RESEARCH GUIDE Japanese war crimes in the Pacific

RESEARCH GUIDE

Japanese war crimes in the Pacific

Australia's investigations and prosecutions

Dr Narrelle Morris

? Commonwealth of Australia (National Archives of Australia) 2019

This product, excluding the National Archives of Australia logo, Commonwealth Coat of Arms and any material owned by a third party or protected by a trademark, has been released under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0) licence. Excluded material owned by third parties may include, for example, text, design and layout, images obtained under licence from third parties and signatures. The National Archives of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify and label material owned by third parties.

You may distribute, remix and build on this work. However, you must attribute the National Archives of Australia as the copyright holder of the work in compliance with its attribution policy available at .au/copyright. The full terms and conditions of this licence are available at licenses/by/4.0/au. Inquiries relating to copyright should be emailed to copyright@.au.

This guide is number 27 in the series of research guides published by the Archives. Guides include material known to be relevant to their subject area but they arenot necessarily a complete or definitive guide to all material in the collection.

The National Archives reviews its collection to confirm the value of records for research, evidential and other purposes or to identify, in consultation with agencies, records for destruction. At the time of publication, all the Archives' records described in this guide were present in the Archives' collection. Subsequent to release of this publication, it is possible that some of the records may be destroyed if they are reviewed and considered not to be of enduring value.

Images that appear in this book are reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Every reasonable endeavour has been made to locate and contact copyright holders. Where this has not proved possible, copyright holders are invited to contact the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-922209-22-1

Published by the National Archives of Australia t (02) 6212 3600 e archives@.au .au

Front cover image: Entrance to the Manus Island war criminal compound. NAA: B5557, 15

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Contents

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................... iv Using National Archives of Australia research guides ........................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 4 2. The Australian War Crimes `Webb' inquiries, 1943?46 ................................................................................ 8 3. The United Nations War Crimes Commission and Australia ....................................................................... 33 4. The Directorate of Prisoners of War and Internees and the Australian War Crimes Sections...................... 64 5. Postwar investigations .................................................................................................................................. 88 6. The War Crimes Act 1945 and preparation for trials .................................................................................. 130 7. The Australian Military Courts war crimes trials, 1945?51 ....................................................................... 145 8. The Australian War Criminals Compounds................................................................................................ 180 9. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, 1946?48 .................................................................. 215 10. Repatriation, parole and release of war criminals ....................................................................................... 246 Appendix A: Instrument of Appointment of the Board of Inquiry ? list of war crimes ..................................... 274 Appendix B: Index of accused Japanese war criminals by surname .................................................................. 276 Appendix C: Index to trial proceedings and trial-related correspondence files .................................................. 372 Appendix D: Index to key documents in the trial proceedings ........................................................................... 381 Index ................................................................................................................................................................... 394

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Acknowledgements

The genesis of Japanese war crimes in the Pacific: Australia's investigations and prosecutions came out of a project designed by Professor Timothy McCormack of the Melbourne Law School (now Dean of Law at the University of Tasmania) to produce a comprehensive and systematic law reports series of the 300 Australian war crimes trials from records held in the National Archives of Australia. Funded by the Australian Research Council in two Linkage Grants, the project also received long-term and ongoing support from the Australian War Memorial and Department of Defence's Defence Legal Division, for which the project members record their grateful appreciation.

I was appointed as the legal researcher on the Law Reports Series project and began reading the records of the trial proceedings in 2009. In drafting the law reports on the trials, I began generating a great deal of data possibly useful to other researchers that would never see the light of day, such as the indexes included in the appendixes to this guide.

