THOUGHT POLICE

THOUGHT POLICE
   The thought police, also called the Special Higher Police (Tokubetsu koto keisatsu, abbreviated Tokko), was a police force established to investigate and punish “dangerous” political groups and ideologies. In 1910, there was a conspiracy plot to assassinate Emperor Meiji, and the thought police was formed in 1911 to stop similar situations from happening in the future. Initially, the Tokko focused on communists, anarchists, socialists, and feminists, but in 1925 a law was passed that greatly empowered the organization, allowing it to work overseas in areas with high densities of Japanese (e.g., London, Berlin, Shanghai). In its first 25 years of existence, the organization arrested nearly 60,000 people, 5,000 of whom were brought to trial, with half of those being sentenced to death. Shiina Rinzo and other Japanese authors with communist ties were among those arrested, some multiple times. The thought police was disbanded by order of the American Occupation authorities in 1945.

Historical dictionary of modern Japanese literature and theater. . 2009.

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  • Thought Police — Thought Po|lice, the the police organization in George Orwell s story ↑1984, whose job is to control what people think and the way that they think. The expression thought police is sometimes used for describing any group that tries to tell other… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Thought Police — The Thought Police ( thinkpol in Newspeak) are the secret police of Oceania in George Orwell s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty Four . It is the job of the Thought Police to uncover and punish thoughtcrime and thought criminals, using psychology… …   Wikipedia

  • thought police — noun A group that aims to control what other people think. These journalists are on their way to becoming thought police. Syn: Head Cop …   Wiktionary

  • thought police — noun [treated as plural] a group of people who aim to suppress ideas that deviate from the way of thinking that they believe to be correct …   English new terms dictionary

  • thought police — UK / US noun [uncountable] showing disapproval a group that tries to control the way that people in a society think, usually for political reasons. This word is sometimes used humorously about political parties that are considered to want to… …   English dictionary

  • thought police — /ˈθɔt pəlis/ (say thawt puhlees) noun Colloquial (derogatory) authoritarians who wish to regulate the way people think, especially in relation to political correctness …  

  • Police de la pensée — La Police de la Pensée (Thought Police dans l œuvre originale), est la police secrète d Océania, dans le roman dystopique 1984 de George Orwell. Son rôle est de découvrir et de punir les crimes de pensées (thoughtcrime) et les criminels de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • thought — (n.) O.E. þoht, geþoht, from stem of þencan to conceive of in the mind, consider (see THINK (Cf. think)). Cognate with the second element in Ger. Gedächtnis memory, Andacht attention, devotion, Bedacht consideration, deliberation. Second thought… …   Etymology dictionary

  • thought — noun 1 sth that you think ADJECTIVE ▪ comforting, good, happy, pleasant, positive ▪ It was a comforting thought that at least her father hadn t suffered. ▪ Before going on stage, I breathe deeply and t …   Collocations dictionary

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