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Unconfirmed: Two Living, Ex-Japanese Soldiers Found in Philippines (Mindanao)
Mainichi News in Tokyo (in Japanese) (linked) ^ | 26 May 2005 | Mainichi Shimbun in Japan (in Japanese)

Posted on 05/26/2005 8:12:52 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo

Edited on 05/27/2005 12:51:25 AM PDT by Sidebar Moderator. [history]

Just only a quick blurb in the top news segement today, but Mainichi News reports that two elderly Japanese men in their 80s have turned themselves into or otherwise presented themselves to Japanese authorities in the southern Philippines in Mindanao, apparantly "surrendering" or at least talking to them, after holding our for nearly 60 years in the Philippines following Japan's WWII defeat.

A remarkable story if true.

Japanese-language Mainichi news story is linked. It is unclear what their Imperial Army unit was, if they knew the war had ended, and other details. They were said to be talking now with Japanese officials in a hotel on the island of "General Santos".

________________________________________

UPDATE!

The latest from what I can tell (3:00 a.m. Eastern Time Friday, May 27, 2005). And by the way, thank you for your kind comment.

A veteran of the Pacific War living in Saitama Prefecture in Japan, a "Teraishi san", who works with the War Survivor's Group, collects the remains of fallen Japanese soldiers. He is in his mid 80s.

He received a call from another man who is married to a woman in the Philipines, who was working to collect word in a forested area in Southern Mindanao. It was only yesterday that Terauchi received this international call from the Philippines which was rather frantic.

The woman had apparantly crossed into or had been in Muslim extremist controlled territory and had heard throught Moro fighters of the existence of "two elderly men from the Japanese army". Further, she got the information that they wanted to get out and passed it on to Japan, where it got to Terauchi.

Terauchi of course worked with the Japanese government who, through the Embassy in Philippines, to get the information.

There are still some survivors around from those days (much as WWII survivors are in the States), and they still look out for their own. Terauchi was in tears in the interview, saying the men were afraid of "Japanese Military Court Martial" if they returned to Japan, but of course he urges them to get back to Japan. This is from Yomiuri news. It is in Yomiuri, Mainichi, Fuji, NHK, Asahi, you name it.

I'll try to post any links to Japanese TV about this. The Moderate might also put (UPDATE) after this thread title if they could do so. Done.

________________________________________

Families of the men in Japan are reported as amazed, shocked and ecstatic.

In the case of (Sgt?) Nakauchi, his sister thought he was dead all these years. She stated that even before the WWII ended, they received a report he was killed, and they even "received his remains" after wards (ikotsu, literally, 'bones') and had buried him and it was all behind them.

They even had a funeral service when the 'body' was returned to the town, but since it was not recognizable I suppose they would have no way of knowing. At any rate, they want the men home ASAP.

Yamakawa's brother said "he sure hung in there," and expressed the same thoughts.

Nakauchi's mother died some 23 years ago. The Japanese authorities had given notice to the family in June 1945 that Nakauchi had been killed. Nakauchi's relative said that if the mother were alive she would be very happy.

Nakauchi's 'gravesite' can even be visited in Kochi Prefecture. It just says his name and rank, and "June 15, 1944, Killed in the War, 28 years old" on it. By the way, I'm getting that the men apparantly are not both (83), but one I believe is 87 and the other 85--so the age might have been an inaccuracy.

War buddies of the two men, a few still around, such as one fellow in Hiroshima, a "Nagai" (84) only had reflective thoughts of how bloody their battles were and "well, that's amazing. 60 years. I want to say "yoku yatta" when he returns ('you really hung in there').

Another relative expressed some trepidation about returning after all these years, and the fact there may be Philippine families effected because (one or both, not sure) the men married locally there.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; Japan; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2005; 80s; army; banzai; embassy; imperial; japan; mindanao; nippon; philippines; soldiers; surrender; teikoku; wwii
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To: 11th_VA
Another Japanese war veteran living in Japan, Mr. Kinoshita, goes over map of military action in Mindanao during WWII, where he thinks his comrades were left for 60 years:


301 posted on 05/28/2005 4:56:10 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (**AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS NOT SO MUCH "WHO" WE STAND FOR, BUT RATHER "WHAT" WE STAND FOR**)
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To: AmericanInTokyo

This puts the Cool-Whip survivalists of America to shame.


302 posted on 05/28/2005 5:05:21 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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To: AmericanInTokyo

see that just proves that you don't need democrats to take care of you from womb to tomb to live to be old.


303 posted on 05/28/2005 5:11:15 AM PDT by cajun-jack
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To: AmericanInTokyo

see that just proves that you don't need democrats to take care of you from womb to tomb to live to be old.


304 posted on 05/28/2005 5:11:15 AM PDT by cajun-jack
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To: AmericanInTokyo
Here's more from the Philippine News (fills in a few holes):

Tour guide says may have seen Japanese stragglers

Posted 07:14pm (Mla time) May 28, 2005 By Jeoffrey Maitem

Inquirer News Service

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- An account by a Filipino-Japanese octogenarian, who worked as a tour guide for visiting Japanese nationals in South Cotabato province, might give more credence to reports about the presence of Japanese stragglers in Central Mindanao.