In 2011?12, the National Archives of Australia granted me the Ian MacLean Award to produce this guide. Through its generosity, I was able to undertake a comprehensive review of additional files related to war crimes held in the national collection over a number of years. I record my thanks and acknowledgements to Hilary Rowell, Michaela Forster, William Edwards and the many archivists at the National Archives of Australia (Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane offices) and at the Australian War Memorial who have assisted me in my research over the years. I also thank Mayumi Shinozaki and other librarians at the National Library of Australia. Overseas, thanks are due to archivists and librarians at national archives and libraries of New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and the Netherlands. I also thank Jim Zobel at MacArthur Memorial Library & Archives, Norfolk, Virginia. Finally, Hilary Rowell, Elizabeth Masters, Russell Pym, Jon Head, Andrew Cairns, Gaetane Burkolter and Graham Clayton were instrumental in editing and producing this manuscript. All errors, however, remain my own.

Japanese war crimes in the Pacific: Australia's investigations and prosecutions is dedicated to the late historian DCS Sissons, who once aimed to produce this guide, and to Tim McCormack, for setting me on this path.

Dr Narrelle Morris

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Japanese war crimes in the Pacific: Australia's investigations and prosecutions

Using National Archives of Australia research guides

The National Archives of Australia preserves and cares for a diverse collection documenting the relationship between the Commonwealth government and the Australian people. This collection is a rich resource for the study of the nation's history, society, families and individuals.

While the collection covers almost 200 years of Australian history, its main focus is Australian Government activities since Federation in 1901. The Archives also has significant holdings of 19th-century records transferred by the colonies to the Commonwealth government.

Archival resources

The guide is based on an examination of thousands of files and other items in the National Archives. The majority have not been listed as there is not enough space to report on each one, especially the investigation files. In most series that do contain a lot of relevant files, a small sampling has been included to indicate the breadth of records within the series and particularly interesting or unusual records.

The guide therefore provides a selective listing of records that document Australia's investigation into Japanese war crimes in the Pacific and the prosecution of the accused. Many records are listed at the item level and the guide goes beyond the Archives' online collection database, RecordSearch, in briefly summarising the types of records, subject matter and the names of correspondents contained within the items. These items are all available for access. Other records are described at the series level, either because they contain a very large number of relevant items or because many of the items have yet to be cleared for access.

Most of the records listed are held at the National Archives' Canberra office, the remainder being held in Melbourne, with smaller quantities in other state and territory offices. Records held by the Australian War Memorial are also included. Footnotes to materials held in other collections are included where possible.

The guide is structured according to key functions and activities carried out by the Australian Government and the armed forces. Each chapter describes selected Archives' holdings on relevant subjects and topics. This guide is not exhaustive; it does not seek to include every record associated with Australia's investigation and prosecution of Japanese war crimes in the Pacific. However, it does highlight areas for further research.

Accessing records

Access to records held by the National Archives is governed by the Archives Act 1983. Under the Act, records in the open access period are eligible for public access. A change to the public access provisions of the Act in 2010 saw the open access period commence after 20 years ? a 10-year reduction from the previous 30 years. This change is being phased in between 2011 and 2020, with the open period advancing by two years on 1 January each year. In the year of publication, 2019, records dating up to and including 1997 are in the open access period. More information on accessing records can be found on `Fact sheet 10 ? Access to records under the Archives Act' available on the National Archives' website (.au).

Under the Archives Act, there are provisions to withhold information from public access if that information calls into certain exemption caegories. Most records (98 per cent) are wholly released for public access, while 1.75 per cent are released with some exempt

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Japanese war crimes in the Pacific: Australia's investigations and prosecutions

information deleted. Only 0.25 per cent of records are wholly withheld because they consist entirely of exempt information. If the National Archives refuses access, it is usually because the records contain sensitive information or information that is not in the open access period. Further information about the type of records that may be withheld can be found on `Fact sheet 46 ? Why we refused access', available on the website (.au).

Many of the records are available as digital copies on the National Archives' website. Research using the online collection database, RecordSearch, will identify digitised records.

To view records that have not been digitised, a researcher will need to visit the reading room of the state or territory office where the records are located. Advance notice of at least five business days is required before visits to view original records.

