Oct 15 09:11 PM US/EasternLONDON, Oct. 16 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Britain and Japan tried to keep secret "one of the worst war crimes" of World War II, according to a recent BBC investigation.
The British government decided not to bring charges against Japanese commanders for the massacre of around 280 British and Dutch prisoners of war who were machine-gunned to death in 1943, it is claimed.
And ministers, who were anxious to end the war crimes trials in 1949 and rebuild relations with Japan, appear to have concluded it was best not to tell the relatives of the deceased the real reason why their sons and husbands died.
Now, the children of the men who were allegedly massacred are considering trying to get an apology from the British government for the betrayal.
The story began in November 1943 when the Japanese ship Suez Maru was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine on its way from Japan to Java (now Indonesia). The ship, which was transporting about 548 British and Dutch POWs, sank and about half of the men drowned immediately.
However, the rest managed to survive by clinging to fragments of the ship. Over the next few hours, the Japanese guards, who had managed to flee to an accompanying minesweeper, machine-gunned the POWs to death as they desperately clung to the wreckage of the ship.
Documents unearthed by a team from BBC Radio 4's "Document" program show that in the immediate aftermath of the incident a Japanese commander claimed all the POWs died when the Suez Maru was torpedoed and sank. The POWs were being kept in the ship's hold and there were no survivors despite rescue boats being deployed, it was alleged.
None the wiser, the British government informed the relatives accordingly.
But after the war in 1949, one of the Japanese crew felt he could no longer live with himself and had to tell the truth about what happened on that fateful day, according to documents.
In a letter to Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the former crew member said, "Some of them (POWs) waved their hands. I heard people moaning in pain. The burst of machine-gun fire didn't cease for some time."
He told investigators that some of the men were so desperate to end their misery that they actually tried to stand up on the wreckage in order to become easier targets.
His openness with the Allied authorities meant that his family subsequently ostracized him.
Following this testimony, the Allies called in the same commander who in 1943 had claimed that all the POWs had drowned.
He told his interrogators he could see about 200 POWs alive in the water after the ship's sinking. He admitted his superiors told him to omit the fact that the men were deliberately slaughtered when he wrote an official account of the incident in 1943.
The commander said although it was his final decision to kill the POWs, he was mindful of what his superiors would have proposed in similar circumstances. He also claimed there was not enough room in the accompanying ship to accommodate all the POWs. "We shot people for an hour or two," he said.
Within months a report was sent to London about the massacre. Allied authorities recommended that there was sufficient evidence to charge three of the commanders for war crimes.
The BBC could not find any evidence the trio faced a trial or were given an official reprimand.
Senior politicians in Britain debated the issue in 1949 and thought it was best not to pursue any charges against the men.
Although they were angered about the allegations, they thought it was best to draw a line under a series of war trials in Japan which had already seen 700 war criminals executed. Germany was also finishing its trials and it was hoped that all the hearings would be over by September 1949.
Ministers also felt that bringing charges against the trio would lead the relatives of the deceased to question why there had been a six- year delay.
Telling the relatives the truth would also cause them to ask why no action was being taken.
So, it would seem, the British government decided to do nothing.
War crimes experts told the BBC that nothing like this could ever happen now, and Britain's decision represented practical political considerations.
Britain and the United States were keen to ensure Japan remained an ally following the war and provide a defense against communism in the region.
Kathleen Emms told the program it was "terrible" and "disgusting" how she was never told the real truth behind her husband Douglas' death.
Her son, Terry, said, "The way it happened should be looked into. The truth should come out and those at fault should be made to pay."
It is thought that the three former Japanese naval personnel are no longer alive.
Experts are now advising the surviving relatives to seek justice from the government for the coverup.
Alan Jones, who lost his father, said he is considering seeking an apology from the government.
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