Sora no Shinpei

Directed by Yoshimi Watanabe

Released in September 1942 by Nippon Eigasha, this 55-minute kokusaku (national policy) documentary follows Japanese paratroopers through every stage of their training—from gymnastics and parachute packing to tower drills and their first jumps from aircraft. Produced under the supervision of the Army Aviation Headquarters, the film embodied wartime ideology and propaganda aims. Widely popular at home and in occupied territories, it was accompanied by a theme song that helped brand its soldiers as “saviors from the sky.”