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Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism. Other names, such as the Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities, are also used for these war crimes. Some war crimes were committed by military personnel from the Empire of Japan in the late 19th century, although most took place during the first part of the Shōwa Era, the name given to the reign of Emperor Hirohito, until the military defeat of the Empire of Japan, in 1945. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Flag of Japan adopted 1870, official 1999 Japanese Naval Ensign adopted 1889, re-adopted 1954 The Empire of Japan (大日本帝国; Dai Nippon Teikoku) was the official title of Japan before the end of World War II. The names Imperial Japan and Japanese Empire are also used. ... In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... Anthem Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Slogan: Fukoku Kyohei Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military (a. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hirohito (裕仁), the Shōwa Emperor (昭和天皇), (April 29, 1901 - January 7, 1989) reigned over Japan from 1926 to 1989. ... Emperor Shōwa ) (April 29, 1901–January 7, 1989) was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25, 1926 until his death in 1989. ... The Japanese representatives on board USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies on 2 September 1945. ... Anthem Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Slogan: Fukoku Kyohei Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military (a. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Historians and governments of many countries officially hold Japanese military forces, namely the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy, responsible for killings and other crimes committed against many millions of civilians and prisoners of war (POWs). A historian is an individual who studies history and who writes on history. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) (KyÅ«jitai: 大日本帝國陸軍, Shinjitai: , Romaji: Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945. ... The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) (: 大日本帝國海軍 Shinjitai: 大日本帝国海軍   or 日本海軍 Nippon Kaigun), officially Navy of Empire of Greater Japan, also known as the Japanese Navy or Combined Fleet was the Navy of Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japans constitutional renunciation of the use of force... In times of armed conflict a civilian is any person who is not a combatant. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...

Definitions

Hsuchow, China, 1938. A ditch full of the bodies of Chinese civilians, killed by Japanese soldiers.^[1]

Main article: Definitions of Japanese war crimes

War crimes may be broadly defined as unconscionable behavior by a government or military personnel against either enemy civilians or enemy combatants. Military personnel from the Empire of Japan have been accused and/or convicted of committing many such acts during the period of Japanese imperialism from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. They have been accused of conducting a series of human rights abuses against civilians and prisoners of war (POWs) throughout East Asia and the western Pacific region. These events reached their height during the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937–45 and the Asian and Pacific campaigns of World War II (1941-45) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Xuzhou (Chinese: 徐州; Hanyu Pinyin: ), known as Pengcheng (Chinese: 彭城; Hanyu Pinyin: ) in ancient times, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Jiangsu province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... There are differences from one country to another regarding the definition of Japanese war crimes. ... In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... Anthem Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Slogan: Fukoku Kyohei Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military (a. ... Flag of Japan adopted 1870, official 1999 Japanese Naval Ensign adopted 1889, re-adopted 1954 The Empire of Japan (大日本帝国; Dai Nippon Teikoku) was the official title of Japan before the end of World War II. The names Imperial Japan and Japanese Empire are also used. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Human rights violation. ... In times of armed conflict a civilian is any person who is not a combatant. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Geographic East Asia. ... The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the largest of the Earths oceanic subdivisions. ... Combatants China Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Xue Yue, Bai Chongxi, Mao Zedong, Peng Dehuai Hirohito, Hideki Tojo, Kotohito Kanin, Matsui Iwane, Hajime Sugiyama, Shunroku Hata, Toshizo Nishio, Yasuji Okamura, Umezu Yoshijiro, Fumimaro Konoe Strength 58,600,000 4,100,000... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Combatants China Allies (entered 1941):  United States  Philippines  United Kingdom  Australia Free France  Netherlands  New Zealand  Canada  Soviet Union (1945) Japan  Germany (from 1941)  Manchukuo Thailand (from 1942) Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Franklin D. Roosevelt Manuel L. Quezon Jose P. Laurel from 1943 Sergio Osmeña Winston Churchill John Curtin... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...

International and Japanese law

Although the Empire of Japan did not sign the Geneva Conventions, which have provided the standard definition of war crimes since 1864, the crimes committed fall under other aspects of international and Japanese law. For example, many of the alleged crimes committed by Japanese personnel broke Japanese military law, and were not subject to court martial, as required by that law.^[2] The Empire also violated international agreements signed by Japan, including provisions of the Treaty of Versailles such as a ban on the use of chemical weapons, and the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), which protect prisoners of war (POWs). The Japanese government also signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1929), thereby rendering its actions in 1937-45 liable to charges of crimes against peace, a charge that was introduced at the Tokyo Trials to prosecute "Class A" war criminals. "Class B" war criminals were those found guilty of war crimes per se, and "Class C" war criminals were those guilty of crimes against humanity. The Japanese government also accepted the terms set by the Potsdam Declaration (1945) after the end of the war. The declaration alluded, in Article 10, to two kinds of war crime: one was the violation of international laws, such as the abuse of prisoners of war; the other was obstructing "democratic tendencies among the Japanese people" and civil liberties within Japan. The Geneva Conventions consist of treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Military law is a distinct legal system to which members of armed forces are subject. ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ... The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. ... Early detection of chemical agents Sociopolitical climate of chemical warfare While the study of chemicals and their military uses was widespread in China, the use of toxic materials has historically been viewed with mixed emotions and some disdain in the West (especially when the enemy were doing it). ... The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague, Netherlands in 1899 and 1907, respectively, and were, along with the Geneva Conventions, among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of secular international... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... President Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Frank B. Kellogg, standing, with representatives of the governments who have ratified the Treaty for Renunciation of War (Kellogg-Briand Pact), in the East Room of the White House. ... A crime against peace, in international law, consists of illegally starting a war. ... President of the Tribunal, Sir William Webb, Justice of the High Court of Australia, presiding over the Tribunal in 1946. ... This article is in need of attention. ... The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender (not to be confused with the Potsdam Agreement) was a statement issued on July 26, 1945 by Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-Shek which outlined the terms of surrender for Japan as agreed upon at the... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Democracy describes a number of related forms of government. ... Civil liberties is the name given to freedoms that protect the individual from government. ...