Using this guide

Each section of this guide lists relevant records relating to the subject covered. Records are listed as series (groups of records) or as items (individual records). An explanation of each element is provided below in a key.

1

CORRESPONDENCE FILES, ALPHABETICAL SERIES, 1924?45

A2937

2

RECORDED BY: 1924?45 DEPARTMENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, LONDON

(CA 1759)

3

QUANTITY: 8.56 METRES (CANBERRA)

4

This series holds files of the Department of External Affairs, London,

otherwise known as the External Affairs Liaison Office London. The

role of this office was to liaise between various British agencies and

the Australian Government. It thus includes numerous files relating to

war crimes.

5 War Crimes ? Interrogation of ex-prisoners of war, 1945

A2937, 304

KEY

1 Series title ? the series title and the date range of the records that make up the series. A series is the organisational arrangement used by the National Archives to control and manage records. It may contain one or more items. Some series may contain hundreds or thousands of items. The series number is shown on the right-hand side. It provides the identifying number applied to the series. 2 Agency title ? the agency responsible for the creation of the series. The number shown after the title provides the identifying number applied to the agency. 3 Quantity ? gives the quantity in shelf metres of records in the series and the National Archives office where the series is located. 4 Description of series 5 Item title ? the title given to an item within the series. The title is usually applied by the person or agency creating the record. Agencies created the file titles for their own internal use and often did not title them systematically or with details that would necessarily assist future researchers. Some items have very general titles such as `War Crimes Investigation' often because the agency or section concerned had very few files on the subject and so had little need to be more specific. The National Archives has supplemented these titles where resources have allowed.

The date of the item contents is included at the end of the title. The item's identifying number (control symbol) appears on the right-hand side, along with the number of the series

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Japanese war crimes in the Pacific: Australia's investigations and prosecutions

to which it belongs. In this example, the series number is A2937 and the control symbol is 304.

Wherever there are references to series in this guide, it is likely that a researcher will need to conduct further research to identify particular records within the series. This research can be conducted online using RecordSearch, or by checking hardcopy indexes or lists in National Archives reading rooms. Reading room staff can help with this research. Some series are only described at series level, with no individual items listed in RecordSearch.

In this guide the agency, series and item titles used on RecordSearch may have been modified to help with accessibility. Therefore, when searching for series or items it is recommended that a researcher uses series numbers and control symbols rather than titles.

Citing records

The correct citation of records is important, both when requesting records and referring to them in written or published works. Using proper citations not only helps staff locate records more readily, but also assists other researchers to find material. The correct form of citation for records held by the Archives is: `National Archives of Australia' followed by a colon and a space, the series number followed by a comma and a space, then the item control symbol. For example:

National Archives of Australia: A2937, 304 `National Archives of Australia' may be abbreviated to `NAA' provided the full name has been used in the first citation. Further details about correctly citing records are available in `Fact sheet 7 ? Citing archival records' available on the National Archives' website (.au).

Japanese names

Japanese names in this guide are given following Japanese custom, with surname first, except in the case of any authors who are more widely known for their English-language writings under their Western-style names. Macrons (such as , ) have been included in names where the kanji (characters) for those names could be identified and read. Macrons have not been used in the case of well-known place names such as Tokyo.

Terminology for currency and measures

In 1966 Australia introduced a system of currency based on dollars and cents to replace pounds, shillings and pence. From the early 1970s the metric system of weights and measures began to replace the imperial system. No attempt has been made to convert those units expressed in imperial terms, however the following conversion scales may be applied:

one pound (?1) = two dollars one shilling (1/?) (or 12 pence) = 10 cents one mile = 1.6 kilometres one acre = 0.4 hectares.

Military terminology

The Australian War Memorial has a helpful online glossary of military terms, available at .au/learn/glossary

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Japanese war crimes in the Pacific: Australia's investigations and prosecutions

1. Introduction

That atrocities are an inevitable part of even a modern war was well known in Australia prior to World War I.1 That atrocities were also playing a part in the new war against Japan was very rapidly brought home to Australians in early 1942, as disturbing reports of breaches of the laws and usages of war began emanating from the field.