Mary Kawai, who speaks fluent Nihongo, said that two years ago, a B'laan native, whom she met previously, and two Japanese-looking individuals about her age came to her house in Barangay (village) Silway here to ask for help.

She said the visitors had told her they were starving.

Kawai said she invited them inside and was surprised to see that the B'laan's companions, who sported ponytails, removed their slippers.

"So I asked them if they wanted kohe [coffee]. They nodded," she said.

Kawai said when she asked if the two Japanese-looking men spoke Nihongo, they stared at each other before gesturing they did not.

"But I was suspecting they were Japanese," she said. Kawai said before the visitors left, the two Japanese-looking men hugged her tight.

Commenting on reports about the presence of two Japanese stragglers--reports that are being confirmed by Japanese officials--Kawai said there could be some truth to it.

She said that her friends from the Filipino-Japanese community in Tupi town, South Cotabato have said that there were at least four members of the defunct Japanese Imperial Army seen in the area.

Tupi hosts a Japanese shrine and some tunnels built by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

Inquirer Mindanao Bureau

http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=2&story_id=38447

305 posted on 05/28/2005 6:33:44 AM PDT by 11th_VA
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To: AmericanInTokyo
And this just in:

Japanese journalist loses $20,000 at airport

THE LAST time Japanese journalist Akira Maki saw his black bag with 20,000 dollars inside it was when he placed it on the x-ray feeder at the Manila Domestic Airport in Pasay City. The bag never came out.

Maki, 45, a correspondent for the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), was to take an Air Philippines flight via Cagayan de Oro City to General Santos City Saturday morning to cover the news on two reported World War II Japanese stragglers.

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Alfonso Cusi immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the incident.

306 posted on 05/28/2005 6:36:16 AM PDT by 11th_VA
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To: King Prout

The last documented surrender was Sergeant Soichi Yokoi who hid in the jungles of Guam between 1944 and 1975 unaware that World War II had ended. The Guam tourism association brought him back on a paid honeymoon and his cave is one of the destinations of Japanese and other tourists.


307 posted on 05/28/2005 6:41:23 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (crime would drop like a sprung trapdoor if we brought back good old-fashioned hangings)
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To: AmericanInTokyo
"Army! Air Force! Navy! Marines!"

Regarding culture change...

"[Before the war, Japanese women were] virtuous, and obedient to the commands of menfolk, lovely to look at, gentle and retiring...[Now, they are] monsters whose virtue is all but gone from them, and who screech like apes."
              --Japanese holdout soldier Shoichi Yokoi, captured on Guam, 24 January 1972

308 posted on 05/28/2005 7:18:36 AM PDT by Gondring (Pretend you don't know me...I'm in the WPPFF.)
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To: Sthitch
I lived on Guam in '72 when the last Japanese solider finally "surrendered" there.

That would be Shoichi Yokoi, who lived until 1997. He was reportedly quite disturbed at the changes that had occurred during his absence from Japan: "The glories of nature that I used to know have all disappeared. Instead up in the sky we have this thing called smog. On Earth, cars are killing more people than the war."

309 posted on 05/28/2005 7:20:33 AM PDT by Gondring (Pretend you don't know me...I'm in the WPPFF.)
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To: Deguello
The story would be believable if the two had fragged themselves when discovered, rather than to be captured and shamed.

Not if they were deserters.

I'm believing the story more now that I hear they "went native."

310 posted on 05/28/2005 7:21:22 AM PDT by Gondring (Pretend you don't know me...I'm in the WPPFF.)
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To: delo1963
Welcome to FR. I hope your stay is long and prosperous, but I must take exception to a few of your points.

France lost 250.000 people in Battle in WW2.

Does that include those who were lost while fighting for the Nazis against Americans and Brits? I don't dispute the bravery of many French. Many seem to have been killed off after Napoleon...many of those remaining seem to have been lost in WWI and 1940.

You disgrace thier memory of a country that guaranteed Poland's security.

Guaranteed their secure place under Soviet rule for decades.

Germany ran over Poland in 4 weeks and then shifted her forces to the French frontier. Germanies Blitzkrieg or lightning war of massed tanks supported by air power and infrantry enabled her to pierce through the French AND BRITISH lines; defeating France and forcing Britain off the European continent.Because the bulk of France is very close to Germany resistance to the German Blitzkrieg was impossible. Other surrendernicks Austria; Czeckslovkia; Poland; Norway; Netherlands; Holland; Denmark.

France had the world's LARGEST army in the world at the time, yet relied quite strongly on the BEF and the RAF. The Brits weren't so much overrun as surrounded (Dunkirk) because of the collapse Belgium--and the French did fight fearlessly in many cases (e.g., Lille)--but the fact is that further resistance could have occurred.