In Japan, the term "Japanese war crimes" generally only refers to cases tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo Trials, following the end of the Pacific War. However, the tribunal did not prosecute war crimes allegations involving mid-ranking officers or more junior personnel. Those were dealt with separately in other cities throughout the Asia-Pacific region. President of the Tribunal, Sir William Webb, Justice of the High Court of Australia, presiding over the Tribunal in 1946. ... Combatants China Allies (entered 1941):  United States  Philippines  United Kingdom  Australia Free France  Netherlands  New Zealand  Canada  Soviet Union (1945) Japan  Germany (from 1941)  Manchukuo Thailand (from 1942) Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Franklin D. Roosevelt Manuel L. Quezon Jose P. Laurel from 1943 Sergio Osmeña Winston Churchill John Curtin...

Aitape, New Guinea, 1943. An Australian soldier, Sgt Leonard Siffleet, about to be beheaded with a katana sword. Many Allied prisoners of war were summarily executed by Japanese forces during the Pacific War.

Japanese law does not define those convicted in the post-1945 trials as criminals, despite the fact that Japan's governments have accepted the judgments made in the trials, and in the Treaty of San Francisco (1952). This is because the treaty does not mention the legal validity of the tribunal. Had Japan certified the legal validity of the war crimes tribunals in the San Francisco Treaty, the war crimes would have became open to appeal and overturning in Japanese courts. This would have been unacceptable in international diplomatic circles.^{[citation needed]} The current Japanese jurists' consensus regarding the legal standing of the Tokyo tribunal is that the execution and/or incarceration of an individual as result of the post-war trials is valid, but has no relationship to Japanese criminal law.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File linksMetadata LeonardGSiffleet. ... Image File history File linksMetadata LeonardGSiffleet. ... Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun province. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Australian Army is Australias military land force. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A representation of the changes in territory controlled by Allies and Axis powers over the course of the war. ... Summary execution of NVA spy during the Vietnam War. ... Combatants China Allies (entered 1941):  United States  Philippines  United Kingdom  Australia Free France  Netherlands  New Zealand  Canada  Soviet Union (1945) Japan  Germany (from 1941)  Manchukuo Thailand (from 1942) Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Franklin D. Roosevelt Manuel L. Quezon Jose P. Laurel from 1943 Sergio Osmeña Winston Churchill John Curtin... Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru gives a speech on reconciliation and rapport ) at the San Francisco Peace conference. ...

Historical and geographical extent

Outside Japan, different societies use widely different timeframes in defining Japanese war crimes. For example, the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910 was followed by the deprivation of civil liberties and exploitations against the Korean people. Thus, some Koreans refer to "Japanese war crimes" as events occurring during the period of 1910 (or earlier) to 1945.^[3] Korea (Korean: 한국 in South Korea or 조선 in North Korea, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

By comparison, the Western Allies did not come into military conflict with Japan until 1941, and North Americans, Australasians, South East Asians and Europeans may consider "Japanese war crimes" to be events that occurred in 1941-45.^[4] The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples, within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. The term is generally understood to refer to the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (from 1939), exiled forces from Occupied Europe (from 1940), the United States, (from 1941), Italy... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Australasia Australasia is a term variably used to describe a region of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ...

Japanese war crimes were not always carried out by ethnic Japanese personnel. A small minority of people in every Asian and Pacific country invaded and/or occupied by Japan collaborated with the Japanese military, or even served in it, for a wide variety of reasons, such as economic hardship, coercion, or antipathy to other imperialist powers.^{[citation needed]} Languages Japanese Religions Shinto, Buddhism, large secular groups      The Japanese people ) is the ethnic group that identifies as Japanese by culture and/or ancestry. ... Collaboration is a process defined by the recursive interaction of knowledge[1] and mutual learning between two or more people working together[2] toward a common goal typically creative in nature. ... Imperialism is the policy of extending the control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. ...

