YPOD
January 2, 2003, 2:51am
1
I am reading the book “the Last Mission” where the author describes how he was told to evade and escape if shot down over Japan. (Basically, steal a boat and find a US submarine). Did any Allied prisoners escape from the Japanese home islands in WWII?
I don’t see anything offhand. Found this, FWIW.
http://vikingphoenix.com/public/rongstad/military/pow/pwcmps-2.htm
U.S. prisoners of war held by the Empire of Japan, 1941-1945 died at a rate exceeding 37% while in captivity. On the other hand, U.S. prisoners of war held captive by Nazi Germany died at a rate of less than 2% while held by the Germans. (Based on figures from Center For Internee Rights).
Japan’s war prisoner guards were largely Japanese, however, Formosan (Taiwanese) and Korean guards were also integrated into the guard forces.
Escapes were rare. Unlike the situation in Europe, the mostly Caucasian Allied prisoners could not mingle among Asians without instant recognition. Furthermore, the local Asian populations were subjected to severe reprisals from the Japanese when helping Allied POW.