IV

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 176

Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning the maltreatment of United

States military and civilian prisoners by the Japanese during World

War II.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 10, 1996

Mr. DORNAN (for himself, Mr. STUMP, Ms. LOFGREN, and Mr. BILIRAKIS)

submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee

on Government Reform and Oversight, for a period to be subsequently

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress concerning the maltreatment of United States military and civilian prisoners

by the Japanese during World War II.

Whereas 33,587 United States servicemen and women and

13,966 United States civilian men, women, and children

were captured by the Japanese in the Pacific Theater

during World War II;

Whereas these United States military and civilian prisoners

were confined in brutal prison camps by the Japanese

military and subjected to severe shortages of food, medicine, and basic necessities;
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Whereas a large number of United States military and civilian prisoners were subjected to forced labor by the Japanese military;

Whereas United States military and civilian prisoners were

starved to death, beaten to death, and summarily executed by beheading, firing squads, or immolation;

Whereas, as a result, many of the United States military and

civilian prisoners who survived have suffered from lifelong illnesses, as well as psychological and emotional

trauma and financial hardships;

Whereas of all the United States military and civilian prisoners held by the Germans in Europe during World War

II, 1.1 percent of military prisoners and 3.5 percent civilian prisoners died;

Whereas, comparatively, of all the United States military and

civilian prisoners held by the Japanese during World War

II, 37.3 percent of military prisoners and 11 percent of

civilian prisoners died;

Whereas almost all United States military and civilian prisoners rescued from the Japanese at the end of World

War II were afflicted with diseases caused by malnutrition and deprivation;

Whereas during the ‘‘death march’’ following the surrender

of Bataan in the Philippines in April 1942, between 550

and 1,000 United States soldiers perished, including

many who were shot, stabbed, or beheaded by their Japanese captors;

Whereas in Mukden, Manchuria, the Japanese biochemical

warfare detachment, Unit 731, commanded by Dr. Shiro

Ishii, conducted experiments on living prisoners of war

which included infecting prisoners—called ‘‘logs of
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•HCON 176 IH

wood’’—with deadly toxins including plague, anthrax, typhoid, cholera, and a dozen other pathogens;

Whereas of the 1,500 United States prisoners believed to

have been held at Mukden, at least 260 died during the

first winter of imprisonment and of the 300 living survivors of Mukden, many claim physical ailments related to

being subjected to chemical-biological experiments;

Whereas after World War II, Dr. Ishii and other prominent

scientists and physicians of Unit 731 who conducted

human biological warfare experiments, dissected living

prisoners, and froze prisoners to death for purposes of

scientific experimentation, were given pardons by United

States military tribunals in exchange for use of their experiment records;

Whereas these experiment records remain classified by certain Federal departments and agencies of the United

States and access to such records has been denied to the

Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as to the doctors

of individuals who were subjected to the experimentation;

Whereas, as of 1996, approximately 6,400 former United

States military prisoners of war of the Japanese and

2,400 former United States civilian prisoners of war of

the Japanese are still alive, with many suffering from the

physical and emotionally traumatic effects of their captivity;

Whereas the Government of Germany has formally apologized

to the victims of the Holocaust and has gone to great

lengths to provide financial compensation for the victims

and to provide for their needs and recovery;
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Whereas in 1988 the United States Government acknowledged the unfairness of its policy of detaining JapaneseAmericans during World War II;

Whereas in 1993 international jurists in Geneva, Switzerland,

ruled that ‘‘comfort women’’—sex slaves of the Japanese

military during World War II—deserve compensation of

at least $40,000 for each individual for ‘‘extreme pain

and suffering’’ suffered by such individuals; and

Whereas the Japanese Government has refused to acknowledge most of its World War II atrocities and has refused

to provide reparations to its victims; Now, therefore, be

it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) the Government of Japan should imme4 diately pay reparations to United States military

5 and civilian prisoners of war held by the Japanese

6 during World War II in an amount equal to not less

7 than $22,000 for each such prisoner of war—the

8 amount requested in an ongoing international law9 suit by former United States prisoners of war of the

10 Japanese against the Government of Japan;

11 (2) the Government of Japan should express

12 formally its regret to United States military and ci13 vilian prisoners of war who the Japanese tortured,

14 neglected, and on whom it conducted experiments;

15 and
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1 (3) the relevant Federal departments and agen2 cies of the United States should declassify and re3 lease to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and to

4 the doctors of individuals who were subjected to ex5 perimentation by the Japanese, all requested United

6 States and Japanese records and documents relating

7 to the Japanese biochemical warfare detachment,

8 Unit 731, and any other records or documents relat9 ing to medical or bacteriological experimentation on

10 United States military and civilian prisoners of war

11 that are currently in the possession of such Federal

12 departments and agencies.

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