In April 1942, for instance, Australian military personnel who had escaped from the Japanese occupation of New Britain told horror stories to the press about `acts of ferocity' by Japanese towards surrendered Australians.2 These included accounts of the `shocking' and `cold-blooded' massacre of Australian prisoners of war at Tol plantation, which had taken place in January 1942.3 Given that there had been semi-official reassurances after the fall of Singapore in early 1942 that Japan was properly treating Australian prisoners of war, and advice that the public should disregard `sensational stories' and rumours spread by `morbidminded people',4 the impact of the horror stories was substantial.

One of the earliest Australian responses to alleged Japanese atrocities came in May 1942, when the Australian Army convened a Court of Inquiry which was instructed to inquire into and report on, among other things:

any acts of terrorism or brutality practised by the Japanese against Australian troops the treatment of Australian prisoners of war by Japanese troops (including deaths

occurring after capture) any breaches of International Law or rules of warfare committed by Japanese forces.5 The Court of Inquiry found that the Tol massacre, for instance, had been established `beyond all possible doubt' and that `[n]o excuse whatever existed for this outrage', which was a clear and `most flagrant' breach of international law.6 The Court of Inquiry also pointed out that the evidence that Australian prisoners of war being held by the Japanese in New Britain were being `reasonably well treated' was `meagre'.7 While the Court of Inquiry's report had limited circulation, a number of Australian Government departments and the military services were becoming `interested in this question of Japanese atrocities'.8

By the end of 1942, only a year after the declaration of the war against Japan, the Australian Army had issued instructions to its commands that reports on allegations of breaches of rules of warfare be forwarded to Army Headquarters in Melbourne.9 In that same month, Australia also applied to be represented on the United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC). In mid-1943, Sir William Flood Webb, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, was given the first of three commissions to investigate and report on Japanese atrocities and war crimes.

1 Even as early as September 1914, various Australian newspapers instructed their readers at length on `what is fair fighting?' and provided a list of `war crimes' in response to claims that the Germans were committing them; see, for example, `War Crimes. What is Fair Fighting? Early Atrocities', Sydney Morning Herald, 7 September 1914, p. 5. 2 Letter from Mr EG Bonney, Chief Publicity Censor to Mr [Brigadier] EG Knox, Director-General of Public Relations, Department of the Army, explaining the `background to Censorship policy with regard to enemy atrocities', 3 December 1942, National Archives of Australia (NAA): A11663, PA33. 3 See, for example, `Jap Atrocities Against Australians', News (Adelaide), 7 April 1942, p. 3; and `AIF Massacre. Survivor's Story. Wholesale Murder. 125 Men Die; 2 Escape', West Australian (Perth), 10 April 1942, p. 5. 4 From, for instance, Major General Gordon Bennett, the General Officer Commanding, Australian Infantry Force in Malaya, who had just controversially `escaped' from the fall of Singapore: Adele Shelton Smith, `Special Interview with Major-General Bennett', Australian Women's Weekly, 14 March 1942, p. 7. See also `Gen Bennett's Views on War Captives', News (Adelaide), 11 March 1942, p. 3. 5 See the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry with Reference to Landing of Japanese Forces in New Britain, Timor and Ambon, Australian War Memorial (AWM): AWM226, 1/1. 6 ibid, p. 23. 7 ibid, p. 24. 8 Department of the Army Minute Paper, `Japanese Atrocities', 7 April 1943, NAA: MP742/1, 336/1/1145. 9 Memorandum from Brigadier WJ Urquhart for Adjutant-General to the Secretary, Department of the Army attaching `Statement Concerning Action Taken to Apprehend Japanese War Criminals', 27 September 1945, NAA: MP742/1, 336/1/980.

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