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The Imperial Japanese military song Nihon Rikugun (日本陸軍) begins with the line "天に代わりて不義を討つ" ("defeat injustice in place of righteousness").

What exactly did they consider 不義/fugi in Imperial Japan? Did it simply refer to opposing ideologies? Or is there a greater context distinct from the modern sense of "injustice" (especially considering that Imperial Japanese actions are considered unjust today).

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    – MCW ♦
    Commented Mar 13, 2021 at 12:48
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    You're overanalyzing lyrics. Military propaganda never needed that much logical sense in any context, let alone by what you would consider justice 70 years later. In any case, this song was adopted pre-WW1 and the first line more literally translates as "Fighting wrongs on behalf of heaven." The vagueness is by design - at most it's an appeal to having a casus belli for war.
    – Semaphore
    Commented Mar 15, 2021 at 6:16

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