18. More than 1 in 4 Allied POWs died during their residences in Japanese encampments during the Second World War
Due to the mass starvation, a general lack of available medical treatment, in addition to rampant abuse, Allied POWs faced bleak prospects for survival. According to the post-war Tokyo Tribunal, the death rate for Western prisoners was 27.1% across the Japanese internment program – a rate more than seven times higher than that of prisoners of war under either Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy. In fact, given that the rate for the 36,000 transported to Mainland Japan was just 10%, one can extrapolate that the rate in the predominance of many non-centralized camps was likely in excess of 40%.
Of particular note, in 1944 the Japanese War Ministry ordered all prison camp commandants to prepare for the “final disposition” of their guests. Instructing commandants to, in the event of an Allied invasion of their respective territory, liquidate the camps, the order stated that “it is the aim not to allow the escape of a single one, to annihilate them all, and not to leave any traces”. This order was carried out multiple times and, in preparation for an imminent invasion, Allied POWs held in Thailand were due to be executed on August 21, 1945. These prisoners had been forced to dig mass graves during the preceding weeks but were saved at the eleventh hour by the Japanese surrender on August 15.