Japan's sovereignty over Korea and Formosa, in the first half of the 20th century, was recognized by international agreements — the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) and the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty (1910) — and they were considered at the time to be integral parts of the Japanese Empire. However, the legality of these treaties is in question,^[5] the native populations were not consulted, there was armed resistance to Japan's annexations, and war crimes may also be committed during civil wars. Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ... Korea (Korean: 한국 in South Korea or ì¡°ì„  in North Korea, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... This article is about the history, geography, and people of the island known as Taiwan. ... The Shunpanrō hall where the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed The Treaty of Shimonoseki (Japanese: 下関条約, Shimonoseki Jōyaku), known as the Treaty of Maguan (T. Chinese: 馬關條約, S. Chinese: 马关条约;) in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895 between the Empire of Japan and the Qing Empire. ... Year 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Treaty of Annexation of Korea by Japan, also called in Korea 경술국치(庚戌國恥), meaning Humiliation of the Nation in the Year of the Dog, was signed on August 22, 1910 by the representatives of the Korean and Japanese Imperial Governments. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ...

Background

Two Japanese officers, Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Noda competing to see who could kill (with a sword) one hundred people first. The bold headline reads, "'Incredible Record' (in the Contest To Cut Down 100 People—Mukai 106 – 105 Noda—Both 2nd Lieutenants Go Into Extra Innings"

Image File history File links Slayers. ... Image File history File links Slayers. ... The Contest To Behead 100 People was an event that occurred in China during the Nanking Massacre. ...

Japanese military culture and imperialism

Main articles : Militarism-Socialism in Showa Japan, Japanese militarism, Eugenics in Showa Japan, Xenophobia in Showa Japan This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Japanese militarism (日本軍国主義) refers to militarism, the philosophical belief that military personnel (army or navy) should exercise full power in a nation. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Military culture, especially during Japan's imperialist phase had great bearing on the conduct of the Japanese military before and during World War II. Flag of Japan adopted 1870, official 1999 Japanese Naval Ensign adopted 1889, re-adopted 1954 The Empire of Japan (大日本帝国; Dai Nippon Teikoku) was the official title of Japan before the end of World War II. The names Imperial Japan and Japanese Empire are also used. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Centuries previously, the samurai of Japan had been taught unquestioning obedience to their lords, as well as to be fearless in battle. After the Meiji Restoration and the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Emperor became the focus of military loyalty. During the so-called "Age of Empire" in the late 19th century, Japan followed the lead of other world powers in developing an empire, pursuing that objective aggressively. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Daimyo Matsudaira Katamori visits the residence of a retainer. ... The Meiji Restoration ), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japans political and social structure. ... The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. ... His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito of Japan The Emperor of Japan (天皇, tennō) is Japans titular head of state and the head of the Japanese imperial family. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

As with other imperial powers, Japanese popular culture became increasingly jingoistic through the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century. The rise of Japanese nationalism was seen partly in the adoption of Shinto as a state religion from 1890, including its entrenchment in the education system. Shinto held the Emperor to be divine because he was deemed to be a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu. This provided justification for the requirement that the emperor and his representatives be obeyed without question. The Spirit of 76 by Archibald McNeal Willard, 1891 Jingoism is a term describing chauvinistic patriotism, especially with regard to a hawkish political stance. ... Japanese nationalism, also known as Japanese imperialism or Japanese nationalist ideology is a generic title, referring to a complex series of patriotic and nationalist ideas held in Japan. ... Shinto ) is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. ... Nations with state religions:  Buddhism  Islam  Shia Islam  Sunni Islam  Orthodox Christianity  Protestantism  Roman Catholic Church A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... An emperor is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. ... The Sun goddess emerging out of a cave, bringing sunlight back to the universe. ...

Victory in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) signified Japan's rise to the status of a world power. Unlike the other major powers, Japan did not sign the Geneva Convention — which stipulates the humane treatment of civilians and POWs — until after World War II. Nevertheless, the treatment of prisoners by the Japanese military in wars such as the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) and World War I (1914-18), was at least as humane as that of other militaries.^{[citation needed]} Combatants Qing Empire (China) Empire of Japan Commanders Li Hongzhang Yamagata Aritomo Strength 630,000 men Beiyang Army Beiyang Fleet 240,000 men Imperial Japanese Army Imperial Japanese Navy Casualties 35,000 dead or wounded 13,823 dead, 3,973 wounded The First Sino-Japanese War (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese... The Geneva Conventions consist of treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. ... Combatants Russian Empire Montenegro[1] Empire of Japan Commanders Emperor Nicholas II Aleksey Kuropatkin Stepan Makarov â€  Emperor Meiji Oyama Iwao Heihachiro Togo The Russo–Japanese War (Japanese: Nichi-Ro Sensō, Russian: , Chinese: , February 10, 1904 – September 5, 1905) was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

