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Fukushima Committee Report Part 2 of 3 |
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18. COMMUNICATION AND NEWS: From the 11th July 1942 until March 1944 the internees were held 'incommunicado' even to the extent of being forbidden to speak to visiting Japanese officials. In November 1942 about ten internees were selected and instructed to write letters to their relatives. We suspect that these letters were never sent out of the camp. In March 1944 the internees were informed by the Commandant that a change for the better would be made in their treatment. A list of the privileges allowed to internees was then made public stating, among other items, that they would be allowed to send one letter of one hundred words to their relatives each month on the subject of health only; that a radio broadcast receiver would be allowed in the camp; that an International Red Cross delegate and their own Protector Power's delegate (para. 19) would be permitted to visit the camp and that newspapers, both Japanese and English, would be provided. The Red Cross Committee's delegate visited the camp on the 24th March 1944 (para. 20) and he was the first human contact the internees had made with the outside world since their internment in July 1942. This delegate informed the internees that his committee had only been advised of the existence of this camp in March 1944. A few cables from relatives were received by some of the internees shortly after his visit, followed by some more at long intervals. A few letters were received by internees in July 1944, followed by some more at long intervals and it is obvious that many letters dispatched never reached internees. There were still internees at the end of their internment who had received no news from their next-of-kin. The monthly letters to relatives were regularly allowed to be sent until December 1944 but internees were not allowed to write during January and February 1945 on the alleged ground that the camp authorities were waiting for more writing paper to come from Tokyo. This privilege was again withheld during July 1945 on the same plea. Newspapers, both Japanese and English, were provided by the authorities from the beginning of March 1944 and were regularly received until July 1944; then they stopped for about three weeks. The Commandant said that the papers had not arrived from Tokyo. From this time on the Japanese newspaper was not provided. The English newspaper, however, continued to be received with occasional stoppages of from seven to fourteen days until the 15th May 1945 when it finally stopped altogether and the Commandant stated that it had ceased to be published. This was not so, for we know that some copies were delivered at the camp, along with the usual staff newspapers, at various times between the 16th May 1945 and the 15th August 1945. In spite of the strict withholding of newspapers from July 1942 to March 1944 and for various shorter periods thereafter, the internees were able surreptitiously to 'borrow' copies of the guards' Japanese newspapers and, thanks to one of the internee's knowledge of Chinese characters together with the fortunate finding of a Japanese-French dictionary, they were always abreast of the news although none of them could speak or understand spoken Japanese. The first and second Commandants became suspicious that the internees were getting news from some unauthorised source but were never able to elucidate the matter to their satisfaction. The broadcast receiver gave news in Japanese only and was soon removed to the office for the use of the Japanese staff. 19. PROTECTING POWER: On the 24th March 1944 the internees learnt for the first time that the Minister of Switzerland to Japan was looking after British interests and that Switzerland was their Protecting Power. On the 25th April 1944 a delegate of the Swiss Minister inspected the camp and interviewed internees. The Headman was able to inform him fully of the conditions prevailing and of the treatment accorded to internees. After his visit conditions improved in many respects - corporal punishments became very rare and also regimentation (para. 25) became considerably less. Delegates of the Protecting Power paid further visits to the camp on the 25th August 1944 and the 10th July 1945. On the days of the first two visits by the delegates the meals served were very much better than average. The Protecting Power was instrumental in getting monthly allowances of ¥50.00 for each internee and in getting mail delivered to internees (para. 18). To his influence also we attribute the increased consideration and authority given by the Japanese to the Headman and Headwoman thenceforward. In addition he sent paper and pencils to help in the tuition of the children and several tubs of soft soap which were badly needed. Until 1945 the Headman was not allowed to write to the Minister of Switzerland except in answer to a letter from him. 20. INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS, INTERNATIONAL Y.M.C.A. AND APOSTOLIC DELEGATE: Mr Angst, delegate in Japan of the International Red Cross Committee, visited the camp twice, first on the 24th March 1944 and again on the 25th April 1945. His first visit was made use of by the Japanese authorities in the following way. A party of well-equipped cinema photographers appeared and took photographs of the internees doing their regular physical exercise out of doors, of a church service in progress, of men, women and child internees lunching together (an event which had never taken place previously and which occurred only once subsequently), of men and women internees walking and talking together in the grounds (compare with para. 17), of the Headman and the Assistant Headman holding roll call (a duty which had never before been delegated to them and in fact was not