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Japanese Atrocities on Nauru during the Pacific War: The murder of Australians, the massacre of lepers and the ethnocide of Nauruans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Yuki Tanaka
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Over the last few decades, there has been extensive research on various atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Forces in China and various parts of Southeast Asia during the Asia-Pacific War: massacres, torture, rape, sexual slavery, and ill-treatment of prisoners of war (POWs) and medical experiments on prisoners. As a result, we now have considerable knowledge about war crimes committed in many parts of Asia. This is primarily thanks to continuous and comprehensive investigation by a small group of Japanese historians who specialize in Japanese war crimes, as well as contributions by international researchers.

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 8 , Issue 45 , November 2010 , e2
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2010

References

Notes

1 For details of the history of Nauru, see Paradise for Sale: A Parable of Nature by John M. Gowdy and Carl N. McDaniel (University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000).

2 Chubu Taiheiyo Homen Kaigun Sakusen 2 (The Japanese Imperial Navy Strategy in the Central Pacific Vol.2) ed. by the Defense Research Center of Japan Defense Agency (Asagumo Simbun-sha, Tokyo, 1973) pp.127 – 131, 134 – 136.

3 Australian War Memorial (hereafter AWM) Collection 54-567/4/2.

4 Chubu Taiheiyo Homen Kaigun Sakusen 2, pp.138 – 139.

5 Collection of Defense Research Library of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, Dai-san Tokubetsu Konkyochitai Senji Nisshi (The War Diary of the 3rd Special Naval Base Force).

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Australian Archives (hereafter AA) Collection MP1174/1/106 S; ‘Statement of Lt-Comd Nakayama, Hiromi, taken at Torokina, 11 Oct. 1945 ‘in AWM Collection 54-1010/6/90.

9 ‘Statement made by Tauna on 2nd December 1945 ‘in AA Collection A518/2/R16/2/2.

10 AWM Collection 54-1010/09/118.

11 ‘Report on Interrogation of SASAKI Saburo’ in AA Collection MP742/1/336/1/292.

12 Ibid., and ‘Military Court – Trial of Japanese War Criminal AWC.2029 Lt Command NAKAYAM Hirrumi (sic) ‘AA Collection A471/1/81073.

13 ‘Statement made by Wong Lupchung on 14 Sept. 1945 ‘in AWM Collection 54-1010/6/90.

14 ‘Statement of Lt-Comd Nakayama, Hiromi, taken at Torokina, 11 Oct. 1945 ‘in AWM Collection 54-1010/6/90.

15 'Military Court – Trial of Japanese War Criminal AWC.2029 Lt Command NAKAYAM Hirrumi (sic)' AA Collection A471/1/81073; ‘Military Court – Trial of Japanese War Criminal SASAKI Saburo' in AA Collection MP742/1-336/1/1623.

16 AA Collection MP742/1-336/1/1292.

17 ‘Statement of Lt-Comd Nakayama, Hiromi, taken at Torokina, 11 Oct. 1945 ‘in AWM Collection 54-1010/6/90.

18 ‘Military Court – Trial of Japanese War Criminals SATAKA Tadae, NAKAMURA Tsmotsu, INABA Tokujiro’ in AA Collection MP742/1/336/1/1292.

19 ‘Report on Interrogation of ISHIKAWA Yoshio on 23 Sept. 1 and 3 Oct. 1946 ‘in AA Collection MP742/1/1292.

20 ‘Statement made by ISHIKAWA Yoshio’ in AA Collection MP742/1/0/336/1/1292.

21 Ibid.

22 ‘Report on Interrogation of ISHIKAWA Yoshio on 23 Sept. 1 and 3 Oct. 1946 ‘in AA Collection MP742/1/1292.

23 ‘Statement made by NAKAMURA Tamotsu on 7 Jun. 1947 ‘in AA Collection MP742/1/0/336/1/1292.

24 ‘Report on Investigation of the Killing of Lepers from Nauru Is. 19 Nov. 1947 ‘in AA Collection MP742/1/0/336/1/1292.

25 ‘Sworn Statement of SOEDA Hisayuki on 19 Sept. 1947 ‘in AA Collection MP742/1/0/336/1/1292.

26 ‘Military Court – Trial of Japanese War Criminals SATAKA Tadae, NAKAMURA Tsmotsu, INABA Tokujiro’ in AA Collection MP742/1/336/1/1292.

27 Ibid.

28 For details of the history of Japan's official approach to leprosy and Japanese general attitude towards lepers, see, for example, Inochi no Kindaishi:Minzoku joka no na no moto ni hakugai sareta hansenbyo kanjya (A Modern History of Life: Lepers Oppressed in the Name of Ethnic Cleansing) by Fujino Yutaka (Kamogawa Shuppan, Kyoto, 2001).

29 ‘Military Court – Trial of Japanese War Criminals SATAKA Tadae, NAKAMURA Tamotsu, INABA Tokujiro’ in AA Collection MP742/1/336/1/1292.

30 ‘The Leprosy Epidemic at Nauru: A Review’ by H.W. Wade M.D. and Dr. Vladmir Ledowsky in International Journal of Leprosy, Vol.20, No.1, January – March 1952, pp.1 – 29; ‘South Pacific Commission Project H.7 Leprosy: General Survey of the Local Leprosy Conditions on the Island of Nauru’ by Dr. J.C. Austin (Medical Superintendent, Central Leprosy Hospital, Makogai, Fiji, April 1952).

31 ‘Narrative of Japanese Occupation Nauru Island by Gustav Rasch’ in AWM Collection 54-567/1/1 P+3.

32 ‘Report Upon the Experiences of the Nauruans in the Caroline Islands’ AWM Collection PR00868/6/12/99.

33 Ibid.

34 Ibid.

35 AA Collection MP742/1/336/1/735.

36 ‘Report Upon the Experiences of the Nauruans in the Caroline Islands’ AWM Collection PR00868/6/12/99.

37 A copy of this “Appeal” is available at the Australian Archives. The document reference number is A518/1/AJ118/6.