ラジオ番組「少国民の時間」による戦争協力 ; The War Effort Through the Radio Program “Shokokumin no Jikan” （Hours for the Rising Generation）

This study clarifies how the children’s radio program “Shokokumin no Jikan” （Hours for the Rising Generation） in the Showa period promoted the war effort in line with national policy. The historical materials in this investigation are program textbook issues from May 1941 to May 1942 and eight scripts of radio dramas for children produced between July 1941 and July 1945. Investigation of these materials found the following. First, from January 1941, the time of its predecessor, “Kodomo no Jikan,” “Shokokumin no Jikan” produced programs in line with the new government regime, and the hours for children’s entertainment “Kodomo no Jikan” had shifted to hours for governmental propaganda. Second, although the last issue of “Radio Shokokumin,” the program textbook of “Shokokumin no Jikan,” was unclear in preceding studies, the May 1942 issue was confirmed as the last. Third, while the two scripts from the first half of “Shokokumin no Jikan” depicted children’s lives based on home and school, the six scripts produced from October 1944 to July 1945 depicted their lives away from their parents in evacuation centers or bases for children’s production activities, showing that even children were expected to devote their lifetime and spirit to total war. ; departmental bulletin paper