6. During World War II, the Japanese Empire repeatedly cannibalized Allied prisoners of war
In the course of World War II, the Japanese Empire committed countless war crimes, among perhaps the most heinous being the cannibalization of Allied prisoners of war. Committed in response to Allied attacks on Japanese supply lines, resulting in the widespread starvation of Japanese soldiers in the Pacific theater, according to historian Yuki Tanaka “cannibalism was often a systematic activity conducted by whole squads and under the command of officers”. Many of these acts were the product of murder to acquire the meat, with Indian POW Changdi Ram testifying 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 [into] small pieces and fried it”.
Similar instances were systematically corroborated by other Allied prisoners, with Hatam Ali recounting that in New Guinea “the Japanese started selecting prisoners and every day 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.” Of special note, the Chichijima incident in late-1944 occurred following the shooting down of nine airmen over the island of Chichi Jima. Eight of these airmen were captured whilst the ninth, future U.S. President George H.W. Bush, evaded capture. These airmen were tortured and executed, with four of the deceased posthumously eaten by the Japanese. In 1947, commanding officer Lt. General Yoshio Tachibana, along with Major Matoba, Admiral Mori, Captain Yoshii, and Dr. Teraki, were found guilty by a tribunal for the crime of preventing an honorable burial. For his role in the cannibalism (no specific crime existed under military or international law at that time) General Tachibana was sentenced to death by hanging.