Book tells story of Japanese who fought for Indonesia's freedom

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11 Comments

JeffLee at 08:11 AM JST - 20th August

Diplomacy, not war, won Indonesia's independance. Indonesia was never a great a battlefiend like Vietnam or Korea at the time. Although warm-mongers like Ono-san wanted otherwise.

The guy seems to want respect. Which is ironic since he fought for an army that committed atrocities in his adopted country. And then when peace came, he deserted and opted to keep fighting and killing rather than settling down to life in peacetime. Well, I hope he enjoys his poverty.
societymike at 08:25 AM JST - 20th August

Jeff, this article doesn't say he deserted AFTER the surrender, it says he didn't like what he saw so he deserted.
timorborder at 11:40 AM JST - 20th August

Pretty hard to desert from an army after it has surrendered. Particularly one like the Imperial Japanese Army which the contemporary Japanese government has tried to disavow (for reasons of foreign policy).
Ninjazilla at 12:24 PM JST - 20th August

Good ive been looking for a good piece of fiction to read.
JpMoonkey at 01:05 PM JST - 20th August

Oh! the Japanese who fought for Asia's and other parts of the world's freedom! great noo? But, Military History taught me otherwise.
Beelzebub at 02:26 PM JST - 20th August

If anything positive happened as a result of Japan's attacking and occupying a Western colony in Asia during WW2, it was through pure coincidence.
alkaiser at 01:14 AM JST - 21st August

@Jefflee. Sorry to say, but I think you know nothing. Indonesian fought for their independence through war, not diplomacy. Our independence for a sovereign nation was earn not given, and many have sacrifices and bleed for our independence, including Japanese soldiers like Shigeru Ono.

Indonesia was never a great a battlefiend like Vietnam or Korea at the time.

That because the American was not involved. We fought the Japanese, the Dutch and the British. I respect and can understand how the North Vietnamese and the North Korean fought during the war, at least they fight for their independence from western occupation.

The guy seems to want respect. Which is ironic since he fought for an army that committed atrocities in his adopted country. And then when peace came, he deserted and opted to keep fighting and killing rather than settling down to life in peacetime. Well, I hope he enjoys his poverty.

I think poverty is not really an issue for him. He fought for what he and rest of the deserters believe, for Indonesian independence. Some of his comrade had sacrificed their lives for our nation, and we are grateful and should honored their sacrifices. During the former president Suharto's rule, story like this were kept hidden and suppressed from general knowledge. And the Indonesian government was slow to recognized and to honor the sacrificed made by Japanese soldiers like him. But I am glad now more and more Indonesian starting to hear their story.
OssanAmerica at 03:39 AM JST - 21st August

Good ive been looking for a good piece of fiction to read.

Too bad this isn't fiction. It's pretty well documented and we'll probably see more about it.

Which is ironic since he fought for an army that committed atrocities in >his adopted country.

Guess you missed the part that says he felt bad about it and decided to fight for indonensian freedom. Armies of all countries are made up of lots of people, they are never just one type of person.
Badsey at 08:09 AM JST - 21st August

When you are Ronin you must find your own path. This man followed his own path and that is life. The cycle of life must continue, but the battle is your's to decide.
rondh69 at 12:37 PM JST - 23rd August

Yes indeed, the IJA was well known to have left many beneficial legacies to the countires it occupied...
MapleG at 01:19 AM JST - 25th August

An interesting story, and it shows how we all do what we must in this world to survive. Not everyone is the same.