Imperial Japan published propaganda science fiction during World War II – this story predicts that Japan will win the space race against the US and become the first nation to land a man on the moon and televise it to the whole world, much to the chagrin of the Allies
This article appeared in Keijo Nippo, the main newspaper of Japan-occupied Korea from 1905 to 1945. The author, Juzo Unno, is considered the founder of Japanese science fiction. This story predicts that Japan will win the space race against the US and become the first to land a man on the moon and televise it to the whole world.
Hakko Ichiu refers to the grandiose expansionist idea that the Japanese emperor has the divine mandate to extend his “benevolent” rule over the whole world.
(my translation)
April 22, 1944 Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijo Nippo)
Palm Tree (203)
Juzo Unno (writer), Shojiro Murakami (artist)
The Great Circle (4)
“The spirit of Hakko Ichiu is the most precious thing in the world. Only by realizing this ideal will the human race of the earth be able to become the greatest victor and the greatest leader in the universe.
Therefore, any nation that does not understand the spirit of Hakko Ichiu, no matter how materially powerful or golden, will not be allowed to lead our world. The only people who can truly promise the safety of the global human race are those who are truly strong, who are burning with the belief of Hakko Ichiu and who will realize it. The anti-Axis camp will never be able to find such a suitable nation.
For this reason, spacecraft must be completed by our own hands. And we must lead the world and prevent attacks from other stars with all the power of the world.”
This was the belief of Director Meguro.
As a result, the American spacecraft Freedom 1 crashed tragically in midair and fell from its seat as the pioneer of space exploration. Our spacecraft Fuji, under the general direction of Director Meguro, succeeded in a remarkable test flight. After that, preparations were made in earnest, and a month later, spacecraft Fuji departed from Earth in a very solemn manner, with one hundred and sixty crew members on board, including Director Meguro.
This time, there was no ridiculous commotion as in the case of Freedom 1. It was not because they had learned their lesson from Freedom 1, but rather because the news media had shown their antipathy towards the Axis side, and had adopted a policy of complete obliteration, refusing to report even a word or two about the fortitude of spacecraft Fuji.
They predicted that spacecraft Fuji would suffer the same disaster as Freedom 1, and at that time they intended to write and talk extensively in the newspapers and on the air about the outrageous fate of spacecraft Fuji’s flight and its tragic end.
Unfortunately, however, spacecraft Fuji defied their expectations and continued to sail through space without a hitch.
On the day of its departure, it already reached the entrance of the stratosphere, and at noon the next day it broke through the stratosphere, and on the third day it conquered the ionosphere. Afterwards, it accelerated and, in one week, it had already reached the gravitational neutral point between the Earth and the Moon, which is a part of space that is fraught with danger. But it kept flying proudly without encountering any mishaps, steadily approaching the Moon. On the fifteenth day, spacecraft Fuji suddenly began to broadcast to the Earth an awesome sight showing a bird’s eye view from the Moon.
While the Axis broadcasters began broadcasting this epoch-making television broadcast at once, the anti-Axis side tried to kill it off, but the listeners of the anti-Axis side fought to listen to the Axis broadcast. Not only did the spacecraft Fuji become popular all over the world, but the anti-Axis press also exploded with grievances against the Axis press all at once, and the anti-Axis press lost their minds. Not only that, some newspapers and stations broke away from their agreement with their colleagues and voluntarily transmitted spacecraft Fuji’s Japanese language and television broadcasts, and the confusion and ugliness in their camp became a source of great amusement to the world. By the seeds they sowed, they had to reap the harvest of their deep sins.
Source: https://archive.org/details/kjnp-1944-04-22
(my transcription in modern Japanese orthography)
昭和十九年四月二十二日 京城日報
椰子（２０３）
海野十三（作） 村上松次郎（絵）
大団円 （四）
八紘一宇の精神こそ、まことに尊いかぎりである。この理想が実現せられてこそ、地球人類は始めて宇宙に於ける最大の勝利者ともなり、最高の指導者としても約束されるのである。
かかるが故に、八紘一宇の精神を理解出来ない国はいかなる物質的強国であっても黄金国であってもわが世界の指導は許されない。地球人類の安泰な真に約束できる者は、八紘一宇の信念に燃え、それを実現するところの真の強者のみである。反枢軸国家陣営に、かかる適任国家を絶対に発見し得ない。
それであるからして宇宙艇は、わが国の手で完成せねばならぬ。そして世界を指導し、世界の総力をあげて、他星からの攻撃を防遏せねばならぬ。
ーというのが、わが目黒所長の信念であった。
かくしてアメ研の宇宙艇第一自由号は悲惨なる空中粉砕をなして宇宙進空の先駆者たる席より転落し去った。そしてわが宇宙艇不二号は、目黒所長の総指揮の下に、目出たく試験飛行に成功した。それが終ると、本格的に準備がなされ、そして一ヶ月後に不二号は、目黒所長以下の乗組員百六十名が搭乗し、極めて厳粛にわが地球を出発したのだった。
こんどは、前の第一自由号のときのように、莫迦莫迦しい騒ぎは見られなかった。それは、第一自由号の場合に懲りたというよりも報道陣は反枢軸側としての反感を現わし、不二号の壮気を一言半句も報道せず、完全なる抹殺主義を執ったのであった。
そして今に不二号が、かの第一自由号と同じような惨事に見舞われることを予測し、そのときこそ新聞紙上に或いは放送で、大々的に不二号進空の暴挙たることと、その悲惨なる末路を書きたて喋りたてるつもりでいた。
ところが不二号は、気の毒にも彼等の期待を裏切り、悠々と宇宙を進航しつづけた。
出発の当日、早くも成層圏の入口に達し、翌日の正午には成層圏を突破し、三日には電離層をも征服し、それから速度をはやめ早くも一週間後には宇宙難所の一つである地球と月世界との引力の釣り合った平衝圏に達したが、これはまた堂々と飛翔して、何の事故を起すところもなかった。そして月世界は、わが不二号に刻々と接近し十五日目には突然不二号は月世界俯瞰の悽愴なる光景を始めてテレビジョンによって地球へ放送を始めたのである。
この画期的テレビジョン放送を枢軸国側の放送局では一斉に放送を始めたのに対し、反枢軸国側では飽くまで抹殺せんとしたところが、反枢軸国の聴取者たちは、枢軸国の放送を争って聴取し、ここに俄然として世界の人気がわが不二号の上に集まったばかりか、反枢軸国側の報道機関に対する不平が一度に爆発したので、彼等反枢軸国側の報道陣営は大味噌をつけてしまった。そればかりか、遂に仲間の申合せを破って、不二号の日本語放送とテレビジョン放送とを自ら進んで中継する新聞社や局が現れたので、彼等の陣営に於ける混乱ぶりと醜態とは、世界の大笑いの種となった。自ら蒔いた種によって、彼等はその深い罪による収穫を刈入ればならなかったのである。
