During World War II, over 35,000 prisoners-of-war (POWs) were transported to Japan, where they were confined to work camps and forced to labour under horrendous conditions. In all there were 130 such camps, and by war’s end more than 3,500 POWs had died.

How and where these casualties met their death has never been clarified. Prior to the surrender the Imperial Japanese Army issued instructions to destroy all documents relating to these camps. Japan’s Government has never told the full story of the treatment of POWs either in Japan or overseas.

Our group has endeavoured to unveil this hidden history, and this list is nearing completion. The roll of Commonwealth soldiers has already appeared on our web site. We are now adding the names of American and Dutch casualties to each individual camp site.

We wish to express our deep sympathy to those who lost their lives in this conflict. We trust that this list will prove helpful to families and friends, especially those who up to now did not know the fate of their loved ones.

It is our hope that this list will become an important historical archive, revealing how the POWs lived and died. The causes of death reflect their miserable situation. It describes their regimental details, their final camp, their date of death. One can almost feel their pain. Some may feel that our work may intrude upon their privacy, but we are willing to take this risk because of the public need to know. Hopefully this effort will persuade people of the misery of war, and prevent history from repeating itself.

This list has been compiled from GHQ/SCAPs “Roster of Deceased Allied POWs in Japan Proper” available in the National Diet Library of Japan. Supplementary data has been obtained from other sources listed below, and whom we gratefully acknowledge.

The Research Division, GHQ/SCAP Regional Legal Affairs Bureau; Yokohama Commonwealth Cemetery Registers of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Local information, Mizumaki and Mitsushima Memorial; the website of Oryoku Maru On-Line.” Also the helpful assistance of Anthony Walsh, Grant McLachlan, James Erickson, Len Harrop, Neil MacPherson, Roger Mansell, and Wes Injerd.

These are our main source of information, and we realize that much more remains to be done. This is due to the extent of the project and the lack of accurate reliable data at the present time. Kindly let us know if we have erred, and your comments would be most welcome.

POW RESEARCH NETWORK JAPAN
*Reproduction in part or whole, in print or electronic media, without permission of the copyright holders, is strictly prohibited.