[crashryan]

I haven't seen this in ages. Once more I wonder: is any of this based on reality? The guidelines regarding physical differences seem utter bushwah. Of the many Japanese I've met over the years, few fit the standards of stature, body construction, or jaw shape presented here. Furthermore plenty of them were smooth-faced, their eyes often resembled those of Chinese friends, and their skin color was all over the map.

Most stereotypes begin with a grain of truth, but I'm hard-pressed to figure out where the standards in this booklet came from.

Link to the book: How To Spot a Jap (1942-US Army)

[narfstar]

I had a copy of Life Magazine from the week following Pearl Harbor. It had an article on how to tell a Jap from a Chinese.

[Captain Audio]

Reminds me of an old joke.
Question
How can you tell the difference between a Russian and a Finn?
Answer is
You can't, but a Finn can tell the difference at two hundred yards over open sights in a driving blizzard.

There are several ethnic groups among the Japanese. The "Yamato" were the ruling military class and in those days their appearance was markedly different from the average Japanese from more common stock.

These days theres been enough interbreeding with other races, and acceptance of Korean and Chinese fathered by Japanese troops that Japan is on its way to being an Asian melting pot.

During WW2 the Japanese made use of conscripts and volunteers from occupied countries. It was not uncommon for the majority of Imperial troops in some regions to be Korean , the only Japanese present being the officers.
Chinese volunteers serving the Japanese even had their own specialized rifles, a copy of the obsolete Japanese type 30 rifle chambered for the 7.92 Mauser cartridge which was the standard cartridge of the Chinese army at the time. The rifles and ammunition were manufactured in a captured Chinese arsenal.

[MarkWarner]

I agree about the stereotyping. This was serious business .. catching war criminals trying to "blend in" and is pretty much complete rubbish. I did like:

"The Chinese smiles easily --- the Jap usually expects to be shot --- and is very unhappy about the whole thing --- especially if he is an officer!"