Episodes of Cannibalism throughout History

20. Japanese troops practiced cannibalism during the Second World War

That Japanese troops throughout the South Pacific practiced cannibalism during World War II is well documented as a result of the investigations of the Australian War Crimes Section of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1946-48). According to Toshiyuki Tanaka, a historian and author Japanese cannibalism were “conducted…by whole squads and under the commands of officers”. The Japanese performed amputations on the living that were medically unnecessary, and ate the limbs thus acquired. In early 1945 five American prisoners of war were killed and eaten by the Japanese on Chichi-Jima, and five senior Japanese officers including a general, an admiral, and a doctor were convicted after the war for the crime and hanged.

Over 100 cases of cannibalism by the Japanese on prisoners of war were documented by the Australian investigation following the war. In some cases, it was evident that the Japanese attempted to hide the activity from other prisoners while in others, particularly in camps holding Indian prisoners, the killing and cooking of PoWs were conducted in plain view. Japanese cannibalization of prisoners increased later in the war. Among the documents held in Australia are internal Japanese Army memos which indicate the cannibalization of enemy prisoners was calculated to enhance unit cohesion, not to battle hunger, and the activity was known among the Japanese senior commanders.