As Hayashi points out, one officer with the punitive expedition recorded the following comment about the aborigines in his notes: "Their ferocity is truly repugnant, but if they could be guided towards civilized ways, then maybe, in an emergency, they could under our leadership become part of the army."
林榮代指出，霧社事件後，討伐部隊長官服部兵次郎大佐的相關文書便有「他們（原住民）的兇暴固然可恨，但若加以薰化善導，或許在緊急時，他們能在我軍領導下，成為軍隊的一部份… …」。