WWII Imperial Japanese Thought Police Handbook Communist Surveillance Tokko

  
Secret Police vs Free Speech in Wartime Japan. This is a rare internal legal report written by Masao Kobashi, an officer in the Tokko (Special Higher Police) of Osaka Prefecture.

It analyzes how authorities handled the publication of erotic or politically subversive material during the early Showa era. "Relationship Between Administrative and Judicial Punishment in Obscene Publication Offenses". Issued by: Tokko, Osaka Prefectural Government. Date: Early Showa era c.

This document was not for public release. It was meant to train or inform internal police and government officials on how to control "dangerous publications" - mainly erotic photos, underground literature, and political criticism. It discusses the power balance between administrative censorship and criminal prosecution, and how authorities could suppress material even without a trial. The Tokko, or Special Higher Police, were Japan's version of the Gestapo - a feared political police force that hunted down communists, liberals, dissidents, and even artists. Their materials are rarely seen outside Japan.

An exceptional piece of censorship history that captures the mechanics of state repression before and during WWII. Own a Piece of History.