The Principle of Good Faith and the Treatment of Prisoners
Even though America and Japan agreed to the terms and conditions listed above, violations of the Geneva Conventions, and consequently the principles of Jus in Bello occurred, as both America and Japan did not treat each other in good faith with regards to the treatment of prisoners of war, due largely to cultural differences. President Franklin Roosevelt initiated propaganda before and during the war, with the aim of convincing America that the Japanese were ‘less than human’ and a force which America would aim to win against through “absolute victory,” ensuring that “this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.” (Grimsrud, 2015).
This mentality was carried throughout the war, with President Harry S. Truman, once succeeding to presidency in early 1945, stating, “Carry the battle to them. Don’t let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don’t ever apologise for anything.” (Brainy Quote, 2015). Ted Grimsrud, author of The Moral Legacy of World War II, confirms that, “The American people, as a whole, thus received a powerful message, insistently argued and continually reinforced, that their enemies needed to be crushed.” (Grimsrud, 2015). A propaganda poster with the caption, “Stay on the job until every murdering Jap is wiped out,” reinforces the idea that America did not aim to reach peaceful terms with Japan, and did not remotely attempt to peacefully resolve the conflict (King, 2013). This mindset, and the actions that followed because of it, directly violate Jus in Bello principles, as is seen by this statement made by Grimsrud, where he says, “The demand for unconditional surrender stood in tension with the stated moral values the War was based upon.” (Grimsrud, 2015). The mindset of “kill Japs, kill Japs, kill more Japs,” is what led to America taking a very limited amount of Japanese POW’s, instead being ordered to kill them (Powers, 2015). This in itself is another violation of Jus in Bello, as it is clearly defined that, “when soldiers…pursue their enemy beyond what is reasonable…they commit not acts of war, but acts of murder.” (Maiese, 2015). Approximately 22,000 Japanese soldiers fought against America in the Battle of Iow Jima, however of that 22,000, 20,000 were killed, and only 216 were taken as POW’s (Historical Boys Clothing, 2015). If this is a small representation of the losses that occurred by Japan throughout the war, then it can be said that the Americans did not take as many Japanese POW’s as could have been taken, due to their complete acceptance of the propaganda that was forced upon them, purposed to convince Americans that every Japanese soldier should be annihilated.
Even though this attitude was adopted by the Americans, the Japanese abidance by the ancient Samurai code of ‘Bushido’ influenced the way in which the Japanese fought, influencing particularly the Japanese reluctance to surrender. The basic thesis behind Bushido was that, “only a samurai prepared and willing to die at any moment can devote himself fully to his lord.” (Powers, 2015). It was engrained into not only those in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), but also Japanese civilians, that the highest honour in wartime was to die for Japan. A field Service Code that was issued by General Tojo in 1941, ordered the Japanese, “Do not live in shame as a prisoner. Die, and leave no ignominious crime behind you.” (Powers, 2015). There are very few sources on numbers of Japanese POW’s in World War II, and events that occurred at American POW camps, due to the extremely low number of Japanese POW’s. Contrary to this, there are many records of American POW’s in Japanese POW camps. The majority of American POW’s were treated terribly by the Japanese, with approximately 27% of all American POW’s in Japanese camps dying before the end of the war due to starvation, illegal medical experimentation (such as lobotomy’s and the removal of major organs while the subject was still alive) being conducted (violation of Convention 4) , beheadings (violation of Convention 3), gruelling death marches (violation of Article 7), and illegal slave labour (such as the building of the Thai-Burma Railroad by Allied POW’s) (violation of Common Article 3) (Burke, 2015). These atrocities conducted by the Japanese violate all four agreements that were made at the Geneva Conventions, and also the Jus in Bello requirement of ‘behaving in good faith’ (Legal Information Institute, 2015).
Not only did the Japanese treat the Allied POW’s harshly, but also their own soldiers. The Australian Government Department of Veterans Affairs records that, “Failure to do small things, like saluting a Japanese soldier, resulted in harsh physical violence from the Japanese to the POW’s. Most commonly, the punishment was a face slap by a soldier, with hard object.” (Australian Government Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015). Thus it can be said that the Jus in Bello principle of ‘good faith’ was not abided by both the Japanese and Americans, as the Americans preferred to kill the enemy, rather than commit them to POW camps, and Japanese culture forbid the idea of surrender, forcing soldiers to commit suicide when being faced with possible surrender. The inhumane treatment of the American POW’s by the Japanese was also a direct violation of Jus in Bello principles.
