11-J-1

写真週報

Weekly pictorial magazine [Japanese propaganda magazine]

昭和十八年十二月号第九頁

December 1943, p. 9

二ヶ年の海軍綜合戦果

Combined Naval Results for Two Years

[The chart is essentially, all made up losses. In the aircraft carrier (空母)column, it’s claiming 26 American aircraft carriers sunk. America had lost 6 carriers, by December 1943.]

婆々芸者と軍部

Old Geisha* and the Military

諸君は戦争の間々に「首腦部のやり方」や発表に対し不審の点に考へ及んだ事はありませんか。

Have you ever thought about the “headquarters’ methods” or the suspicious nature of its announcements during the course of the war?

例へば写真週報の統計表に現れた處の撃沈又大破された米国主力艦の数が当時米軍の有する総数よりも遥に多くなっている。

For example, the number of U.S. capital ships sunk or severely damaged in the weekly photo report is far greater than the total number of U.S. vessels in the U.S. armed forces at the time.

仮令事実米軍がこれだけ莫大な艦艇を失ったとします。

Suppose, in fact, that the U.S. military has lost such a huge number of vessels.

どうしてニユーギニアの大部分、サイパン、グワム、パラオ、モロタイ等の諸島を次から次へと奪回出来たでしょか。

How could we have recaptured most of New Guinea, Saipan, Guam, Palau, Morotai, and other islands one after the other?

幾ら生産力があつたとしても紙で造った軍艦で戦争するわけには行くまい。

No matter how much production capacity we have, we cannot go to war with warships made of paper.

また最近の一例をあげますと台灣沖海戦で亦大戦果を発表しラジオでは「この海戦は米国の比島上陸進攻作戦に大鉄椎を下したもので今やかかる企図が完全に粉砕されたものである」と軍首腦部が名台詞を使ったのは諸君もまた覚えていられるでしょう。

For example, you may remember the famous words of the military leadership in a radio broadcast after the announcement of the great success of the naval battle off Taiwan: “This naval battle was a major blow to the U.S. landing operation on the Philippines, and now such an attempt has been completely crushed.

處が不思議な事には米国軍が僅か五日間後比島に上陸しました。

The strange thing is that the U.S. forces landed in the Philippines only five days later.

またその後諸君を安心させる為か、亦比島海戦の所謂大戦果を発表し諸君を喜ばしています。

Afterwards, perhaps to reassure everyone, they also announced the so-called great battle of the Philippines to the delight of everyone.

が然し諸君!!大戦果の発表毎に米国軍が益々日本々土に接近しつつあるに反し諸君が次第に苦戦に陥らなければならないのはどうした事でしょか。

But, gentlemen! How is it that with each announcement of a major victory, the U.S. forces are getting closer and closer to the Japanese soil, while you are having to fight an increasingly difficult battle?

*The Old Geisha connection is the idea that old geisha cover up their aging through makeup like the military command covering up their losses through false statements.