During the Meiji and Taisho eras, the prisoners were generally treated in a much less brutal manner than in the Showa era. The Imperial Proclamation of War of 1894 stated that Japanese soldiers should make every effort to win the war without violating international law. The Meiji forces released 1,790 Chinese prisoners after demanding they sign an agreement not to take up arms against the Japanese state again. Upon signing this agreement, the prisoners were released on the battlefield without being held in detention camps. During the Russo-Japanese war, all 79,367 Russian prisoners were released at the end of the war after having been paid accordingly to the Hague Convention. ^[6] Meiji (明 bright, brilliant æ²» reign, government) may refer to: Meiji Restoration, the revolution that ushered in the Meiji Era Meiji period - the period in Japanese history when the Meiji Emperor reigned Emperor Meiji of Japan - Mutsuhito, the Meiji Emperor, who reigned during Meiji Era Meiji Constitution - ie. ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Taisho period (大正 Taishō, lit. ... Hirohito (裕仁), the Shōwa Emperor (昭和天皇), (April 29, 1901 - January 7, 1989) reigned over Japan from 1926 to 1989. ...

The events of the 1930s and 1940s

By the late 1930s, the rise of militarism in Japan created at least superficial similarities between the wider Japanese military culture and that of Nazi Germany's elite military personnel, such as those in the Waffen-SS. Japan also had a military secret police force, known as the Kempeitai, which resembled the Nazi Gestapo in its role in annexed and occupied countries. Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... This article is about secret police as organizations. ... The Kempeitai (憲兵隊, Corps of Law Soldiers) was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

As in other dictatorships, irrational brutality, hatred and fear became commonplace. Perceived failure, or insufficient devotion to the Emperor would attract punishment, frequently of the physical kind. In the military, officers would assault and beat men under their command, who would pass the beating on to lower ranks, all the way down. In POW camps, this meant prisoners received the worst beatings of all.^{[citation needed]}

The crimes

Because of the sheer scale of suffering caused by the Japanese military during the 1930s and 1940s, it is often compared to the military of Nazi Germany during 1933–45. The historian Chalmers Johnson has written that: Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Chalmers Ashby Johnson is a professor emeritus of the University of California, San Diego. ...

It may be pointless to try to establish which World War Two Axis aggressor, Germany or Japan, was the more brutal to the peoples it victimised. The Germans killed six million Jews and 20 million Russians [i.e. Soviet citizens]; the Japanese slaughtered as many as 30 million Filipinos, Malays, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Indonesians and Burmese, at least 23 million of them ethnic Chinese. Both nations looted the countries they conquered on a monumental scale, though Japan plundered more, over a longer period, than the Nazis. Both conquerors enslaved millions and exploited them as forced labourers — and, in the case of the Japanese, as [forced] prostitutes for front-line troops. If you were a Nazi prisoner of war from Britain, America, Australia, New Zealand or Canada (but not Russia) you faced a 4 % chance of not surviving the war; [by comparison] the death rate for Allied POWs held by the Japanese was nearly 30 %.^[7]

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Soviet redirects here. ... Map of Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia (Malay: Semenanjung Malaysia) is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. ... Languages various Religions Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ... Unfree labour is a generic or collective term for forms of work, especially in modern or early modern history, in which adults and/or children are employed without wages, or for a minimal wage. ... Comfort women ) or military comfort women ) is a euphemism for the up to 200,000 women who served in the Japanese armys brothels during World War II. Historians and researchers into the subject have stated that the majority were from Korea, China and other occupied territories and were recruited... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

Mass killings

R. J. Rummel, a professor of political science at the University of Hawaii, states that between 1937 and 1945, the Japanese military murdered near 3,000,000 to over 10,000,000 people, most probably 6,000,000 Chinese, Indonesians, Koreans, Filipinos, and Indochinese, among others, including Western prisoners of war. This democide was due to a morally bankrupt political and military strategy, military expediency and custom, and national culture."^[8] Among the most infamous incidents in Southeast Asia were the Manila massacre, which resulted in the deaths of 100,000 civilians in the Phillipines and the Sook Ching massacre, in which between 25,000 and 50,000 ethnic Chinese in Singapore were taken to beaches and massacred. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the University of Hawaii system. ... Indochina 1886 Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ... Democide is a term coined by political scientist R. J. Rummel for the murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder. Rummel created the term as an extended concept to include forms of government murder that are not covered by the legal definition... Slain children in the ruins of Manila The Manila massacre, February 1945, refers to the atrocities conducted against Filipino civilians in Manila, Philippines by retreating Japanese troops during World War II. Various credible Western and Eastern sources agree that the death toll was at least 100,000 people. ... The Sook Ching massacre (肅清大屠殺) was a systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore by the Japanese military during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, after the British colony surrendered in the Battle of Singapore on 15 February 1942 during World War II. Sook Ching was later extended...