This mentality was carried throughout the war, with President Harry S. Truman, once succeeding to presidency in early 1945, stating, “Carry the battle to them. Don’t let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don’t ever apologise for anything.” (Brainy Quote, 2015). Ted Grimsrud, author of The Moral Legacy of World War II, confirms that, “The American people, as a whole, thus received a powerful message, insistently argued and continually reinforced, that their enemies needed to be crushed.” (Grimsrud, 2015). A propaganda poster with the caption, “Stay on the job until every murdering Jap is wiped out,” reinforces the idea that America did not aim to reach peaceful terms with Japan, and did not remotely attempt to peacefully resolve the conflict (King, 2013). This mindset, and the actions that followed because of it, directly violate Jus in Bello principles, as is seen by this statement made by Grimsrud, where he says, “The demand for unconditional surrender stood in tension with the stated moral values the War was based upon.” (Grimsrud, 2015). The mindset of “kill Japs, kill Japs, kill more Japs,” is what led to America taking a very limited amount of Japanese POW’s, instead being ordered to kill them (Powers, 2015). This in itself is another violation of Jus in Bello, as it is clearly defined that, “when soldiers…pursue their enemy beyond what is reasonable…they commit not acts of war, but acts of murder.” (Maiese, 2015). Approximately 22,000 Japanese soldiers fought against America in the Battle of Iow Jima, however of that 22,000, 20,000 were killed, and only 216 were taken as POW’s (Historical Boys Clothing, 2015). If this is a small representation of the losses that occurred by Japan throughout the war, then it can be said that the Americans did not take as many Japanese POW’s as could have been taken, due to their complete acceptance of the propaganda that was forced upon them, purposed to convince Americans that every Japanese soldier should be annihilated.
Even though this attitude was adopted by the Americans, the Japanese abidance by the ancient Samurai code of ‘Bushido’ influenced the way in which the Japanese fought, influencing particularly the Japanese reluctance to surrender. The basic thesis behind Bushido was that, “only a samurai prepared and willing to die at any moment can devote himself fully to his lord.” (Powers, 2015). It was engrained into not only those in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), but also Japanese civilians, that the highest honour in wartime was to die for Japan. A field Service Code that was issued by General Tojo in 1941, ordered the Japanese, “Do not live in shame as a prisoner. Die, and leave no ignominious crime behind you.” (Powers, 2015). There are very few sources on numbers of Japanese POW’s in World War II, and events that occurred at American POW camps, due to the extremely low number of Japanese POW’s. Contrary to this, there are many records of American POW’s in Japanese POW camps. The majority of American POW’s were treated terribly by the Japanese, with approximately 27% of all American POW’s in Japanese camps dying before the end of the war due to starvation, illegal medical experimentation (such as lobotomy’s and the removal of major organs while the subject was still alive) being conducted (violation of Convention 4) , beheadings (violation of Convention 3), gruelling death marches (violation of Article 7), and illegal slave labour (such as the building of the Thai-Burma Railroad by Allied POW’s) (violation of Common Article 3) (Burke, 2015). These atrocities conducted by the Japanese violate all four agreements that were made at the Geneva Conventions, and also the Jus in Bello requirement of ‘behaving in good faith’ (Legal Information Institute, 2015).
Not only did the Japanese treat the Allied POW’s harshly, but also their own soldiers. The Australian Government Department of Veterans Affairs records that, “Failure to do small things, like saluting a Japanese soldier, resulted in harsh physical violence from the Japanese to the POW’s. Most commonly, the punishment was a face slap by a soldier, with hard object.” (Australian Government Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015). Thus it can be said that the Jus in Bello principle of ‘good faith’ was not abided by both the Japanese and Americans, as the Americans preferred to kill the enemy, rather than commit them to POW camps, and Japanese culture forbid the idea of surrender, forcing soldiers to commit suicide when being faced with possible surrender. The inhumane treatment of the American POW’s by the Japanese was also a direct violation of Jus in Bello principles.