Imperial Japanese Navy slaughtered leprosy victims in 1943: documents

Sunday 07th December, 12:33 AM JST

TOKYO —

The former Imperial Japanese Navy slaughtered 39 Hansen’s disease sufferers in Nauru in the Micronesian South Pacific in July 1943, according to court documents found by a Japanese scholar last month in the National Archives of Australia and the Australian War Memorial.

It appears that the documents discovered by Hirofumi Hayashi, professor of modern history at Kanto Gakuin University, are the first public documents that disclose details of the killings during World War II, although they had been mentioned by local residents and others.

The documents concerning the trials of Class B and C war criminals include the record of the court testimony by a soldier who was involved in the killings and was later sentenced to life in prison. The documents shed light on discrimination against sufferers from leprosy as well as war crimes against civilians.

According to the documents from the trial, held in Hong Kong from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3, 1948, a leader of the Sea Defense Branch of the navy, who was executed on a separate charge, ordered one of his subordinate officers around July 9, 1943, to kill the Hansen’s disease victims, who were quarantined due to the disease, to prevent them from escaping during possible air raids by U.S. forces.

The officer concocted a plan, telling the people that they were going to be transferred to a newly built facility by boat.

Four navy personnel and eight civilian employees boarded a naval vessel and led a boat carrying the victims offshore, and then opened fire on the boat and sank it. They shot and killed those who managed to escape from the sunken ship.

Most of the 12 personnel involved in the killings died in battle during the war, but three were brought to trial, two of whom were sentenced to life in prison.

› Login to comment

15 Comments

bcbrownboy at 07:35 AM JST - 7th December

Ah, you're picking on the innocent J-forces again. "We didn't do anything wrong, leave us alone." I can hear it now.
the_sicilian at 09:12 AM JST - 7th December

The J-forces were the victim....The ASDF Commander said so himself.
plasticmonkey at 10:11 AM JST - 7th December

It should be noted that the Imperial Japanese Navy saved these leprosy victims from U.S. air raids.
toguro at 11:19 AM JST - 7th December

We all need o remember that the Imperial Japanese forces were the good guys. If you don't believe me, just ask them. Or the ones still alive anyway. For anyone confused, that was laced with sarcasm.
NuckinFutz at 11:53 AM JST - 7th December

Oh my gosh! That does sound a bit AGGRESIVE doesn't it? I thought the Japanese we simply colonizing to better the lives of the people. I guess someone thought eliminating these poor people would better the lives of those remaining. It is comforting to know the perpetrators either met their fates in war or at the end of a rope!
thepro at 01:19 PM JST - 7th December

They were just saving them from future bullying
meiwaku at 02:51 PM JST - 7th December

The Japanese government will just say that they entered into that situation willingly.
Betting at 04:53 PM JST - 7th December

I'm sure a certain person's essay about the history of Japan's aggression in World War 2 might try to put a certain spin on this to look it more favourable to Japan.

Anyway, I seriouly doubt we'll get the, "We're the victim" attitude here, it will be more like, "Oh some people were killed on a boat, ok, we better ignore it and not talk about it at all then, next topic please".
sensei258 at 08:32 PM JST - 7th December

I found an old Japanese history book at one of the high schools where I work here in Japan. I turned to where it discussed the start of WWII. It seriously blamed the start of WWII on America's disagreeing with Japanese foreign policy. No mention of Pearl Harbor, The Tanaka Plan, or anything that would place the blame on Japan. No surprise there.
herefornow at 08:43 PM JST - 7th December

Another example of that "gentler" colonization policy that the ASDF head was talking about.
bushlover at 01:05 AM JST - 8th December

I wonder what the villagers would have done if they were told they had to accommodate the leprosy victims themselves. They may have performed a mercy killing in their actions.
cleo at 01:33 AM JST - 8th December

Most of the 12 personnel involved in the killings died in battle during the war, but three were brought to trial, two of whom were sentenced to life in prison.

Doesn't sound to me like anyone was whitewashing this act or making excuses for it. The people involved either died, or were tried. The leader was executed.
notimpressed at 12:06 PM JST - 8th December

Cleo: Good.
sydenham at 12:47 PM JST - 8th December

I'm sure some JSDF dude will soon win a writing contest for his ever-so convincing argument about how those leprosy sufferers had it coming to them.
nandakandamanda at 12:56 PM JST - 8th December

Meanwhile the Japanese media is reporting how an Imperial Japanese Navy captain saved a boatload of British sailors off Indonesia during the War, and one 89-yr-old survivor has come back to say thank you. (Hoping this is not a repost.)

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20081208-00000022-san-soci