In China alone, during 1937-45, approximately 3.9 million Chinese were killed, mostly civilians as a direct result of the Japanese invasion.^[9] The most infamous incident during this period was the Nanking Massacre of 1937-38, when, according to the findings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, the Japanese Army massacred as many as 430,000 civilians and prisoners of war, although the accepted figure is somewhere in the hundreds of thousands.^[10] Herbert Bix, citing the works of Mitsuyoshi Himeta and Akira Fujiwara, claims that the "Three Alls Policy" (Sankō Sakusen) a scorched earth strategy used by Japanese forces in China in 1942-45, and sanctioned by Hirohito himself, was in itself responsible for the deaths of 2.7 million Chinese civilians. The mystery behind Hirohito's role is explained in the authoritative book by David Bergamini, who translated war diaries and depositions from the tribunals from the original Japanese, and interviewed sources directly.Similar crimes such as Changjiao massacre did occur from time to time.^{[citation needed]} For the 2007 documentary film about the Nanking Massacre, see Nanking (film). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... President of the Tribunal, Sir William Webb, Justice of the High Court of Australia, presiding over the Tribunal in 1946. ... Herbert P. Bix is the author of Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, an acclaimed account of the Japanese Emperor and the events which shaped modern Japanese imperialism. ... The Three Alls Policy (Japanese: 三光作戦, Sankō Sakusen; Chinese: 三光政策, Sánguáng Zhèngcè) was a Japanese scorched earth policy adopted in China during World War II. Although the Chinese characters literally mean three lights policy, in this case, the character for light actually means all. Thus, the term is more... A scorched earth policy is a military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. ... Emperor Shōwa ) (April 29, 1901–January 7, 1989) was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25, 1926 until his death in 1989. ... David Bergamini (b. ... The Changjiao massacre (Chinese:厂窖惨案) was a massacre aiming the chinese civilians by Japanese China Expeditionary Army in Hunan,ChangJiao. ...

Experiments on humans and biological warfare

Special Japanese military units conducted experiments on civilians and POWs in China. One of the most infamous was Unit 731. Victims were subjected to vivisection without anesthesia, amputations, and were used to test biological weapons, among other experiments. Anesthesia was not used because it was considered to affect results. In some victims, animal blood was injected into their bodies. Body disposal at Unit 731 Unit 731 was a covert biological warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal human experimentation during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and World War II. It was responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes carried... Etymologically, Vivisection refers to the dissection of, or any cutting or surgery upon, a living organism. ... Biological Weapons: Friend or Foe? By Dom Harris There is great debate about whether biological weapons are good or bad, and whether the world should be concerned about their development. ...

To determine the treatment of frostbite, prisoners were taken outside in freezing weather and left with exposed arms, periodically drenched with water until frozen solid. The arm was later amputated; the doctor would repeat the process on the victim’s upper arm to the shoulder. After both arms were gone, the doctors moved on to the legs until only a head and torso remained. The victim was then used for plague and pathogens experiments.^[11]

According to GlobalSecurity.org, the experiments carried out by Unit 731 alone caused 3,000 deaths.^[12] Furthermore, "tens of thousands, and perhaps as many 200,000, Chinese died of bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax and other diseases...", resulting from the use of biological warfare.

One of the most notorious cases of human experimentation occurred in Japan itself. At least nine out of 12 crew members survived the crash of a U.S. Army Air Forces B-29 bomber on Kyūshū, on May 5, 1945. The bomber's commander was sent to Tokyo for interrogation, while the other survivors were taken to the anatomy department of Kyushu University, at Fukuoka, where they were subjected to vivisection and/or killed.^[13] On March 11, 1948, 30 people including several doctors were brought to trial by the Allied war crimes tribunal. Charges of cannibalism were dropped, but 23 people were found guilty of vivisection and/or wrongful removal of body parts. Five were sentenced to death, four to life imprisonment, and the rest to shorter terms. In 1950, the military governor of Japan, General Douglas MacArthur, commuted all of the death sentences and significantly reduced most of the prison terms. All of those convicted in relation to the university vivisection were free by 1958. The United States Army Air Forces, or USAAF, was a part of the U.S. military during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947. ... The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ... KyÅ«shÅ« region of Japan and the current prefectures on KyÅ«shÅ« island KyÅ«shÅ« ), literally Nine Provinces, is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. ... New Hospital bldg Campus of Maidashi area in prior to Greater East Asia War (This picture exists in Department of Medicine attachment library ) Kyushu University ), abbreviated to Kyudai ), is one of Japans most prestigious national universities and the largest public university on the island of KyÅ«shÅ«. It is... Fukuoka can refer to several locations in Japan: Fukuoka Prefecture (福岡県) Fukuoka City (福岡市) in Fukuoka Prefecture Two towns in Japan are named Fukuoka (福岡町): Fukuoka in Toyama Prefecture and Fukuoka in Gifu Prefecture. ... General of the Army Douglas MacArthur KCB (January 26, 1880 – April 5, 1964), was an American general and Field Marshal of the Philippines Army. ...

In 2006, former IJN medical officer Akira Makino stated that he was ordered — as part of his training — to carry out vivisection on about 30 civilian prisoners in The Philippines between December 1944 and February 1945.^[14] The surgery included amputations and the victims included women and children.^[15] Akira Makino ) was a former medic in the Imperial Japanese Navy who, in 2006, became the first Japanese ex-soldier to admit to the experiments conducted on human beings in the Philippines during World War II. // Makino was born in 1922, in a small town in Osaka Prefecture. ...

