Japanese use of western agents?

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Hama
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Japanese use of western agents?

#1

Post by Hama » 16 Dec 2016, 17:02

Does anyone know some examples of Japanese use of western spies for intelligence gathering either before or during the Pacific war?

The only ones I know about are Harry Thompson and John Semer Farnsworth (two former American military personnel) and some Polish agents like Michał Rybikowski (who was part of a wartime Polish-Japanese intelligence cooperation that stemmed from good inter-war relations between the two countries).

Anyone know of any others? Just to say my question is not about westerners with Japanese heritage like nisei, but about non-Japanese westerners employed by Japan or operating as part of Japanese intelligence networks.

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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#2

Post by Eugen Pinak » 16 Dec 2016, 20:25

Japan intelligence made wide use of Russian emigrants in Machou-Di-Go.

Here are stories of British Rutland: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=143000 and Semphill (father of Japanese naval aviation, BTW): http://www.kbismarck.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5609


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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#3

Post by OpanaPointer » 16 Dec 2016, 20:57

German used as "back-up" for Japanese consulate on Oahu, Otto Kuhn. Never had any impact that I know of.
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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#4

Post by Hama » 16 Dec 2016, 22:33

Eugen Pinak wrote:Japan intelligence made wide use of Russian emigrants in Machou-Di-Go.
In Manchukuo? Ah that's right I've heard of that. Apparently Russian fascists there also made life quite hard for the Jewish community. I think that was one of the reasons why some Jews later went to other territories, like Shanghai or mainland Japan, where they faced less racism.
Eugen Pinak wrote:Here are stories of British Rutland: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=143000 and Semphill (father of Japanese naval aviation, BTW): http://www.kbismarck.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5609
Ah yes I remember hearing about Sempill. Hadn't heard of Rutland though. Thanks.
OpanaPointer wrote:German used as "back-up" for Japanese consulate on Oahu, Otto Kuhn. Never had any impact that I know of.
Hadn't heard of him. According to wikipedia he was initially sentenced to be shot for spying (later commuted to a long prison sentence) That sounds odd to me, that an enemy alien could be sentenced to death for spying for his own side, but Thompson and Farnsworth (who basically betrayed their own country spying for someone else) would only receive prison sentences straight off (and shorter than Kuhn). Is treachery really not that serious an offense in the US?

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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#5

Post by OpanaPointer » 16 Dec 2016, 23:01

The court decides the circumstances and the severity of the offense.
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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#6

Post by Orwell1984 » 17 Dec 2016, 06:49


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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#7

Post by Wellgunde » 17 Dec 2016, 10:32

Eugen Pinak wrote: That sounds odd to me, that an enemy alien could be sentenced to death for spying for his own side, but Thompson and Farnsworth (who basically betrayed their own country spying for someone else) would only receive prison sentences straight off (and shorter than Kuhn). Is treachery really not that serious an offense in the US?
There is "treachery" and then there is "treason." There is some overlap but under U.S. Federal law they are essentially different crimes. A conviction for treason requires proof that the accused gave "aid and comfort" to an enemy of the United States during wartime. Treachery is usually prosecuted under the espionage laws which is how Thompson and Farnsworth were tried. Successful prosecutions under this statute usually result in sentences of life imprisonment (cf. Johnny Walker and Jonathon Pollard). The only death sentences I can recall were the Rosenbergs who were executed in 1953 for delivering nuclear weapon secrets to the Soviets.
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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#8

Post by Hama » 17 Dec 2016, 13:28

Orwell1984 wrote:Two more:

Velvalee Dickinson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvalee_Dickinson

Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_S ... han_Heenan
Both interesting, thanks! Heenan in particular sounds like an interesting individual. I'd be curious to know if there was more info available on what motivated him to spy for Japan, and whether that unsourced "long leave to Japan" in the wikipedia article had anything to do with it. Was he contacted and hired by Japanese agents prior to the invasion, or was it something he initiated himself.
Wellgunde wrote: There is "treachery" and then there is "treason." There is some overlap but under U.S. Federal law they are essentially different crimes. A conviction for treason requires proof that the accused gave "aid and comfort" to an enemy of the United States during wartime. Treachery is usually prosecuted under the espionage laws which is how Thompson and Farnsworth were tried. Successful prosecutions under this statute usually result in sentences of life imprisonment (cf. Johnny Walker and Jonathon Pollard). The only death sentences I can recall were the Rosenbergs who were executed in 1953 for delivering nuclear weapon secrets to the Soviets.
Ok I see, thanks for explaining. So if Thompson and Farnsworth had committed their spying during wartime I assume the sentences would have been more severe.

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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#9

Post by Stephen_Rynerson » 03 Jan 2017, 06:13

Hama wrote:
Orwell1984 wrote:Two more:

Velvalee Dickinson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velvalee_Dickinson

Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_S ... han_Heenan
Both interesting, thanks! Heenan in particular sounds like an interesting individual. I'd be curious to know if there was more info available on what motivated him to spy for Japan, and whether that unsourced "long leave to Japan" in the wikipedia article had anything to do with it. Was he contacted and hired by Japanese agents prior to the invasion, or was it something he initiated himself.
According to Shadows Dancing: Japanese Espionage Against the West 1939-1945 by Tony Matthews, Heenan was probably subverted through his relationship with a Japanese woman he met during his vacation in Japan, whom Matthews speculates to have been planted by Japanese intelligence.

Also, I skimmed through the rest of Shadows Dancing (I've owned a copy for years, but had not gotten around to reading it) and there aren't any other true Western "agents" identified in the book besides the ones people have already mentioned here. However, there were a number of Spanish and Portuguese diplomats discussed in the book who facilitated Japanese espionage activities, particularly in Latin America, but I don't know that one could consider them "agents" since they weren't directly involved in spying.

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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#10

Post by Hama » 06 Jan 2017, 16:15

Thanks Stephen, interesting information. I'll keep my eye out for that book.

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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#11

Post by Alexander Taper-Bore » 25 Jan 2017, 18:13

Interresting and thanks for sharing.
Any Dutch or Dutch East Indies persons in that book?

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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#12

Post by Stephen_Rynerson » 27 Feb 2017, 00:08

Alexander Taper-Bore wrote:Interresting and thanks for sharing.
Any Dutch or Dutch East Indies persons in that book?
I'm guessing this inquiry was directed to me, sorry for having overlooked it. The book doesn't name any particular Dutch or Dutch East Indies individuals who were suspected of spying for the Japanese, but it does have several pages (pp. 44-49) on Japanese espionage activities in the NEI prior to the invasion. Part of that discussion suggests there were at least some Dutch officials who may have been subverted or blackmailed by the Japanese, particularly through sexual contacts. Unfortunately, all of the sources relied on for that part of the book are summaries and transcripts of MAGIC intercepts from the U.S. National Archives, so it would be rather difficult to actually look at the underlying documents to see if there are specific names mentioned.

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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#13

Post by Langstrom » 13 Mar 2017, 23:10

I believe that the American author Ralph Townsend was on the payroll of the Japanese. He's famous for writing the very anti-Chinese (and pro-Japanese) book Ways That Are Dark in 1933.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ways_That_Are_Dark

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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#14

Post by OpanaPointer » 14 Mar 2017, 00:16

There are suggestions of this in the Magic Documents. I haven't read them since I converted them to HTML.
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Re: Japanese use of western agents?

#15

Post by Stephen_Rynerson » 22 Mar 2017, 15:47

Langstrom wrote:I believe that the American author Ralph Townsend was on the payroll of the Japanese. He's famous for writing the very anti-Chinese (and pro-Japanese) book Ways That Are Dark in 1933.
You're correct (Townsend even was convicted of failing to register as a foreign agent), but Hama's question was about the use of "western spies for intelligence gathering," and I'm not aware of Townsend ever being accused of espionage as compared to just being a propagandist.

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