Air-raid notice: 'This city is the next target' (US leaflet to Japanese civilians)

Air-raid notice: 'This city is the next target' (US leaflet to Japanese civilians)

Front of a small Japanese-language leaflet: a black band across the top carries the title in large cream characters, 'Air-raid advance notice', above a red field with a cream starburst that reads 'This city is the next target of the American air force's attack.' The tell is the bare, imminent-strike statement addressed to civilians; the Library of Congress summary says the leaflet urged residents to evacuate before bombing.

Date
1944
Period
Second World War
Made by
U.S. psychological warfare staff, Pacific (issuing unit not stated on the item)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Leaflet
Issuer type
Military
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Enemy civilians
Purpose
Warn or inform
Theme
War and the military
Event
World War II
Techniques
Fear appeal
Regime
Roosevelt administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
Library of Congress, retrieved September 29, 2026
Rights
US wartime military leaflet; LOC: No known restrictions on publication
U.S. psychological warfare staff (issuer per LOC lot); Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LOT 8093, LC-DIG-ppmsca-13367.

Text on the object

Original (Japanese) · read from the image, not independently checked

空襲豫告

この都市が
米空軍の
次の攻撃
目標です

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

Air-raid advance notice

This city is the next target of the American air force's attack.