Use of chemical weapons

See also: Changde chemical weapon attack The Changde Chemical Weapon Attack refers to the Japanese chemical/biological attacks during the Battle of Changde, in the Chinese Province of Hunan during April and May 1943 In the intense fighting around Changde, Japanese forces could not punch through the heavy Chinese resistance, and decided to launch poison gas...

According to historians Yoshiaki Yoshimi and Seiya Matsuno, Emperor Hirohito authorized by specific orders (rinsanmei) the use of chemical weapons in China.^[16] For example, during the invasion of Wuhan from August to October 1938, the Emperor authorized the use of toxic gas on 375 separate occasions, despite Article 171 of the Versailles Peace Treaty and a resolution adopted by the League of Nations on May 14, condemning the use of poison gas by Japan. ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... Woodrow Wilson with the American Peace Commissioners For other treaties with this name, see Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation) The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and the German Empire. ... The League of Nations was an international organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919-1920. ...

In 2004, Yoshimi and Yuki Tanaka discovered in the Australian National archives documents showing that cyanide gas was tested on Australian and Dutch prisoners in November 1944 on Kai islands (Indonesia). ^[17]

Preventable famine

Deaths caused by the diversion of resources to the Japanese military in occupied countries are also regarded as war crimes by many people. Millions of civilians in southern Asia — especially Vietnam and the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia), both of which were major rice-growing countries — died during a preventable famine in 1944–45.^{[citation needed]} (See, for example, the articles on the Vietnamese Famine of 1945 and Japanese occupation of Indonesia.) This is a region of the continent of Asia that can have the following interpretations: The Indian Subcontinent and nearby islands in the Indian Ocean; see South Asia India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka All of Asia that is considered to be Southwest, South and Southeast Asia. ... The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, (Dutch: Nederlands Indië) was the name of the colonies colonised by the Dutch East India Company which came under administration of the Netherlands during the ninteenth century (see Indonesia). ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... A famine is a social and economic crisis that is commonly accompanied by widespread malnutrition, starvation, epidemic and increased mortality. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Vietnamese Famine of 1945 (Vietnamese: Nạn đói Ất Dậu - Famine of the At Dau year) was a famine that occurred in northern Vietnam during the Japanese occupation of the country. ... The Japanese occupation of Indonesia refers to the period between 1942 and 1945, during World War II, when the Empire of Japan ruled Indonesia. ...

Torture of POWs

Japanese imperial forces are also reported to have utilized widespread use of torture on prisoners, usually in an effort to gather military intelligence quickly.^{[citation needed]} Tortured prisoners were often later executed. A former Japanese Army officer who served in China, Uno Shintaro, stated:

The major means of getting intelligence was to extract information by interrogating prisoners. Torture was an unavoidable necessity. Murdering and burying them follows naturally. You do it so you won't be found out. I believed and acted this way because I was convinced of what I was doing. We carried out our duty as instructed by our masters. We did it for the sake of our country. From our filial obligation to our ancestors. On the battlefield, we never really considered the Chinese humans. When you're winning, the losers look really miserable. We concluded that the Yamato [i.e. Japanese] race was superior.^[18]

The Yamato people ) are the dominant native ethnic group of Japan. ...

Cannibalism

Many written reports and testimonies collected by the Australian War Crimes Section of the Tokyo tribunal, and investigated by prosecutor William Webb (the future Judge-in-Chief), indicate that Japanese personnel in many parts of Asia and the Pacific committed acts of cannibalism against Allied prisoners of war. In many cases this was inspired by ever-increasing Allied attacks on Japanese supply lines, and the death and illness of Japanese personnel as a result of hunger. However, according to historian Yuki Tanaka: "cannibalism was often a systematic activity conducted by whole squads and under the command of officers".^[19] This frequently involved murder for the purpose of securing bodies. For example, an Indian POW, Havildar Changdi Ram, testified that: "[on November 12, 1944] the Kempeitai beheaded [an Allied] pilot. I saw this from behind a tree and watched some of the Japanese cut flesh from his arms, legs, hips, buttocks and carry it off to their quarters... They cut it small pieces and fried it."^[20] Hon Sir William Flood Webb KBE (21 January 1887 – 11 August 1972), Australian judge, was a Justice of the High Court of Australia. ... This article is about consuming ones own species. ... Havildar was the equivalent rank to Sergeant in the British Indian Army, next above Naik, and is still used in the modern Indian Army and Pakistan Armys. ...

November 9, 1945. Jemadar (junior commissioned officer) Chint Singh of the Indian Army at an identification parade in New Guinea, indicating a Japanese soldier whom he claimed mistreated him while he was a prisoner of war. Japanese forces used many Indian Army personnel captured in Malaya and Singapore as forced labour in the South West Pacific.