so delegated until several weeks later), of the large hall downstairs (furnished with tables, chairs, books and flowers for this day only) with the Headman talking to various selected men, women and children, and of the dispensary well-equipped with two Japanese nurses in attendance (both equipment and nurses for this day only). For the photographs the internees were instructed to remove their wooden identification numbers and to wear their best clothes and, in the case of women, to make up their faces carefully; every Asiatic internee was excluded from every photograph. Neither the Headman nor any other internee were allowed to speak to the delegate unless the interpreter or his wife were near enough to overhear. The following much needed supplies were received from or through the International Red Cross Committee: 1. A gift for Christmas 1943 of a few yen from the Canadian Government for the two Canadian internees. 2. A total of ten food parcels each and some bulk food between March 1944 and May 1945. 3. First Aid kits. 4. Bulk medicine. 5. Toilet requisites. 6. US Army boots 7. ¥ 2,843.45 After the initial visit of the International Red Cross Committee's delegate, books (both recreational and educational), games (both indoor and outdoor), socks, thread, toothpowder and toothbrushes, gramophone records and nail files were received from time to time from the International Y.M.C.A. The delegate of the Swedish Minister to Japan, who was also representative of the International Y.M.C.A., visited the camp twice, first on the 7th June 1944 and again on the 10th July 1945. There was also one brief visit from the Apostolic delegate who interviewed the Headman and a few of the Roman Catholic internees and left ¥ 1,000 as a gift to all the internees. Until 1945 the Headman was not allowed to write to the International Red Cross delegate or the International Y.M.C.A. delegate except in answer to letters from them. 21. EMPLOYMENT OF INTERNEES: The internees were always expected to keep clean their quarters, the corridors, the wash rooms and the lavatories. There was never any regular inspection of quarters by the camp authorities but guards would frequently raise objections to the state of the corridors, often without reason. The grounds too were cleaned up by the internees when the authorities thought fit; as they were heavily overgrown with weeds at the time of the internees' arrival, all were put to work tearing these up with their hands (para. 12, Mr McIntyre's death). In subsequent years, however, a small squad of volunteer gardeners was formed and remunerated for their services (para. 4) and only occasionally were all internees set to work scavenging in the grounds. From April 1943 light indoor work on payment was provided for selected volunteer workers. This work took the form, for the men, of stripping down books and making from the leaves small paper bags for protecting fruit from insects; the women sewed up the fingers of machine-made cotton gloves. 22. FACILITIES FOR SPENDING YEN: Although volunteer workers (para. 21) were paid in yen and although all internees received money from outside sources (paras. 19 and 20), reasonable facilities for spending money were never given. No tradespeople were allowed to bring goods for sale to the camp and no form of camp canteen was opened. From time to time, at long intervals, internees were allowed to submit lists of their requirements and then a few of the articles wanted were brought by the guards, presumably from local shops, to the camp and their price realised from the internees. The quality of all the articles thus sold to the internees was extremely inferior and they did not meet any of their vital needs. The last time internees were able to make any purchases was in October 1944. 23. AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS: An Air Raid Precaution Scheme for this camp had apparently not been considered by the camp authorities until May 1943 and, when first established, it was of a most elementary nature. Long intervals occurred between practices which consisted chiefly of getting the internees accustomed to the different signals of the sirens (at no time, however, were they fully able to comprehend them). It was not until February 1945 that definite instructions were issued as to what the internees were to do in case of 'alarm'. The scheme of the camp authorities in 1943/44 covered only the blacking out of lights and standing by to receive orders; open trenches were dug in the camp grounds but they were never used and were nearly always full of water. During these years the co-operation of the internees with the camp authorities, although proffered by the Headman for fighting fire, looking after women and children and invalid internees and other duties, was not welcomed. From July 1942 until February 1945 there appeared to be little cause for local alarm but the 'laissez faire' policy of the authorities did not give the internees confidence in their ability to cope with raids. In December 1944 the Headman tried to submit an Air Raid Precaution Scheme which the Internees' Committee had worked out but the Commandant refused to consider it. From February 1945 until the 15th August 1945 'alarms', particularly at night, became more and more frequent; Allied planes often passed over the camp or in its vicinity. From the middle of June 1945 until the cessation of hostilities the camp was, to all intents and purposes, 'standing by' continuously. In December 1944 the Commandant made arrangements for all the internees to take shelter in the basement (para. 6). The sexes were, however, still segregated; the shelter for the forty two women and child internees was a storeroom measuring about 30 feet by 12 feet by 10 feet high; that for eighty four men internees was the boiler room containing two furnaces and boilers and measuring 30 feet by 28 feet by 