Michael Sturma

In the opening stages of the Pacific War, the Japanese were surprised not only by the speed of their success, but the number of surrendered personnel who came under their control. Within the first five months of the war, they captured over 140,000 Allied servicemen. Traditionally, these POWs are portrayed as victims of Japanese cruelty. In Prisoners of the Empire, Sarah Kovner argues “that there was nothing inherent to Japanese character or culture that led to the inhumane treatment of POWs” (3). Instead, the Japanese government lacked a coherent approach to prisoners of war. In the wake of Japan’s rapid territorial expansion, POWs became an afterthought. Most of the cruelty was unintended...