In the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, senior soldiers punished recruits privately. The encyclopedia Imidas writes that the military authorities officially did not allow such private punishment but in practice tolerated it.
“If the navy had the stick, the army had the binta,” a hard slap across the face with an open hand. The navy’s stick carried slogans such as gunjin seishin chūnyū bō, the stick for injecting military spirit.