Conditions in Japanese Prisoner of War Camps In WorldWar II

... Conditions in Japanese Prisoner of War Camps In World War II The Japanese viewed those who surrendered as inferior and subject to the mercy of their captures. Tojo, the Japanese war minister, informed the commandants of prisoners of war camps the Japanese government had not signed the Geneva Convention and they were not bound to it. The Japanese field code for soldiers required soldiers to commit suicide rather than surrender. Because of the time schedule set for conquest by Japanese high command, Japanese soldiers slaughtered surrendering Allied soldiers routinely. On Dutch Timor, 800 Australians surrendered only to be tied together and used for bayonet practice. "The Japanese commander explained prisoners were likely to drag upon the movement of his troops." When Japanese troops overrun Hong Kong, Colonel Tanaka told his troops, take no prisoners. At the Royal Army Medical Corps dressing station, staff and wounded offered no resistance. They were

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