In some cases, flesh was cut from living people: another Indian POW, Lance Naik Hatam Ali (later a citizen of Pakistan), testified that in New Guinea: Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Jemadar was a rank used in the British Indian Army, where it was the was the lowest rank for a Viceroys Commissioned Officer (VCO). ... A group of native Indian Muslim soldiers posing for volley firing orders. ... The South West Pacific was one of two theatres of World War II in the Pacific region, between 1942 and 1945. ... Lance Naik (L/Nk) was the equivalent rank to Lance Corporal in the British Indian Army, ranking below Naik. ...

the Japanese started selecting prisoners and everyday one prisoner was taken out and killed and eaten by the soldiers. I personally saw this happen and about 100 prisoners were eaten at this place by the Japanese. The remainder of us were taken to another spot 50 miles [80 km] away where 10 prisoners died of sickness. At this place, the Japanese again started selecting prisoners to eat. Those selected were taken to a hut where their flesh was cut from their bodies while they were alive and they were thrown into a ditch where they later died.^[21]

Perhaps the most senior officer convicted of cannibalism was Lt Gen. Yoshio Tachibana, who with 11 other Japanese personnel was tried in relation to the execution of U.S. Navy airmen, and the cannibalism of at least one of them, in August 1944, on Chichi Jima, in the Bonin Islands. They were beheaded on Tachibana's orders. As military and international law did not specifically deal with cannibalism, they were tried for murder and "prevention of honorable burial". Tachibana was sentenced to death.^[22] Chichi-jima (父島, lit. ... A map of the Ogasawara Islands south of Japan The Ogasawara Islands ) are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical islands some 1,000 km directly south of central Tokyo, Japan. ...

Forced labour

The Japanese military's use of forced labour, by Asian civilians and POWs also caused many deaths. According to a joint study by historians including Zhifen Ju, Mitsuyoshi Himeta, Toru Kubo and Mark Peattie, more than 10 million Chinese civilians were mobilized by the Kôa-in (Japanese Asia Development Board) for forced labour.^[23] More than 100,000 civilians and POWs died in the construction of the Burma-Siam Railway.^[24] Unfree labour is a generic or collective term for forms of work, especially in modern or early modern history, in which adults and/or children are employed without wages, or for a minimal wage. ... The Bridge over the river Kwai Map of the Death Railway The Death Railway (known also as Thai-Burma Railway or Burma Railway) was a railway built from Thailand to Burma (now Myanmar) by the Japanese during World War II to complete the route from Bangkok to Rangoon and support...

The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that in Java, between four and 10 million romusha (Japanese: "manual laborer"), were forced to work by the Japanese military.^[25] About 270,000 of these Javanese laborers were sent to other Japanese-held areas in South East Asia. Only 52,000 were repatriated to Java, meaning that there was a death rate of 80%.^{[citation needed]} Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ... Romushas were Indonesian forced laborers during the Japanese occupation in World War II. The word is Japanese and (reportedly) translates to wood log, indicating the disposable nature of the Indonesian labor force. ...

The Geneva Convention exempted POWs of sergeant rank or higher from manual labour, and stipulated that prisoners performing work should be provided with extra rations and other essentials. According to historian Akira Fujiwara, Emperor Hirohito personally ratified the decision to remove the constraints of international law on the treatment of Chinese prisoners of war in the directive of 5 August 1937. This notification also advised staff officers to stop using the term "prisoners of war".^[26] During World War II, such rules were largely respected in German POW camps, except in the case of Soviet POWs. However, Japan was not a signatory to the Geneva Convention at the time, and Japanese forces did not follow the convention. Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organisations around the world. ... Emperor Shōwa ) (April 29, 1901–January 7, 1989) was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25, 1926 until his death in 1989. ... is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Comfort women

Main article: Comfort women

The terms "comfort women" (慰安婦, ianfu^?) (or "military comfort women" (従軍慰安婦, jūgun-ianfu^?) are euphemisms for women in Japanese military brothels in occupied countries, many of whom were recruited by force or deception, and regard themselves as having been sexually assaulted and/or sex slaves.^[27] The extent to which individuals were forced to become comfort women has been disputed. Comfort women ) or military comfort women ) is a euphemism for the up to 200,000 women who served in the Japanese armys brothels during World War II. Historians and researchers into the subject have stated that the majority were from Korea, China and other occupied territories and were recruited... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A brothel, also known as a bordello or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sex with the clients. ... Sexual assault is any physical contact of a sexual nature without voluntary consent. ... Sexual slavery is a special case of slavery which includes various different practices: forced prostitution single-owner sexual slavery ritual slavery, sometimes associated with traditional religious practices slavery for primarily non-sexual purposes where sex is common or permissible In general, the nature of slavery means that the slave is...

