The propaganda film "Boro no kesshitai" (Suicide Troops of the Watchtower) that depicted the battle between Japanese armed police and anti-Japanese guerrillas set in Korea in 1943 included action scenes only seen in western films and spotlighted Imai for the first time; ironically, it was a militaristic film that justified colonialism.
1943年、朝鮮を舞台に日本の武装警官隊と抗日ゲリラとの戦いを描いたプロバガンダ映画『望楼の決死隊』が、西部劇さながらのアクション・シーンを取り入れ、はじめて今井の名が注目を集めたのは皮肉なことに植民地支配を正当化した軍国主義映画だった。