The burial details went
by the barracks each morning as he watched, wondering if he would be
on one of those litters the next morning.
offer yourself courageously to the state, and thus regard to maintain
the prosperity of our Imperial Throne, Coeval with Heaven and Earth."
As late as 1877, the ancient custom of making trophies of the heads of
the enemy soldiers was still in effect in Japan.
Japan violated the Geneva Convention in 1931 when she invaded
Manchuria, and again in 1937 when she invaded China both without a
declaration of war. The world shouldn't have been surprised when the
Japanese bombers made their sudden attack on Pearl Harbor without a
declaration of War, further violating the Articles of Code 1929.
Actually, the Japanese had never approved the Geneva Convention,
either in theory or in practice, especially concerning P.O. W. s.
To the Japanese, surrender was a violation of military morality. In
any defeat, a loyal Japanese soldier would commit hari kiri.
Discipline in the Imperial Army was enforced by frequent slapping,
beating and kicking of junior officers and enlisted men for rather
minor offenses.
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