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".
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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.
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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.
The French usually don't even take that long. Try six seconds.
This is a reminder of the latent warrior culture of Japan, which all of Asia still fears. We exterminated most of it in WW2, but there's still traces of it there. They've got a tradition of duty and honor that goes back at least a couple thousand years.
They were horrendously effective enemies (embodying "no retreat, no surrender"), but they make excellent allies.
Yep, that is the "Everyday Newspaper" for you! (And Babelfish Translation does sound like Yoda, doesn't it?)
Right I thought the guys in the 1980s were flat amazing? If these two are not a hoax, it is beyond amazing.
I do not remember any recent stories indicating that locals in the PI thought someone or something was foraging in their area? Have you seen such stories? The lack of such stories was part of what caused people to think all these soldiers were gone.
Not as long as these two (if true), but Iwo's not a large place to hide.
Does this mean they won?
To a fault.
The other extreme to the stupid no-right-to-live ding-dongs who ridicule patriotism.
The islamic terrorists have nothing on these two. Talk about determination and self-will, these two take the cake and eat it.
I lived on Guam in '72 when the last Japanese solider finally "surrendered" there.
The two definitely produced ID that was of Japanese Imperial Army in nature, and further signed both their names in 'kanji' (Japanese script, from China) as well. They are Japanese.
Did not say much more outside of that.
"I was always amazed that there were a few Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima that survived past the war. They lived off of garbage from the U.S. base there,"
Kind of like Eric Rudolph in Western NC.
Fascinating. If you find more, I'd appreciate a ping.
But one thing is sure--they will be happy to see Japan's military power of today, as well as it's service to the far corner of the world -- name, Samawah Base in Iraq.
Pretty amazing, if true.
Lots of cases like that, yes.
No. If past incidents are any example, they will be cleaned up, fixed up by the medics, issued new replicas of their original period uniforms, and flown to Japan, where the Emperor will order them to surrender. The surrender will be taken by the highest ranking US officer in Japan, and that will be pretty much it.
If true, they followed their last orders (go guerilla, resist the Americans, fight on for the Emperor) for over 50 years. They will be treated with honor and dignity by our military throughout the process. Remember, these are Japan's MIAs.
Here they are...though there is something mighty fishy about this...
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