Evacuations of civilians in Japan during World War II

Before the Pacific War and during the first years of this conflict, the Japanese government placed little emphasis on preparing civil defense measures in the event of air raids on the country.

Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō initially opposed implementing these plans due to the damage they were likely to cause to morale and family cohesion but eventually agreed in order to minimize civilian casualties.

[4] The government launched a voluntary evacuation program in December 1943, encouraging the elderly, children, and their mothers to stay in the homes of friends and relatives in rural areas.

For families without contacts in the countryside, entire school classes evacuated as groups accompanied by their teachers; by August 1944, 333,000 children had been relocated to rural areas where they continued their education in inns, temples and other public buildings.

As the American firebombing campaign continued millions more Japanese civilians fled from their homes into rural areas, overwhelming the government's evacuation plans.

[1] By June 1945 millions of Japanese civilians had been rendered homeless by air raids and the evacuation of survivors meant that many of the remaining factories were unable to find sufficient workers.

[8][9] Overall, 8.5 million Japanese civilians were displaced as a result of the American raids, including 120,000 of Hiroshima's population of 365,000 who evacuated the city before the atomic bomb attack on it in August 1945.

Students then entered dorms near the factory complex; strict daily schedules ensured that the children woke, cleaned their quarters, ate meals, went to and from their work shifts, and had time for evening hygiene in cohorts.

Within a short time after graduation in the spring of 1945, one participant estimates that one-tenth of her classmates died, while others suffered from tuberculosis, neuralgia, rickets, and symptoms of over-exhaustion as a result of exposure to chemicals used in making the balloons.

By the summer, students were even preparing for the eventual Allied invasion of Japan by training to fight with bamboo spears and throwing rocks at targets.