In 1992, historian Yoshiaki Yoshimi published material based on his research in archives at Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies. Yoshimi claimed that there was a direct link between imperial institutions such as the Kôa-in and "comfort stations". When Yoshimi's findings were published in the Japanese news media on January 12, 1993, they caused a sensation and forced the government, represented by Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Koichi, to acknowledge some of the facts that same day. On January 17, Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa presented formal apologies for the suffering of the victims, during a trip in South Korea. On July 6 and August 4, the Japanese government issued two statements by which it recognized that "Comfort stations were operated in response to the request of the military of the day", "The Japanese military was, directly or indirectly, involved in the establishment and management of the comfort stations and the transfer of comfort women" and that the women were "recruited in many cases against their own will through coaxing and coercion".^[28] Professor of modern Japanese history at the Chuo University in Tokyo, Yoshimi is a founder member of the Center for Research and Documentation on Japans war responsibility. ... Kōichi Katō is the name of two House of Representatives of Japans members. ... Kiichi Miyazawa Kiichi Miyazawa (宮澤 喜一 Miyazawa Kiichi) (born 1919) is a Japanese politician and was the 78th Prime Minister from November 5, 1991 to August 9, 1993. ...

The controversy was re-ignited on March 1, 2007, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe mentioned suggestions that a U.S. House of Representatives committee would call on the Japanese Government to "apologize for and acknowledge" the role of the Japanese Imperial military in wartime sex slavery. However, Abe denied that it applied to comfort stations. "There is no evidence to prove there was coercion, nothing to support it." ^[29] Abe's comments provoked negative reactions overseas. For example, a New York Times editorial on March 6 said:^[30] Shinzo Abe , ; born September 21, 1954) is the current Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on September 26, 2006. ... The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

These were not commercial brothels. Force, explicit and implicit, was used in recruiting these women. What went on in them was serial rape, not prostitution. The Japanese Army’s involvement is documented in the government’s own defense files. A senior Tokyo official more or less apologized for this horrific crime in 1993... Yesterday, he grudgingly acknowledged the 1993 quasi apology, but only as part of a pre-emptive declaration that his government would reject the call, now pending in the United States Congress, for an official apology. America isn’t the only country interested in seeing Japan belatedly accept full responsibility. Korea and China are also infuriated by years of Japanese equivocations over the issue.

The same day, veteran soldier Kaneko Anji admitted to The Washington Post that the women "cried out, but it didn't matter to us whether the women lived or died. We were the emperor's soldiers. Whether in military brothels or in the villages, we raped without reluctance."^[31] The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ...

On April 17, 2007, Yoshimi and another historian, Hirofumi Hayashi, announced the discovery, in the archives of the Tokyo Trials, of seven official documents suggesting that Imperial military forces, such as the Tokeitai (naval secret police), directly coerced women to work in frontline brothels in China, Indochina and Indonesia. These documents were initially made public at the war crimes trial. In one of these, a lieutenant is quoted as confessing having organized a brothel and having used it himself. Another source refers to Tokeitai members having arrested women on the streets, and after enforced medical examinations, putting them in brothels.^[32] The Tokeitai (Naval Secret Police) was the Imperial Japanese Navys police equivalent to the Imperial Japanese Armys Kempeitai military police service. ...

On 12 May 2007, journalist Taichiro Kaijimura announced the discovery of 30 Netherland government documents submitted to the Tokyo tribunal as evidence of a forced massed prostitution incident in 1944 in Magelang. ^[33] Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Magelang is the largest town in the Kedu Plain between Mount Merbabu and Mount Sumbing in Central Java, Indonesia. ...

In other cases, some victims from East Timor testified they were forced when they were not old enough to have started menstruating and repeatedly raped by Japanese soldiers. ^[34]

A Dutch-Indonesian "comfort woman", Jan Ruff-O'Hearn (now resident in Australia), who gave evidence to the U.S. committee, said the Japanese Government had failed to take responsibility for its crimes, that it did not want to pay compensation to victims and that it wanted to rewrite history.^[35] Ruff-O'Hearn said that she had been raped "day and night" for three months by Japanese soldiers when she was 21.

To this day, only one Japanese woman published her testimony. This was done in 1971, when a former "comfort woman" forced to work for showa soldiers in Taiwan, published her memoirs under the pseudonym of Suzuko Shirota ^[36].

There are different theories on the breakdown of the comfort women's place of origin. While some sources claim that the majority of the women were from Japan, others, including Yoshimi, argue as many as 200,000 women,^[37] mostly from Korea and China, and some other countries such as the Philippines, Taiwan, Burma, the Dutch East Indies, Netherlands,^[38] and Australia^[39] were forced to engage in sexual activity.^[40]

On 26 June 2007, the U.S. House of representatives Foreign Affairs Comitte passed a resolution asking that Japan "should acknowledge, apologize and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its military's coercion of women into sexual slavery during the war". ^[41]

Looting

General Tomoyuki Yamashita (second right) was responsible for hiding the loot known as Yamashita's gold. He was tried in Manila between October 29 and December 7, 1945, by a U.S. military commission, on charges relating to the Manila Massacre and earlier occurrences in Singapore, and was sentenced to death. The case set a precedent regarding the responsibility of commanders for war crimes, and is known as the Yamashita Standard. The legitimacy of the hasty trial has been called into question.

Main article: Yamashita's gold

Many historians state that violence by Japanese personnel was closely tied to looti