the light of these considerations, we find Hiroshi Saito, present Minister of Holland, the right person for the post.

Sadao Araki

The spirit of the Japanese nation is, by its nature, a thing that must be propagated over the seven seas and extended over the five continents. Anything that may hinder its progress must be abolished, even by force.

Sadao Araki

According to our belief, Japan was founded by the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami, who is revered by the entire nation for her all-pervading virtue, and from whom our Imperial House is descended.

Sadao Araki

The foundations of our Empire are now based more firmly than ever! The birth of a Crown Prince shows that the prosperity of the Imperial Household is increasing many times.

Sadao Araki

Unless you remove the weeds, a good crop will be ruined.

Sadao Araki

Now the opportunity to destroy the USSR has arrived.

Sadao Araki

I ask you to remember that the Japanese troops are a strictly disciplined force and perform their duties with as little harmfulness as possible.

Sadao Araki

Frivolous thinking is due to foreign thought. Japan must no longer let the impudence of the white peoples go unpunished. It is the duty of Japan to fulfill her natural destiny, to cause China to respect the Japanese, to expel Chinese influence from Manchuria, and to follow the way of imperial destiny.

Sadao Araki

We have no hesitation in declaring that we are a military nation- in the cause of Kodo and the highest morality.

Sadao Araki

It is now time for our nation to frustrate the wild dreams of the whites.

Sadao Araki

The sword is our steel Bible!

Sadao Araki

Setbacks there and at home will only increase our strength...

Sadao Araki