Chapter 3 1. From man to ghost, from ghost to man

At the end of July 1941, I became a cadet. At the same time, I was transferred from the 13th Infantry Regiment in Kumamoto to the China Dispatch Army in Jingmen County, Hubei Province, China. The 232nd Infantry Regiment of the 39th Division. At the end of August, I was appointed as the platoon leader of the 2nd Platoon of the 10th Company.When I came to the platoon and saw my subordinates, I was very surprised. The eyes of the soldiers were very fierce, full of murderous aura like wild animals.They are all veterans who have experienced many battles, but I am a scholar who has not experienced any combat tests. This has shaken my self-confidence as a platoon leader.

The next day, I was ordered to go to the regiment headquarters to attend an on-site education and training course for our 22 new field force platoon leaders, which lasted for a week.The instructor was Second Lieutenant Tanaka. He led us to the battlefield where we had fought, and told us in detail the process of the battle, the experience of victory, and the lessons of failure. On the last day of the training class, a "bravery test" was conducted, and the content was "beheading captives".At the time, a question arose in my mind: Is this behavior legal?Unfortunately, I did not understand "wartime international law" at the time.

That day, when we arrived at the site by car, we saw that a deep pit about 5 meters long and 3 meters wide had been dug there.Around the pit, stood more than 20 Chinese people who were blindfolded with black cloth and tied their hands with ropes. After a while, the head of the regiment came to the scene with several battalion commanders and sat on the chairs prepared in advance. At this time, Lieutenant Tanaka stepped forward to salute them, then turned around and announced loudly: "The test of bravery begins now!" Each of his servicemen led a Chinese to the edge of the pit and asked them to sit down.

Then, Second Lieutenant Tanaka shouted to us students: "Chop off people's heads like me!" After speaking, he pulled out his saber and asked the service soldier to use a long spoon to scoop up clean water and pour it on the blade, and then walked slowly When he got behind a Chinese, he raised the saber with his right hand, and slashed down diagonally from top to bottom. He only heard a cry of "Hai", the saber fell, the head was separated, the head flew one meter away, two pillars of blood spurted out from the neck, and the body fell into the deep pit. It was the first time for me to witness such a cruel killing scene with my own eyes, and I felt my whole body stiffen, as if I was about to stop breathing.

"Hey, it's your turn!" Lieutenant Tanaka held the blood knife in his hand and handed it to the first student in our student team, asking him to follow suit. I was the fourth one. When he called me, I thought for a moment, "Can this kind of thing be done?", but I was immediately overwhelmed by the thought of "At this moment, I can't be stupid." I walked out of the queue, followed Lieutenant Tanaka's example, and decided to cut off the head of a prisoner.At that moment, my heart seemed to be full of confidence: this time, I am qualified to be the platoon leader!Our new platoon leaders not only slashed and killed Chinese people, but also practiced assassination with their bodies. That was really a crazy scene!

When our "quiz" was over, it was a bloody hell on earth! That night, when I returned to the company, when I stood in front of my subordinates for "night roll call", the original inferiority complex in my heart had long since disappeared, and I felt that I was already a veritable platoon leader. .However, the remaining conscience in my heart told me that I had become another person, or more precisely, I was no longer a human being, but a murderous devil.No wonder now that when looking at the gazes of his subordinates, he no longer detects the beast-like murderous aura, probably because his own gaze has become exactly the same as theirs!

At that time, recruits from Japan were often sent to the battlefield.Every batch of recruits has to undergo this kind of killing training, killing prisoners, intelligence personnel, and unruly civilians.With this kind of training, they can become killers on the battlefield.Later, after I became a company commander, I trained recruits and junior officers in the same way. For the Japanese army, the battlefield was on Chinese soil, surrounded by Chinese.We treated all ordinary people as enemies, often burned their villages, and used "the whereabouts of Japanese soldiers are unknown" as an excuse to "see one, kill one" to the common people.

Our regiment went to Changde County, Hunan Province to fight in the autumn of 1943.At the end of December of that year, the regiment formulated a battle plan to destroy Baiyangsi Village, which was occupied by the Chinese army. Baiyangsi Village is located in the hinterland of the steep mountainous area. A strong position has been built outside the village. It is an important stronghold of the Chinese army and has become our confidant. In this battle, our field heavy artillery also participated.The mission of our company is to snipe the reinforcements of the Chinese army. At dawn, the Chinese army positions at Baiyang Temple were bombarded by heavy artillery from our army. After seeing the Chinese army positions destroyed, our army officers and soldiers entered the village. The target of the army's killing.The massacre killed more than 150 people, looted their belongings, and burned their houses.

It should be said that this is a microcosm of the Nanjing Massacre. In fact, what reason is there to drive out the ordinary people in the village?However, wherever the Japanese army went, they all followed this "three alls" policy. When the Battle of Okinawa was coming to an end, our division was incorporated into the Kwantung Army.After the defeat, I was sent as a prisoner of war to the Kazakhstan republic of the former Soviet Union to work as a miner for 5 years in the Karayuda Coal Mine. During this period, in October 1949, the People's Republic of China was born. In July 1950, 969 of our war criminals were extradited to China in Suifenhe on the Sino-Soviet border. Two days later, they were sent to the Fushun War Criminals Management Center.

