| Original caption: “This photo shows gnarled tree branches and radio towers rearing up out of the rubble caused by bombs and fire in Tokyo during World War II. The incendiary bombs, a mixture of thermite and oxidizing agents that sometimes contained napalm, were responsible for burning over forty-one and half square miles of Tokyo by the United States in March 1945.” Destroyed Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) radio transmitting station in the Tokyo area. The towers were extremely difficult to destroy and could be repaired quickly, but the equipment that ran the station was much harder to repair or replace. The establishment of Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso’s (March 22, 1880 – November 3, 1950) cabinet on July 22, 1944, coincided with a change in the structure of NHK. This was initiated to ensure that the network worked more closely with the War Ministry, and to minimize the risk of radio transmissions being used for navigation purposes by United States Army Air Force (USAAF) aircraft. A new Director-General’s Office was established which included a new Department of Defense, and a Wartime Radio Research Institute. In addition, the International Bureau became the Overseas Bureau and the Southern Regions Office, which had been established to handle broadcasting to the occupied islands of the South Pacific, was abolished as the situation in the region became increasingly difficult for Japan. Its remaining business was incorporated into the Private Secretary’s Section of the Director General’s Office. In addition, it was decided to run-down certain transmitters in anticipation of Allied air raids, as bombers may have used the signal as aids to navigation. Hence from August 1, 1944, the output of the smaller relay stations was reduced. On November 5, 1944, the Overseas Bureau once more reorganized the East Asia Relay Broadcasts following the destruction of several transmitters, like this 1, in an air raid. The reorganization included a plan to strengthen Japanese news broadcasting to Asia, and the daily number of Japanese news broadcasts was increased to 9. The network included some Japanese domestic broadcasts, but the reorganization sought to create a new “Asian section” of overseas broadcasting. Hence, it attempted to create local programs for East Asia, and used programs from domestic and international broadcasts. American air raids over Tokyo prompted accusations of “indiscriminate bombing from above the clouds” but they were mentioned infrequently in overseas broadcasts. However, occasional reference was made to the number of American planes shot down over Japan, such as a broadcast on April 3, 1945, which claimed that 45 to 50 planes had been destroyed or damaged over Tokyo the previous day. Despite reports that raids caused only slight damage, other news items gave some indication of the damage that was being inflicted on Japan by the continual bombing. A broadcast to Italy reported that a supplementary budget was to be drawn up for repairs to air raid damage, an indication of the extensive damage being caused by the Allied raids. An air raid on May 21, 1945, destroyed the factory which supplied vacuum tubes for NHK’s short-wave international transmitters. The number of stockpiled tubes was sufficient to continue the overseas schedule begun at the beginning of May for 2 months, but it was agreed that a further reduction in transmission time would extend this to 3 months. The reduction was dramatic, reducing the daily programming time by 11 hours 45 minutes. The number of transmissions was reduced to 9 hours. In addition, most of the remaining transmissions, were reduced significantly, although the “Zero Hour,” “Humanity Calls,”Postman Calls” and “Free India” broadcasts continued as before in their respective transmissions. Although this reduction in transmission time was to prolong the life of the supply of vacuum tubes there does not seem to be any indication as to what, if any, plans existed for short-wave broadcasting after the 3-month period had elapsed. It is possible that the Japanese authorities hoped that a new factory to produce tubes could be established in that interval. However, it could also have been that by the end of May 1945 the unofficial view of Japan’s decision-makers was that Japan could not prolong the war effort for significantly more than 3 months. After the war, many Imperial Japanese Navy radio facilities, which had been staffed by Allied prisoners of war during the conflict, were taken over by the United States and operated for the duration of the Cold War. Photographer Dave Davis (???? – circa after 1973) was present at the surrender of Japan on USS Missouri on September 2, 1945; the trial of Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma (November 27, 1887 – April 3, 1946); and the partition of India and Pakistan. This photo appeared in the March 14, 2002, issue of the New York Times. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1725.jpg |
| Image Size | 2.35 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 7000 x 7380 |
| Photographer | Dave Davis |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 1, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Tokyo |
| State or Province | Tokyo |
| Country | Japan |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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