Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes In World War Ii / Edition 1

by Yuki Tanaka

Overview

This book documents the previously hidden Japanese atrocities in World War ll, including cannibalism; the slaughter and starvation of prisoners of war; the rape, enforced prostitution, and murder of noncombatants; and biological warfare experiments.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367160029
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/07/2020
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 8.38(h) x (d)

About the Author

Yuki Tanaka is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian National University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations, Foreword, John W. Dower, Acknowledgments, Author's Note, Introduction, 1 The Sandakan POW Camp and the Geneva Convention, 2 The Sandakan Death Marches and the Elimination of POWs, 3 Rape and War: The Japanese Experience, 4 Judge Webb and Japanese Cannibalism, 5 Japanese Biological Warfare Plans and Experiments on POWs, 6 Massacre of Civilians at Kavieng, Notes, About the Book and Author, Index

Editorial Reviews

In a shocking brief that's as much an intellectual artifact as a work of scholarship, Japanese historian Tanaka challenges the idea of Japan as a victim in WWII. The core of his thesis is that in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, an "Emperor ideology" based on the "family state" came to dominate Japan. Responsibility was seen as unlimited, while rights existed only in a collective context; this set the stage for various tragedies and atrocities. Tanaka offers several case histories to prove his point. They cover the massacre of more than 2500 Australian prisoners in a Borneo camp, widespread cannibalism by Japanese troops in New Guinea, the shooting of 21 Australian nurses in cold blood and the sexual enslavement of Asian women for the pleasure of Japanese fighting men. Also surveyed are the premeditated murder of 32 civilians, including German missionaries, in 1943; Japanese plans for bacteriological warfare; and the use of prisoners as medical guinea pigs. Tanaka insists that the perpetrators of these brutalities were "ordinary" men enmeshed in a criminal system; he also asserts that people of all nationalities commit atrocities in war. He depicts this era as a definable, relatively brief period during which Japan lost its way and ran amok. This seems no more intellectually acceptable than describing the Third Reich as a historical accident. In fact, Tanaka's study resembles German efforts during the 1950s to come to terms with the immediate past. As such, it is a beginning no less and no more. Maps and photographs not seen by PW. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Documents previously hidden Japanese WWII atrocities, including cannibalism, the slaughter of prisoners of war, rape and enforced prostitution, biological warfare experiments, and the murder of noncombatants, based on previously classified documents. Explores the social, institutional, and psychological milieu of individual atrocities, and places Japanese behavior in the broader context of the dehumanization of men at war. Includes b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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