http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner_of_war


Whereas Allied POWs had a death rate of about 2% to 4% in German POW camps, which was usually attributed to natural causes, the death rate in Japanese camps was generally in the range of 20% to 35%.

This was due in part to physical maltreatment by the Japanese, but was exacerbated by deliberate malnutrition, forced labour and lack of medicines, particularly antimalarial drugs.


It's funny that the Germans of WWII often receive a lot of flack for being sadistic barbarians, but people rarely mention the Japanese. I've just finished a book about a digger who was held as a POW in a Jap POW camp, and he's also talking about statistics relating to POW status' in WWII in general. The Japanese were on the whole a vicious bunch of chaps. It's no surprise that the diggers hate the Japs, even today.

And then people wonder why the Chinese still hate the Japs. Hmm, I wonder... it wouldn't have anything to do with being occupied by the Japs for decades. And that the Japs hated Chinese guts? If the Japanese had a history of treating their 'honoured enemy' so 'kindly', I wonder how they would treat a race which they believed to be subhuman animals?

Why are Nazi atrocities parroting in class after class, speech after speech, history book after history book, whereas the atrocities of the Japanese are glossed over? And worse, the Japanese:
1. Refuse to acknowledge these atrocities.
2. Refuse to pay compensation.

Common knowledge.

It was considered extremely dishonourable to surrender by the Japanese (which is reasonable enough), so they treated them like "subhuman animals" (not so reasonable I suppose). If anything they should have treated their prisoners well, which would result in more of their enemies surrendering. If you know you're in for hell if you surrender, you don't surrender. Or maybe that's what they wanted....a good fight. Who knows?

As for your next point about their refusal to acknowledge their atrocities, see how modern-day yanks talk about the A-bombings. Same thing.

2. Refuse to pay compensation.Of course, I don't mind mindless bashing of the past, but misinformation is unforgiveable. ;)

Japan responded by relinquishing compensation for factories and railroads in China's Manchuria region worth billions of dollars. Japanese ODA has provided $30 billion to China(PRC), it still continues. Other nations in Asia had also received ODA and other funds to aid building their country after their independence.LINK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responses_of_Germany_and_Japan_to_World_War_II_cri mes#China__.28_PRC.2F_People.27s_Republic_of_China _.29_.28_ROC_.2F_Republic_of_China.28Taiwan.29.29)

1. Refuse to acknowledge these atrocities.This, however, is very quite true.


[Renrue]

Renrue:

Of course, I don't mind mindless bashing of the past, but misinformation is unforgiveable.

Sorry, I wasn't being specific. I meant paying compensation to the VICTIMS of the atrocities, like Germany done to the Jews after WWII. I didn't mean war costs, and the cost of rebuilding. Although at least the Japanese have paid SOMETHING.

speaking of japanese treatment of POWS brings to mind the bataan death march

you are correct mountainhare the japanese were cruel to POWS

you mentioned one reason.
another reason could be that the japanese military command wasn't very 'tight' meaning that each general was pretty well on his own.
another reason could be the japanese was totally unprepared for the numbers of POWS and therefor could not provide for them.

or another reason could be that they were sadistic sons of bitches who took great delight in watching people suffer, like putting people in freezing then boiling water 'just to see what would happen' what the hell did they expect, for the people to be slightly burnt with a slight tan???

Doesn't sound like much compared to dropping an A-Bomb on women, children, and babies knowing that if they weren't vapourised they'd suffer burns so bad the skin would be hanging off their backs and their kids would have like 6 arms each.

Or what the yanks did along with us Brits at Dresden.

What you need to learn is that there are no "bad guys", and most of all....no "good guys".

For ten or more years after WW2, there was much written and known about Japanese atrocities. In the US tere were many movies and articles on the subject.

I imagine that the Palestine/Israeli problem has resulted in more people being aware of the holocaust and German atrocities.

Of prisoners and slaves used by the Japanese during the war, one in fifteen was the survival rate. One of my uncles was in a civilian camp during the war, where the treatment was relatively lenient compared to the military camps. My uncle is 6' 6" tall--when he left the camp in 1945, he weighed 50 lb.:(

What is there to say?
The winners get to write history...

I think since the American lifestyle is simular to the european one, the war and its consequenzes remaind longer in the conciousness of the people since the Japanese were relativly unknown...

hope you get the message, I don't use english much...

Of prisoners and slaves used by the Japanese during the war, one in fifteen was the survival rate. One of my uncles was in a civilian camp during the war, where the treatment was relatively lenient compared to the military camps. My uncle is 6' 6" tall--when he left the camp in 1945, he weighed 50 lb.:(

are you sure about this?
it seems to me that a six and a half foot tall man would not have ANY muscle on him if he weighed that little. i am not belittling your uncle's experience, however, i do not think that this ratio is possible for a live human being...

Maybe he meant "50 kilograms"?

he is american, so i doubt it..
my father was 6'8" (about 204 cm), so he was a pretty tall guy.
i would guess his weight at around 150 lbs at the time of his death (bone cancer, significant weight loss as a side effect) which is about 68 kilos. he still looked like the grim reaper, and needed to use a wheelchair.

hmmm...seems like an exaggeration to me. but who knows..all kinds of crazy shit is possible.