If the Japanese people were surprised to see their country grouped together with the Khmer Rouge, medieval torturers who brutally persecuted heretics, and US soldiers during the Vietnam War,some of whom were court-martialed,[3] they should not have been.
In the past few years, waterboarding by the Japanese military has often been mentioned in the discussion on this topic in Congress, the media, and among those who had unforgettable memories of experiencing it and witnessing it.
Senator Ted Kennedy, in opposing the confirmation of Michael Mukasey as Attorney General, made the following statement on the Senate floor on November 8, 2007.
The experience of witnessing waterboarding also remains etched in the memories of those who saw it firsthand. Lester Tenney, a Bataan Death March survivor, wrote in his memoir, My Hitch in Hell, about witnessing his fellow American soldier waterboarded while he himself was being tortured. It happened after Tenney was recaptured by the Japanese soldiers following his escape from Camp O’Donnell and a brief stay with guerrillas. The Japanese wanted to extract information about the guerrillas from Tenney.
"While I was trying to straighten up, one of the guards hit me across the back with a piece of bamboo filled with dirt or gravel, and once again I fell to my knees. I got up as fast as I was able and stood at attention in front of the guards. I was left standing there for about an hour, then three guards came in and dragged me out to the parade ground, which had been the playground of the school.
"Once outside, I saw they had another American spread-eagled on a large board. His head was about ten inches lower than his feet, and his arms and feet were outstretched and tied to the board. A Japanese soldier was holding the American’s nose closed while another soldier poured what I later found out was salt water from a tea kettle into the prisoner’s mouth. In a minute or two, the American started coughing and throwing up water. The Japanese were simulating a drowning situation while the victim was on land. Every few seconds an officer would lean over and ask the prisoner a question. If he did not receive an immediate answer he would order that more water be forced into the prisoner’s mouth.
"I could not believe my eyes. Torture of this nature was something I had read about in history books. It was used during the medieval times, certainly not in the twentieth century. My God, I wondered, what is in store for me?" [9]
"Some things are hard to forget."
While heated discussion of waterboarding was taking place in the US and around the world, Japan remained largely silent. The mainstream media reported on the debate in the United States, but did not report that their country’s history of waterboarding was often mentioned outside of Japan in this discussion. But didn’t the world expect Japan to contribute to the discussion by providing insight based on reflection on the nation’s past behavior?
It is not easy for any nation to revisit its dark history. But the Japanese people should note that waterboarding by the Japanese was not the only example mentioned in this discussion. Americans recalled and criticized examples of waterboarding by US troops in the Philippines-American War of 1898-1902 and by US soldiers during the Vietnam War. The point of such discussions is not to condemn past behavior for its own sake, but to learn from the past so as to find appropriate ways for nations to protect their people from contemporary threats while hewing to their highest principles. [10]
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, under vigorous questioning in the Diet, recently admitted that 300 Allied POWs (101 British prisoners, 197 Australians and two Dutch) had worked at his family coalmine during World War II. [11] Japanese Foreign Minister Nakasone Hirofumi also made this statement in the Diet about the Geneva Convention which prohibits torture:
The waterboarding that Senator Kennedy mentioned during the debate on the Senate floor took place at Fukuoka POW camp # 3, not too far from Fukuoka POW camp #26 where POWs worked for Aso Mining. POWs held in Japan were forced laborers and they were subjected to abuse and even torture such as waterboarding. There were also tens of thousands of forced laborers from the Korean Peninsula and China who were often subjected to even harsher treatment than Allied POWs.
Only after the Japanese government acknowledges these historical facts, and both government and corporations take steps to apologize and solve the issues of compensation, will the statement by Foreign Minister Nakasone on the Geneva Convention become convincing.
It is also essential for the Japanese business community to make a clean break from its World War II history of using forced laborers. [14] Their German counterpart has already set an example. The international community expects no less from Japan. [15]
Although their memories of waterboarding are painful, some individuals are making efforts to make sense out of their experience and to come to terms with it. Former POW Eric Lomax forgave Nagase Takashi, who was the interpreter while he was waterboarded. He also met with Komai Osamu, the son of the Japanese officer who ordered the torture of Lomax and who was executed after the war as a war criminal. When Komai traveled to England and apologized for his father’s action, Lomax thanked him for traveling far to meet him and said, "It is extremely rare for a victim of war like myself to be able to receive this kind of guest. I am very happy that you came."
Lester Tenney visited Japan in spring 2008 and shared his POW experience with many young people there. He also asked the Japanese government and companies to acknowledge their abuse of POWs during World War II, apologize for it, and offer a reconciliation project such as inviting former POWs and their families to Japan.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the last revision of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. It is also the United Nation’s Year of International Reconciliation. It is hoped that it will be a year for Japan to find a moral voice. Japan can do so by facing the past squarely, achieving reconciliation with former victims, and winning the trust of the International community.
[2] Details of the development of the Bush administration’s policy on waterboarding are here
[4] Congressional Record, Senate, November 8, 2007, p .S. 14166.
[5] "McCain Looks Ahead," CBS 60 Minutes, March 9, 2008. McCain’s live comments on waterboarding are here.
[6] Washington Post, "Waterboarding Used to Be a Crime".
[7] Here.
[8] Gustavo Ingles, Memoirs of Pain (Metro Manila: Mauban Heritage Foundation, 1992), p.27.
[9] Lester I. Tenney, My Hitch in Hell (Washington: Brassey’s, 1995), pp. 87-88.
[10] See for example, "Water Cure: Debating torture and counterinsurgency- a century ago" by Paul Kramer, New Yorker, February 25, 2008. Kramer chronicled the debate on American soldiers’ torturing Filipinos with water during the Philippines-American War. He concluded that although some Americans at that time were outraged by the "cruelty" and "barbarities" exhibited by US soldiers, in the end the nation as a whole chose not to deal with it squarely. Kramer’s thoughts on the relevance of this century old debate on "water cure" to today’s situation can be found at Japan Focus.
[11] For Prime Minister Aso’s admission see Japanese PM Taro Aso’s family business used British PoWs. Prime Minister Aso also admitted that there were Korean workers at Aso Mining during the Upper House plenary session on Jan. 7, 2009.
[12] Foreign Minister Nakasone Hirofumi before the Upper House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, Dec. 18, 2008.
[13] Former Australian POW Arthur Gigger who was forced to work at Aso Mining said that food and clothes were inadequate. (See "Proof of POW Forced Labor for Japan’s Foreign Minister: The Aso Mines" by William Underwood.) Another former POW Joe Coombs recently told the Radio Australia about the condition of the Aso Mining, "The coal mines were the worst of the lot, I’m sure the mines that we were working in were old mines that had been re-opened. And the coal that we were taking out should have been left there to hold the mine together and we had several major falls while we were working there."
[14] See "The Japanese Court, Mitsubishi and Corporate Resistance to Chinese Forced Labor Redress" by William Underwood for the account of Japanese corporations’ resistance to dealing with the forced labor issue.
[15] See Michael Bazyler’s forthcoming article at Japan Focus for discussion of many issues relevant to the present article.
This is a revised version of an article that she wrote for Gunshuku Mondai Shiryo (Materials on Problems of Disarmament).
Recommended Citation: Kinue Tokudome, "Waterboarding: The Meaning for Japan" The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 4-3-09, January 24, 2009.
This article is republished from The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus offering critical perspectives on contemporary issues and conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region.
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