Tojo's Speech Persuasive Essay

The first major theme in Tojo’s speech is Imperial Japan’s desire for an unconditional Allied surrender. Tojo makes these desires extremely clear in his speech. For example, Tojo declares that “[Imperial Japanese forces] will never cease fighting until the enemy is crushed,” whilst also stating that Imperial Japanese forces should unite to “eradicate and destroy American and British power,” in the Pacific. Tojo’s words betray his desire to see Allied forces in the Pacific to be completely crushed and subjugated. These statements are extremely relevant in understanding Imperial Japan’s relationship with the concept of Total War. For instance, one of the principles stipulated by Förster is that during Total War, states aim to achieve the “unconditional

The existence of these demands and the content of Tojo’s speech clearly shows that Imperial Japan had a very clear set of aims; those being the utter destruction of the Allies in the Pacific and the subjugation of their territories. These aims epitomise the themes present in Förster’s Total War aims, therefore showing Imperial Japan’s outright devotion to the concept of Total War. Furthermore, Tojo’s words, combined with the aforementioned historical knowledge, show that Tojo understood World War II as largely won in the Pacific save for a few pockets of resistance in areas like Midway and Dutch Harbour. Ultimately, Förster’s Total War Aims play a major role in Tojo’s speech. To a large extent, Imperial Japan was completely devoted to the destruction of the Allied presence in the Pacific, clearly showing that Imperial Japan’s relationship with the concept of Total War was one of conviction to achieving its