When I was extradited in Suifenhe, I thought to myself, this is the end!No matter what, I can't go home!As a result, he fell into a state of despair.We war criminals, how can there be no one whose hands are not stained with the blood of the Chinese people! However, that summer, when we got out of the Soviet freight car and were led to the Chinese train—the soft-seat car of the old Manchurian railway era, we felt confused.There are papers on the windows, so we can't see outside, but we are given white bread in the car, and nurses are walking around asking us if anyone is sick. Did not expect.

When we walked into the gate of the Fushun War Criminals Management Center and were locked in a cell with more than a dozen people, when we heard the howl of the door lock, we felt that our end was coming.Most of the people in the same room did not know each other. After resting in bed for a while, it was time for dinner.Although I ate sorghum rice for dinner, this was the first time that my stomach, which had been dissatisfied for a long time in the Soviet Union, was full.The first time the guard asked us "is there enough food?" we all exchanged glances in surprise, and a few of them raised their hands suspiciously and said "not enough".After the guard counted the number of people, he reported to the prisoner, and after a while, he sent the freshly prepared meal into the cell for those who raised their hands to eat.This took us by surprise again. Every day because we had nothing to do, we would sleep with our heads covered, and when the guards came, they would tell us to "get up!" If someone got sick and had a fever, even in the middle of the night, the nurses would come to deliver water and medicine.Serious patients were also sent to outside hospitals for inpatient treatment.Although we are treated like this, we still have doubts and think, should we paralyze us first, and then find a reason to chop off our heads? When summer turned to autumn, the situation of the Korean War changed. After the U.S. troops landed in Incheon, the North Korean army was forced to retreat, and the war burned to the Yalu River.At that time, the Fushun War Criminals Management Office was moved northward to Harbin and Hulan County in Heilongjiang Province due to fear of US air raids on Fushun.I arrived in Hulan. In the spring of the following year, the Chinese People's Volunteers beat the U.S. troops back to the 38th parallel, and the war situation stabilized. We war criminals were sent back to Fushun.At that time, some of us had hoped in our hearts that the U.S. military would cross the Yalu River to rescue us, but now, their hearts are half-cooled.Some things we only learned later, that is, People's China's policy towards us war criminals is "Although these people are called war criminals, they are also human beings. Because they are human beings, we must respect their personality. Treat them hate their crimes, not them personally".It is precisely because of this humanitarian treatment that those of us war criminals who have committed crimes against the Chinese people have the mentality of introspection and self-blame.At the same time, all the staff, headed by the director of the War Criminals Management Office, tried their best to restrain their subjective anger and painful feelings towards us criminals who brutally killed their relatives and compatriots, and treated us in accordance with the policies stipulated by the state. .This moved us deeply, and our hearts were filled with remorse. On the other hand, we have indeed committed crimes that cannot be tolerated as human beings.But, are we ordered to do these things?This thought of attempting to shirk responsibility is the biggest obstacle for us to bow our heads and confess our sins.Solving this problem will take time and a painful ideological struggle. In January 1953, when I was attending the first "confession study class" in Harbin, I was sent to a single cell in the basement because I had serious resistance and hindered others from studying.In this dark cell that has not been used for a long time, the humid air seems to freeze.I sat upright in the room, my eyes gradually got used to the darkness in the room, and then I found some writings drawn with my fingernails on the wall.When you look carefully, you can vaguely discern bloody slogans such as "Down with Japanese imperialism", "Oriental devils", "Resolute struggle", "Use blood and life".This is the blood book left by the patriotic heroes who opposed Manchuria and resisted Japan who were imprisoned here eight years ago.Among them, some were pulled out and shot, and some were sent to Unit 731 as materials for living bacteria experiments... Seeing these words of deep hatred, I felt a chill run down my spine. From then on, I gradually realized that before that, I was still looking at things from the standpoint of a murderer, so I didn't have enough understanding of the crimes I committed in the past.What I said, killing the captives was something I was ordered to do, there was no way to do it, etc., those are all irresponsible excuses.From the standpoint of the victim, regardless of whether he kills according to his own will or according to someone else's order, killing someone is a heinous crime and cannot be forgiven.Is it innocent to commit murder?I realized: First, you must admit that you have killed someone and committed the crime of homicide.On this basis, let the commander be held accountable. This confession class ended at the end of February.I also went back to the group cell.Soon, I was admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University for treatment due to low back pain and tuberculous fever.This hospital used to be the Kwantung Army Army Hospital.After careful examination, I was diagnosed with lumbar bone tuberculosis.For treatment, the doctor required absolute bed rest and fixed the lumbar spine with a plaster cast.In the first three days, my lumbar spine was in severe pain, and my body temperature continued to reach 40°C. I had to inject sleeping pills to fall asleep.At this time, it suddenly occurred to me that those Chinese who were killed by us with sabers suffered many times more pain before they died than this!Thinking of this, I further realized the seriousness of my crime. One morning