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Title: Kempei Tai: The Japanese Secret Service Then and Now by Richard Deacon ISBN: 0-8048-1653-0 Publisher: Tuttle Publishing Pub. Date: 01 October, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (2 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: A View of Japanese History
Comment: The Kempei Tai were the Japanese Military Police, and were responsible for internal security (like the FBI or British MI-5). Spying was not considered dishonorable: an aristocrat could work as a laborer to carry out a mission. The Japanese learned that the apparent honesty of Westerners cloaked devious purposes and selfish aims. The 19th century brought threats to Japan from the imperialism of America, Britain, France, and Russia. Japan was able to resist and remained independent, built up an army and navy, and gathered intelligence from Western nations. They studied military factories and ship builders, and early on learned about inefficient production in the West. The Japanese government kept tight control over industries handling military contracts. Students were sent abroad to learn and gather intelligence legally. They also created secret societies to gather intelligence from these volunteers. One well-tried method to gather intelligence was to operate bordellos (blackmail, bribery). The Black Dragon Society was founded to oppose Russians in Manchuria. Japan signed a Treaty of Alliance with Britain in 1902.

The Russo-Japanese War began with the massive advance intelligence operations of Japan. Japan severed diplomatic relations and then attacked the Russian ships at Port Arthur. Some of their spies were trumped by Russian counter-intelligence. Japan later entered into an alliance with Britain, France, and Russia for WW I; they captured German colonies in the Pacific. Japan tried to save the Romanovs and began conflicts with the Bolsheviks. American pressure on Britain put an end to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Now Japan turned to Germany, its only possible ally. Japan now began to move in on a divided China, like Western countries. Japan even sought to settle Jews in Manchuria.

The "Thought Police" were created in 1927 as part of a national spying system. People were to report any suspicions about their neighbors. The Kempei Tai created a secret society to eliminate all parliamentary political parties and became powerful and feared. Espionage increased from the Panama Canal north into California in the 1930s. Barber shops were used to collect gossip from US naval personnel! Japan broke off negotiations with America on December 7, 1941. Pain-language coded messages used double meanings. A Japanese general could pose as a farm laborer, a captain as a female cook ! Japanese spies flooded Singapore and Malaysia by 1941. Japan lost the cryptographic war, the Battle of Midway, and WW II.

After 1945 the financial and business interests that supported groups like the Black Dragon Society were purged, along with the Communist Party. Japan spent its limited budget on a "global intelligence gathering system" that provided information on trade, commerce, markets, technological developments, and economic research. The Keidanren arbitrates the fluctuating interests and requirements of various businesses, formulates policies for the government, and collects information. Some call this "industrial espionage", or a willingness to learn. Pollution is a necessary evil in an industrialized society; it can be controlled but not eliminated. Rapid industrial progress cost dearly in pollution, particularly from lead. Consumer tastes are studied so exports remain competitive. Quality may be more important than increased productivity. Japan lowered their imports of Iranian oil years before 1979. One Japanese company had good industrial relations in Britain. (This version covers more than the first edition.)

Rating: 4
Summary: An informative and easily readable history.
Comment: "Kempei Tai: The Japanese Secret Service Then and Now" is a straightforward narrative, probably the only of its kind, on the history of JapanÕs modern intelligence activities. Although Richard Deacon is not a historian of Japan, his book is a good supplement for anyone interested in JapanÕs history, especially the period 1904-45.

The most intriguing aspect of the book deals with Japanese intelligence in China before 1941, which includes a more genuine account of the conspiring associations Sun Yat-Sen, Yuan Shi KÕai, and ChinaÕs last emperor, Henry Pu Yi had with Japanese agents. Also discussed at length is the history of intelligence on both Imperial and Soviet Russia, with a particularly interesting story about Japanese agent involvement in a plan to rescue the Romanovs from their Bolshevik captors. As for intelligence on the United States, Deacon of course devotes part of the book to covert activities, especially for naval intelligence, before 1945.

In its weaker moments, two major problems standout in "Kempei Tai." First, although Deacon rightly discusses the influence of right-wing extremism on the Japanese intelligence services, he never addresses the inherent weaknesses in the system or the brutality it inflicted in Asia in 1941-45. Second, Deacon sometimes strays from the subject of intelligence in the postwar period, trying to tie in too many political and economic issues. Since this volume of "Kempei Tai" is a revision of an earlier book, material in the later chapters is often irrelevant to the original title.

In summary, however, "Kempei Tai" is easily readable and recommended to anyone with an interest in modern Japanese history or affairs of State.