12 feet high; and fourteen men internees were accommodated in a paper storeroom measuring about 12 by 9 by 10 feet high. Seats were not provided and the women were even told not to sit down; any attempt by the internees to amuse themselves by singing or playing mouth organs was stopped by the authorities. On the 12th July 1945, however, the Commandant asked the Assistant Headman to submit the Air Raid Precaution Scheme of the Internees' Committee and, after a few days, it was approved and adopted by the authorities 'in toto'. On the warning being given that planes were coming over, the Japanese staff, headed by the Commandant himself, dropped everything they were doing and ran helter-skelter to their shelter in front of the building, leaving the internees to their own devices. It was only under the direction of the Headman and in conformity with the Air Raid Precaution Scheme of the Internees' Committee that the internees were marshalled into their shelters. Happily for all concerned only one bomb was dropped on the town of Fukushima and that fell at least half a mile from the camp. 24. REQUISITION OF JEWELLERY: In January 1945 the camp authorities instructed internees to hand over all their diamonds, platinum and white gold as the Japanese Government was requisitioning these articles throughout Japan. As marriage and engagement rings were the principal articles affected, the internees concerned expressed strongly their unwillingness to give them up but eventually they had to hand them over, doing so under strong protest and on condition that they were allowed to report the matter to the Protector Power and seek his advice. This was done. When the Protector Power's delegate visited the camp on the 10th July 1945 (para. 19), he stated that he had taken up the whole matter with the Japanese Government and he opined that wedding and engagement rings certainly should not have been included in the requisition. (see also para. 27). 25. BEHAVIOUR OF JAPANESE TOWARDS INTERNEES: Throughout the whole period of internment, internees' contact with Japanese people was confined to contact with the members of the camp staff. The police constables acting as guards were, almost without exception, uncouth and ill-mannered, incapable of realising that western modes of thought and conduct are utterly different from the Japanese. Even among the better educated camp officials there was a studied disregard of European customs and internees were frequently reminded that they were in Japan and must observe Japanese customs. This attitude of the camp staff particularly affected the women internees because it is not the custom in Japan to treat women with the respect and consideration usual among westerners. No doubt, on the other side, owing to the internees' ignorance of Japanese customs, some of their behaviour, at least at the beginning, may have appeared to the less educated of the Japanese staff to be disrespectful where no disrespect was intended. The guards exact exaggerated deference from their own civilians and they did not realise that such conduct is not always natural to westerners. Their manner towards internees was always hectoring and menacing and it seemed to the internees that they derived satisfaction from the feelings of humiliation which they instilled in them. Their behaviour towards women internees was particularly offensive in western eyes and sometimes terrifying, as may be seen from women internees' statements in Appendix VI. Moreover, guards sometimes used lewd gestures in the presence of the women (e.g. Appendix VI, No. 19). The women internees were denied privacy at all times. In para. 4 (e) mention has been made of the frequent entry into internees' rooms, none of which had bolts on the doors, by guards and, in addition, the women were ordered never to lock the lavatory or bathroom doors. On more than one occasion Japanese officials, including persons not attached to the camp staff, viewed women having their baths. With one exception, the sergeants were known to us by name and were little better than the guards in their behaviour (Appendix V, No. 3 and VI, No. 18). The one exception was Kazuo Soida; he displayed understanding and sympathy even to the extent of supplying medicines at his own expense. He was of a superior type. The first Commandant, Nimoto by name, who had held the post from the 11th July 1942 until the 13th July 1943, was temperamental and inconsistent in his behaviour towards internees. Though generally showing scant courtesy or consideration for internees' feelings, he sometimes appeared in naively benevolent moods. The slapping of internees at the discretion of individual guards began during his time and this and other instances of ill-treatment of internees may be attributed to his lack of control over his staff or to his indifference to such matters. The second Commandant, Mitsuhashi by name, held office from the 13th July 1943 until the 13th July 1944. This officer was well able to maintain discipline among his guards and was consistent in his behaviour towards internees but he was devoid of courtesy, displayed by his questions to both men and women internees a morbid interest in their sex life (see also para. 17 and Appendix VI, No. 13) and deliberately used physical violence as a method to enforce his authority over the men internees (Appendix VI, Nos. 2, 8 & 10). He also introduced outdoor games in which it was impolitic for any internee to refuse to participate. These games were unsuitable for adults and were disliked by most of the internees. Under both the above Commandants the regimentation of both men and women internees was a prominent feature of the daily routine. Lining up and numbering was understandable at the morning and evening roll call but not on other occasions when the internees did not have to be counted such as when the women mustered to attend church