The Daily Alaska empire., 1945-07-14
Japanese Surrenders
(New York Times)

]
 One of the things about the Japanese soldier which the American opposing him has found most difficult to understand is his inclination to commit suicide or to achieve the same effect by banza charge rather than surrender when his position be- came hopeless In this respect there have beer several indications recently that perhaps change of mind is developing among the Japanese.
 On June 12, in Burma, the British report that an officer still well supplied with machine guns and ammunition surrendered himself and twenty of his men, On Luzon the Thirty seventh Division re- ported prisoner bag of 6O9 in thirtysix hours. The Navy has revealed that Guam a Japanese field officer who had hidden out in the hills with his men also took that He is quoted as telling his detachment when they marched in to lay down their arms: T turning you to Colonel Stent the Marine colonel to whom the surrender was made) You will be treated well. You are now pris- of It is not diSgraceful state and you not to regard it such."
 Every officer of command in the Pacific must be asking himself whether these merely are isolated cases of Japanese officers reneging the Code of the Samurai' or whether it is sympomatic of an altered thinking of many Japanese From the early days of the first captives taken by our men it has been obvious that much of the fanatical banza charging and mass suicides, such as on Attu, were officer inspired Enlisted Japanese soldier captves have said that many of their fellows inclined to surrender in hopeless situations but that their officers would not let them do Many of the prisoners captured on Guadalcanal were from units that had been de- serted by their officers, whose officers had died before they started for the American lines under white flags
 Early captives all surprised when they not tortured although all denied they had been told in official orders that would be their fatebut they also were unanimous in saying they could not return to Japan, that they had disgraced their fam lilies in placing their lives above that of duty to the Emperor That, however, when all Japa- nese soldiers convinced that Japan going to win. It may well be that stories of Japanese have now seeped back down to officers and men alike and they have to doubt their country's eventual victory. The dishonor that attached before to sur render may have lost some of it's potency
 The experience of the hour truce recently on Okinawa would seem to belle any idea that the officer surrenders in Burma and Guam and Luzon were more than isolated incidents. Less than a dozen sponse to the Okirawa offer. However, the total of 1880 captives announced for the Okinawa campaign, even before the recent truce large by the standard Of other campaigns against the Japanese
 It is too early to draw conclusions from these small figures. It can be hoped they trend It would greatly simplify the campaign against the Japanese. The experience on Guam, where the render came after the fugitive little group had ample opportunity to how well Americans treated their captives would indicate the possibility that redoubled campaign to get to other Japanese this intelligence might bring large dividends