Content note: Japanese leaflet showing a dead, dismembered soldier, with a sexual appeal in its text. This object is shown as it was published. Why
'BUT if you continue to resist...' (Japanese leaflet to Australian troops)
The opened inner face of a folded surrender leaflet. Above a moonlit battlefield and a bloodied, dismembered Allied soldier it reads: 'BUT if you continue to resist... Then, under the beautiful tropical moon, only DEATH awaits you. Bullet-holes in your guts---agonizing death! You have the two alternatives. Take your choice.' The small print recalls 'that unforgettable embrace' of a woman at home, available again 'if you'll throw down your arms, surrender'.
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Imperial Japanese Army General Staff (as attributed on Wikimedia Commons)
- Region
- East Asia
- Country
- Empire of Japan
- Medium
- Leaflet
- Issuer type
- Military
- Regime
- Showa Japan
- Leader
- Hideki Tojo
- Audience
- Enemy forces
- Purpose
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Theme
- War and the military
- Event
- World War II
- Techniques
- Fear appeal
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons, retrieved September 27, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (PD-Japan-organization; PD-1996 in the U.S.)
Imperial Japanese Army (attributed), 1942; Gessler collection, Duke University, via Wikimedia Commons.
Text on the object
BUT if you continue to resist ............ Then, under the beautiful tropical moon, only DEATH awaits you. Bullet-holes in your guts---agonizing death! You have the two alternatives. Take your choice. That unforgettable embrace under the beautiful moon with the warmth of HER shapely body nested against yours; that blood-tingling kiss; that over-powering sense of passion that sweeps over you---these and many other pleasant memories you'll be able to relive again if you'll throw down your arms, surrender and prepare to get out of this hell-hole.
.jpg){kind=link}