daily. The third Commandant, whose name we do not know and who held the post from the 1st August 1944 until the 31st March 1945, was a man of very different stamp being a gentleman and always courteous. He was also the most efficient of all the Commandants, maintained good discipline among his staff and behaved with consideration and understanding, particularly towards the women internees and the sick. No cases of physical violence occurred during his time. He encouraged the internees to organise a concert for Christmas Day 1944 and, with other officials, attended the performance. The men and women were allowed to mingle freely during and after the concert, exceptionally good meals were served and the central heating system was put into operation for this day. On several subsequent occasions also he relaxed the rules for the strict segregation of the sexes and allowed all the men and women internees to meet together for an hour or two. Unnecessary regimentation ceased almost entirely during his time. The fourth Commandant, whose name we do not know, took charge early in April 1945 and was still in charge on the 15th August 1945. He was a man of little consequence or education, unaccustomed to a position of responsibility and incapable of maintaining discipline among his staff. His behaviour towards internees was characterised by bluster and lack of any sign of appreciation of the difficulties of their situation but he did provide some amusement (see end of para. 23). Under this Commandant there was a recrudescence of some of the objectionable conditions which had obtained under the first two Commandants; there was some face-slapping and meetings of families were very considerably curtailed. The Commandants have from time to time called upon selected internees, both men and women, to write essays on stipulated subjects such as, "Your opinion of the Conditions in the Camp", "The War Situation" or "The General State of World Affairs". As stated in para. 4 (f), Mr Midori Kawa was interpreter for the first three years. As far as could be judged from his general conduct, he was a powerful influence during the time of the second Commandant for maintaining or fermenting ill-feeling towards the internees amongst the Japanese staff; we are of the opinion that he did not always translate statements of the internees truthfully, though obviously it is difficult to judge with certainty on such a point. No internee understood Japanese so that every communication between internees and the Japanese staff had to be made through Mr Midori Kawa or his wife, a kindly but uninfluential woman. Mr Midori Kawa was the first Japanese official to strike a woman (Appendix VI, No. 17). For further light on his behaviour, reference is invited to the various statements in Appendix VI. As he said that he had recently returned from the United States after sojourning there for thirty five years, he must have been familiar with western manners unlike the rest of the Japanese staff. The two young lady interpreters who replaced Mr Midori Kawa (para. 4) were sisters, the Misses Y. and M. Kokubun, and conveyed the impression that they confined themselves to their proper function of truthful interpretation. The male cook, mentioned in para. 4 (g), was moody and unpredictable and he behaved towards internees in the same manner as the guards did. The behaviour of all the Japanese staff towards the smaller child internees was always good; they showed kindness and gentleness (see also para. 10). The personal property of the internees was never taken from them by the Japanese who honoured their original undertaking to protect internees' property. In only one case of theft (of a pair of shoes) from an internee, have we reason to suspect that the thief was a member of the Japanese staff. 26. TERMINATION OF INTERNMENT: On the morning of the 16th August 1945 all internees were assembled unexpectedly and the Commandant, in the presence of the Chief of the Special Branch, made the announcement detailed in Appendix VII, No. 2 to the effect that, as hostilities had ceased, the internees were free, though orders for their departure had not yet come through. In the meanwhile it was the intention of the authorities to make the remainder of the internees' stay as pleasant as possible and the internees were to make their desires known. The police guard would remain to protect the internees should the local population become hostile and the internees were strongly advised not to leave the precincts of the camp for the time being and to avoid any excessive jubilation which might be heard outside and stir up the people. He announced that the authorities had already taken up with the Government the question of the return of the valuables requisitioned (para. 24). Thus ended the period of internment during hostilities upon which we have been asked to report. We have, however, thought it necessary to add the following paragraph, 27, in order to show how the authorities could have improved conditions in this camp had they been so minded, and to give point to some of our conclusions in paragraph 28. 