In Japan, the key features of totalitarianism such as ideology, control of individuals and control of information led to the atrocities of the medical experiments of Unit 731, the Death March of Bataan and the Rape of Nanking committed during World War II. First, Japanese ideology helped cause the atrocity of medical experiments committed by Unit 731 as the Japanese considered surrender to be dishonorable and this allowed them to distance themselves from their POWs. Ideology in a state refers to the ideas that guide the government and the people as it creates and justifies the goals and actions of the state. The Japanese believed that surrender was dishonorable and considered suicide a better way to die. In the film Letters, the key feature of controlling individuals is the act of a state denying fundamental rights, expecting personal sacrifice for the good of the state, and demanding obedience to the state. In the film Letters from Iwo Jima, Shimizu was ordered to kill a dog to avoid disruptions to the state's communications. Furthermore, Saigo was forced to join the army, leaving his wife behind and going against his feelings by resisting the fight, to show loyalty to the state and obey orders (Letters from Iwo Jima). Then, in January 1942, Japan invaded the Philippines. In response, American and Philippine forces took up defensive positions on the Bataan Peninsula but after three months control of the territory was taken by the Japanese. Subsequently, under orders to move the prisoners inland to avoid their liberation, Japanese soldiers forced the Allied POWs to march 50 miles down the peninsula, resulting in the deaths of approximately 16,000 people along the way. Second World War). First, Shimizu's experience reveals that Japan used the key feature of control over individuals, because being forced to kill a dog to prevent the disruption of state communications exemplifies the requirement of complete obedience to the state. Likewise, Saigo's experience also demonstrates this key characteristic as his recruitment into the army showed that personal sacrifice was expected from the citizens of the state, as he was forced to leave his family and ignore his beliefs to fight for Japan. Likewise, control over individuals was evident in the Japanese order to move prisoners inland, as the Japanese government required complete obedience to the state following its goals which included winning the war. Therefore, to improve their position, the prisoners of war could not be allowed to be released, and this objective led to the order to move them inland as was necessary.