Celebrations on founding of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association.
In February 1942, all women's associations were merged into the Greater Japan Women's Association which joined the Imperial Rule Assistance Association in May. Every adult woman in Japan, excepting the under twenty and unmarried, was forced to join the Association.
Likewise, in June, all youth organizations were merged into the Greater Japan Imperial Rule Assistance Young Adults' Corps/
翼賛青年団/Yokusan Sonendan , based on the model of the German Sturmabteilung (stormtroopers). Members received a deep political indoctrination and basic military training. Their responsibilities included forming part of the home guard to assist in matters of civil defense under the direction of official local authorities. They were issued mostly obsolete weapons provided to the organization under orders from their Director-General Kingoro Hashimoto, and were expected to assist local firefighting efforts following air raids, distribute emergency supplies and render basic first aid. The most advanced pupils were earmarked for eventual enrollment in the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, or for a future role as elected local politicians within the Taisei Yokusankai organization. In addition to its civil defence and paramilitary role, the Yokusan Sonendan was also tasked with assisting local tonarigumi neighborhood civil defense organizations and the Kenpeitai military police by watching for signs of subversives in their area and reporting any anti-war or anti-government activities. In the last stages of World War II, members received additional military training in the use of anti-tank weapons and light machine guns, for transfer into reserve combat units to support Japan's remaining troops against the expected Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands. The group suffered heavy combat casualties during the Battle of Okinawa. The Yokusan Sonendan was disbanded on 30 May 1945 and its membership merged into the Volunteer Fighting Corps.
In March 1942, Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō attempted to eliminate the influence of elected politicians by establishing an officially sponsored election nomination commission, which restricted non-government-sanctioned candidates from the ballot. After the 1942 Japanese General Election, all members of Diet were required to join the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association/Yokusan Seijikai/
翼賛政治会 (political wing of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and a joint caucus of both the House of Representatives and the House of Peers that existed between 20 May 1942 to 30 March 1945
) which effectively made Japan a one-party state.
Two pages from an article on the activities of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association. The photograph at left bears a slogan "A New Year of Construction, Realizing Our Pledge".
The line of Imperial Rule Assistance Associationmembers (identified by their sashes) stand out against the flat background photograph of a crowd.
The Imperial Rule Assistance Association was formally dissolved on 13 June 1945. During the Allied occupation of Japan, the American authorities purged thousands of government leaders from public life for having been members of the Association. Later, many of them returned to prominent roles in Japanese politics after the end of the occupation.
