Yeah, every time I get captured by the Japs they let me sit around on a dock.
The absence of Japanese guards in the photo is suspect.
If they were prisoners, their would be guards and no civilians would have been allowed so near them. The Japanese would have had no problem throwing both of them in a 3 x 3 foot cage and keeping them there until they figured what their next actions would be.
This supports the theory that Earhardt was brainwashed by the Japanese and led the raid on Pearl Harbor.