As German tanks were crushing German youth in the front lines in the closing days of WW2 maybe the Germans should have surrendered EARLIER.

The analogy is spurious. German surrender would have ended the war sooner. French surrender (and Vichification) extended the war further. The only ones it helped were the French. Heck, had the Western Front been still fighting, perhaps Hitler couldn't have launched Barbarossa...perhaps Poland could have been liberated...not sacrificed.

I guess it wasn't YOUR SON under those tank tracks.

I think you hit the key right here. Perhaps the French are as selfish as can be, without a sense of self-sacrifice, altruism, or principle to rise above short-sighted self-interest. As much as the attempt is made to portray Americans as provincial and acting purely in self-interest, I think a nearly universal thought amongst us is the desire to bring good to others. We act in principled self-interest.

311 posted on 05/28/2005 8:00:32 AM PDT by Gondring (Pretend you don't know me...I'm in the WPPFF.)
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To: Deguello; ariamne
I remember that episode on Gilligan's Island.

"So Sorry, My Island Now"

And how about the Twilight Zone episode?

312 posted on 05/28/2005 8:02:29 AM PDT by Gondring (Pretend you don't know me...I'm in the WPPFF.)
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To: Vigilanteman

thanks.


313 posted on 05/28/2005 8:24:41 AM PDT by King Prout (blast and char it among fetid buzzard guts!)
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To: Gondring

I can identify with that, but not necessarily with Japanese women.


314 posted on 05/28/2005 8:25:18 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (**AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS NOT SO MUCH "WHO" WE STAND FOR, BUT RATHER "WHAT" WE STAND FOR**)
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THIS THREAD PRIMARILY FOR POSTING UPDATES, INFORMATION OR INSIGHT ON THE TWO JAPANESE FORMER SOLDIERS DISCOVERED THREE DAYS AGO.

Please kindly try to limit it that that please. We can discuss Soviet, French, British History on some other thread and debate it there. Please respect this etiquette. Thank you.

315 posted on 05/28/2005 8:27:20 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (**AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS NOT SO MUCH "WHO" WE STAND FOR, BUT RATHER "WHAT" WE STAND FOR**)
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To: Gondring
Here is an update of the international and domestic media starting to flood into General Santos City.

UPDATE (11:00 a.m. Eastern Saturday):

The Japanese who is the go- between for Japanese embassy in Philippines and the guerillas who control the mountain area where Nakauchi and Yamakawa and others are, have received a payoff from him and said the men will be allowed out. It is expected they would turn themselves over to the Japanese embassy personnel in General Santos city within "several days", according to Japanese report I just read.

316 posted on 05/28/2005 8:29:47 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (**AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS NOT SO MUCH "WHO" WE STAND FOR, BUT RATHER "WHAT" WE STAND FOR**)
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To: 11th_VA
Maybe it was 20,000 pesos stolen at the Manila Airport? Or perhaps it was a huge sum for the men for an exclusive interview? Weird. Wow. Thanks.
317 posted on 05/28/2005 8:31:52 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (**AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS NOT SO MUCH "WHO" WE STAND FOR, BUT RATHER "WHAT" WE STAND FOR**)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

If you are referring to the American TV show "Survivor" it is the dumbest, culturally blind and stupid TV show. Nearly 1/3 the people riding on this same planet with you and me, themselves live in "Survivor-like" conditions, and can't come back to a modern world after three weeks....and they don't bitch or complain or brag about it or get awards.


318 posted on 05/28/2005 8:34:29 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (**AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS NOT SO MUCH "WHO" WE STAND FOR, BUT RATHER "WHAT" WE STAND FOR**)
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To: 11th_VA
Here is a photo of the Japanese guy in Gen. Santos City (Mindanao) who has had contact with Najauchi and Yamakawa. He refused to have his photo taken from the front. He is dealing with Filipino islamist guerillas to bring out the Japanese soldiers from the bush.

Kyodo News network 28 May Saturday

319 posted on 05/28/2005 8:39:41 AM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (**AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS NOT SO MUCH "WHO" WE STAND FOR, BUT RATHER "WHAT" WE STAND FOR**)
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To: AmericanInTokyo

No, no, not the Survivor show, but sorry for being too vague. I guess you CAN'T read my mind :-)

I searched for a recipe for a certain kind of cake the other day on Google. I found it, in all places, on a Claire Wolfe related site. Claire stridently preaches depend on yourselfism. The recipe calls for Cool Whip. What wimpiness -- not cream that you have skimmed yourself from your own cow's milk and that you have sweetened with sugar boiled from your own maple tree and have beaten to stiff peaks in a bowl you carved from a tree stump with a whisk made of some woody plant? (OK, so I'm belaboring the illustration. The point being that God doesn't want mankind to bow out of civilization out of principle. He wants men to live a life of saving faith in Christ right where they are and be thankful for what He provides, where He provides it.)


320 posted on 05/28/2005 8:41:32 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (No wonder the Southern Baptist Church threw Greer out: Only one god per church! [Ann Coulter])
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