27. RESULTANT CHANGES: There followed immediately the most astonishing reversal of conditions in the camp. The attitude of the Japanese staff towards internees, within twenty four hours, changed from an incivility, which had seemed to most internees to be studied, to a politeness and anxiety to please which they consider to be obsequious. The only curtailment of complete liberty to which the authorities have asked the internees to submit is a restriction on going outside the camp except in parties with a police escort. The men and women can mingle freely at will; several rooms on the ground floor, previously reserved for the use of the Japanese staff, have been made available for internees' quarters thus relieving congestion, and husbands and wives and their children are at liberty to share a room together. In fact the internees themselves now control all internal camp matters. Rations were immediately increased and are now reasonably plentiful. The Chief of the Special Branch, who now visits the camp daily, has explained that military control of supplies was withdrawn at the end of hostilities so that he is able to procure more for the internees. The bread ration has been raised to four and a half rolls a day; potatoes and leaks from the garden and other vegetables are issued liberally for two meals a day; fresh butter, apples, sugar, oil and meat have been supplied. The internees now staff the kitchen entirely with their own volunteers, the Japanese male cook alone being retained as purveyor of outside supplies. The internees are keeping both their quarters and the grounds as clean and tidy as they ever did under Japanese supervision. Already in the first ten days of the improved conditions the internees' general health had visibly improved. A doctor and a dentist visited the camp on the afternoon of the 16th August and came promptly whenever requested by the internees. Mrs Bok Sye Foo and Mr K. B. Johnson (para. 12 (f) and (i)) were removed to a local hospital on the 22nd August and parties of internees visit them three times a day, going by car, in addition to Mr Bok and one of Mr Johnson's friends who spend the night at the hospital. One woman internee who had tried unsuccessfully for eighteen months to get her dentures repaired has now had them put right and returned to her within twenty four hours. Internees have been urged to state what clothes they require immediately so that the Japanese may supply them; straw hats for sale have been supplied freely and tradesmen have been allowed to come inside the camp to sell Japanese novelties (obis etc.); paper and carbon have been supplied on Committee's request; ample soap has been issued; and, remarkable above all, the women's long-standing hygienic needs have been supplied by the Japanese without their being asked. On their own initiative, the Japanese have taken up the question of the return of requisitioned jewellery (para. 24). Meanwhile compensation in yen was paid on the 23rd August to the internees concerned who, however, are not satisfied because they naturally want their own jewellery back. On the 21st and the 27th August the camp officials, acting in accordance with requests of the Internees' Committee, succeeded in getting telephone calls through to the Minister of Switzerland in Tokyo, abandoning their former policy of obstruction (para. 19, end). On the 28th August a representative from the Swedish legation in Tokyo arrived with the welcome news that the internees should leave Japan not later than the 10th September. 28. CONCLUDING REMARKS: In several respects the provision made by the Japanese Government for internees in this camp was satisfactory, to wit, the building and its sanitation, the respect shown for private property, the treatment in general of the smaller children, the provision of light indoor work for those who desired it, the facilities given for religious observances (except in respect of the Roman Catholics) and the medical arrangements made for the birth of Mrs Bok's baby. With several of the camp regulations we have no fault to find. We fully realise that discipline and some restrictions are essential in a civilian internment camp in wartime but we consider that in this camp the discipline imposed was unnecessarily severe and that the restrictions were altogether too close. That there has been no trouble in the camp either between the internees themselves or between internees and Japanese staff since the 15th August 1945 lends support to this opinion. We also consider that the various officers holding the post of Camp Commandant, with the notable exception of the third Commandant, were not of the type required for the control of foreign civilian internees. In our opinion there is no excusing the striking of women even if it has been for the enforcement of reasonable regulations, the refusal to allow husbands and wives to meet frequently during the first fifteen months of internment, the generally unsatisfactory medical attention, the denial of privacy to women internees, the holding of all internees 'incommunicado' for twenty months, the latitude allowed to the guards for demanding a servile demeanour from internees, the failure to provide any facilities whatsoever for the education of internees of school age, even the use of available rooms as schoolrooms being refused, and the starving of internees. We are not in a position to say to what extent the objectionable features of the camp were due to a deliberate policy of the Japanese Government or to what extent they were local phenomena but we consider that the officials holding the post of Chief of the Special Branch of Police, who were in full control of the camp, should be held responsible for them in the absence of any indication to the contrary. So far as our observation has gone, it was well within the power of these officials to ensure that the more objectionable conditions were abolished. We consider that, in addition to the Chief of the Special Branch, the first and second Camp Commandants (Nimoto and Mitsuhashi) should be held responsible for the wrongful use of physical violence both on men and women internees and, in the case of the second Commandant (Mitsuhashi), additionally for the use of improperly cruel punishments and the indignities to which he subjected the women by his morbid curiosity about sex matters. The first interpreter, Midori Kawa, should be held responsible for initiating or participating in the objectionable conduct of camp officials recorded above. (Signed) Barbara Murray - Member (Signed) C. W. E. Furey - Member (Signed) G. P. Stewart - Chairman 3rd September 1945 Report: Continued: Appendix - Part 3 |