after I had been lying on the hospital bed for two weeks, I suddenly felt that I had no fever and no pain, as if I had just woken up from a nightmare.Afterwards, I learned that the injections I received every day were all imported from abroad, very expensive streptomycin.It can be said that this hospitalization not only cured my physical illness, but also cured my mental illness. During my stay in the hospital, from the spring of 1954 to the summer of 1955, the staff sent by the management station gathered together the war criminals who had been in the same unit in the past, confessed to the crimes they had committed in the past, and conducted Self-criticism, and then mutual help and mutual learning, launched a profound confession and learning campaign.At that time, because we realized our crimes more and more deeply, we couldn't even eat food or drink water.Some were so sad that they even wanted to commit suicide.Later, because everyone confessed and helped each other from the standpoint of the victim, they spit out the dirty things buried deep in their hearts, which restored our hearts to health. In December 1955, when I left the hospital and returned to my cell, I saw that everyone's spirits and expressions were different from before.This made me realize that the once lost humanity returned to me, and I changed from a devil to a human again. In the spring of 1956, the military tribunal opened in Shenyang. Of the 1,062 Japanese war criminals, only 45 were indicted and put on trial;None of the people who were tried were sentenced to death, and those who were sentenced to prison could be released early if they behaved well.By April 1964, all war criminals had been released and returned to China. War criminals released from China vowed never to commit crimes again.To this end, everyone was determined to organize a solidarity and mutual assistance group, so they established the "Chinese Returnee Liaison Association" after returning to China in 1956.Article 2 of the Liaison Association’s charter stipulates: “This association is composed of people who participated in the war of aggression against China and committed crimes in World War II. The purpose of establishing this association is to oppose aggression based on humane reflection. war, and contribute to peace and the cause of Japan-China friendship." It is precisely to achieve the above-mentioned purpose that our Liaison Association has been active for more than 30 years and has achieved results. Back in the day, Japanese militarism allied with Nazi Germany, challenged the world order after World War I, and launched World War II, which brought unprecedented disasters to the people of Asia and Europe, and also suffered Surrendered unconditionally after a devastating blow, they were tried at the International Military Tribunals in Tokyo and Nuremberg respectively, and were held responsible for disrupting the international order. However, when they returned to the international community, the performance of the two countries was different. In Germany, the Congress passed a resolution not to recognize the so-called "timeliness" of the arrest and trial of former Nazi war criminals for war crimes. On May 8, 1985, the German President delivered a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II. First, he addressed the 6 million Jews who were killed in concentration camps, and the countless people who died in the former Soviet Union and Poland (20 million people from the former Soviet Union. , Poland 6 million) expressed apology, and then expressed condolences to the German soldiers, ordinary people and people from all walks of life who died in the war.Moreover, at the end of his speech, he said: "People who closed their eyes in the past can no longer see the present; and we will never repeat the mistakes of the past." This speech was highly praised by the whole world. In Japan, however, many people mistakenly believed that the Tokyo Trial was a unilateral trial of the winner against the loser. Many people expressed sympathy for war criminals and even advocated commending them.What's more serious is that in July after the German President's speech, Prime Minister Nakasone publicly declared at the Karuizawa meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party: "Winning is also a country, and losing is also a country. The country and the people are bathed in glory and shame at the same time. At the same time, he abandoned shame and pursued glory.” On August 15, he forcibly paid homage to the Yasukuni Shrine, which was severely criticized by Asian countries headed by China.Every year on August 15th, a nationwide memorial service for the war dead is held. The emperor’s speech remains unchanged every year, and none of the speeches involves more than 20 million murdered people in Asia. For these things, even if the perpetrator has forgotten, the victim cannot forget.Young people in the Asia-Pacific region know nothing about what the Japanese army did in the past, if their parents don't tell them, and their schools don't teach them.It shouldn't be!Not only should the victims not forget these things, but neither should the perpetrators. The younger generation in Japan should know the crimes committed by their fathers and grandfathers and hold them accountable.Moreover, in today's era of internationalization, as a member of Asia and a member of the world, we must understand the past, including what kind of war the Second World War was. Author bio: Graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tokyo in 1939 and worked as a staff member; joined the 13th Infantry Regiment of Kumagi in 1940; transferred to the 232nd Infantry Regiment of the 39th Division of the China Expedition Army in 1941; served as company commander in 1943; served in Kaiyuan, Liaoning in 1945 Defeated in the war, he was sent to Siberia, the Soviet Union as a prisoner of war; in 1950, he was extradited as a war criminal to the Fushun War Criminals Management Office in China; in September 1956, he was released from prosecution and returned to China; he has been a private high school teacher since 1960; he retired in 1984; he is currently in China President of the Returnees Association.He is the author of "The Post-war History of a BC Class War Criminal" and other books.