Danny Chan

A pair of apparent Japanese soldiers hiding in the southern Philippines since World War II has been denounced as a hoax by the Japanese government. The story of two alleged World War II-era veterans on Mindanao island touched off a media frenzy in Japan and made headlines around the world for several days in late May. But after the two failed to appear after four days of waiting, Tokyo declared the story a hoax.

Over 100 Japanese journalists and diplomats descended upon the mountainous Philippine island after reports emerged that two Japanese soldiers ensconced on the island for over 60 years were ready to emerge from their jungle hideout. The octogenarians were brought forth by a Japanese timber businessman who identified himself as Asano.

Mr Asano said he had never met the two soldiers but had heard of them through a Filipino contact who had in turn heard of them through another contact. Nevertheless, Japanese embassy officials subsequently waited for a meeting with the elderly men that never materialized.

The Japanese media had identified the two alleged stragglers as Yoshio Yamakawa, 87, of Osaka and Tsuzuki Nakauchi, 85, of Kochi. Mr Yamakawa was a first lieutenant and Mr Nakauchi a corporal in the Imperial Army’s 30th Division. Imperial Japanese Army records list the two men as dead, according to one news source.

The two were members of a unit deployed on Mindanao towards the end of World War II. According to reports, they became separated from their unit and later chose to settle within the communities inside mountainous and lawless Mindanao because they were afraid they would be court-martialed if they returned to Japan. Reports further stated the pair were anxious to return home. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had earlier told reporters the two would be repatriated if that was their intention.

Residents of General Santos city have long been aware that some Japanese soldiers had avoided surrendering to the allies and instead married locals and settled into the communities. Hehache Tao, a descendant of a Japanese soldier, said his grandfather had told him stories of the two stragglers but said he doubted they were still alive.

“One of the reasons why they don’t want to go back to Japan was fear that they might be killed or punished by the Imperial Army,” he told reporters. “They don’t want other people to know that they are still there.”

Goichi Ichikawa, 89, who leads a veterans’ group and who served in the same unit as the alleged stragglers, said he heard of at least three former Japanese soldiers still in Mindanao and asked the Japanese government to repatriate them.

“The men apparently said he wanted to go home, but was worried,” he told reporters. Observers speculate that any stragglers would probably be aware that the war is over but, for various reasons, elect to go into hiding. Civil strife has afflicted the mountainous and heavily forested island for decades, making it possible to elude detection by the authorities.

In early June, a report emerged that locals claimed an elderly man living in the Magalo mountains was also a former Japanese soldier living in the area for over 60 years. However Tenglo Tali, 86, was unable to speak Japanese but was instead fluent in the local B’laan dialect. Philippine police and the Japanese embassy quickly refuted the claims, further disappointing journalists in the region covering the story.

During World War II, the Philippines was invaded by Japan in 1941. The country witnessed heavy fighting as American forces fought Japanese troops throughout the sprawling archipelago. Nearly half a million Japanese troops and as many as one million Filipinos died in epic battles across the Philippines.

Records from Japan’s army ministry indicate only 3,000 of 12,000 men in the 30th Division returned home; 80 per cent were listed as dead or missing.

Some Japanese soldiers waited until 1948 before surrendering. In 1974, a former Japanese soldier was found hiding on the Philippine island of Lubang. Hiroo Onoda, a former intelligence officer in the Japanese army, was unaware that the war had ended. The army lieutenant, armed with a rusty rifle, sometimes stole grain from local farmers to survive. He emerged from hiding only after meeting a Japanese student camped out nearby. Mr Onoda allowed himself to be photographed by the startled student, who in turn alerted officials in Tokyo the next day about his discovery.

The following week, the student returned with government authorities, including Mr Onoda’s former commanding officer who persuaded him the war had ended 29 years earlier. Mr Onoda, now 83, returned to Japan but later emigrated to Brazil after complaining of culture shock. The last known World War II-era straggler was found in Indonesia in 1975.


Copyright ©2005 Danny Chan. About the author