What happened to Japanese POW's held by Americans after WWII? How and when were they repatriated? Did any seek asylum in America or refuse to go back?
Nathan-Khang Nguyen
Highschool in Engineering & History, Academic Magnet High School (Graduated 2019)

阮 工程与历史高中学历，学术磁铁高中（2019年毕业）

Contrary to what one might think, a large number of Japanese POWs in the US thoughtfully considered staying behind in the US and seeking asylum. It was something that they took very seriously.
Even after their capture, many POWs, thanks partly to the indoctrination that they received, viewed their surrender as something dishonorable and shameful. In many cases, some POWs never actually willingly surrendered. Some in their starved and delirious state were simply dragged out of their caves by American soldiers and Marines.

与人们可能的想法相反，大量在美国的日本战俘曾认真考虑过留在美国并寻求庇护，他们对此事极为慎重。
即便被俘后，许多战俘仍因部分所受的灌输教育，将投降视为耻辱且不光彩之事。很多情况下，部分战俘从未真正自愿投降，一些人在饥饿昏迷状态下被美国陆军和海军陆战队士兵直接拖出洞穴。

For some, there were other issues besides the idea of surrendering. Ensign Satarou Omagari, an aircraft maintenance officer who participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima, noted that “The act of surrender was not a problem. The worry was being executed once the Americans sent us home.” Another Iwo Jima veteran, Seaman 1/C Haruji Mita said that “Even in elementary school, we were told that the Americans were ‘kichiku’ or cruel beasts. We heard of the things our own soldiers did to Chinese prisoners so we were afraid of what the Americans might do to us.”

对部分人而言，除投降本身外还有其他顾虑。参与过硫磺岛战役的飞机维修官少尉大曲定郎指出：“投降行为本身不是问题，担心的是美国人把我们遣送回国后会被处决。”另一位硫磺岛老兵、一等水兵三田春司表示：“即便在小学时，我们就被教导美国人是‘鬼畜’（残忍的野兽）。我们听说过自己的士兵如何对待中国战俘，因此害怕美国人也会这样对我们。”

Keeping this in mind, there were many efforts on the part of Americans and even other Japanese POWs to coax holdouts to surrender. Once in custody, they did their best to prove that they were friendly. Many Japanese soldiers were shocked by the kind treatment they received. Mita, whose leg had become swollen and infected, was surprised to wake up in a medical tent where a Medic treated him with a smile and a pack of cigarettes. In fact, he even received a vital blood transfusion from an American donor. In the process of being nursed back to health, he felt ashamed for believing the wartime propaganda about Americans. He thought to himself. “Was this really the behavior of cruel beasts?”

考虑到这一点，美国方面乃至其他日本战俘都付出了诸多努力劝说负隅顽抗者投降。战俘一旦被关押，美方就尽力证明其友好态度。许多日本士兵对所受的善待感到震惊，三田的腿肿胀感染，醒来时竟发现自己在医疗帐篷里，一名医护人员微笑着为他治疗并递上一包香烟，事实上他还接受了美国捐赠者的关键输血。在康复过程中，他为相信战时关于美国人的宣传而感到羞愧，暗自思忖：“这真的是残忍野兽的所作所为吗？”

Following his own surrender, Omagari was held at a temporary camp on the island for two weeks. While he appreciated the steady diet of baked bread, canned rations, crackers and soda which were given to them, he couldn’t help feeling guilty as he saw B-29’s land and take off from Iwo Jima’s airfield. For him, his failure to hold the island now meant that bombs were falling on his home soil.

大曲投降后，在岛上的临时营地被关押了两周。尽管他感激能稳定获得烤面包、罐头口粮、饼干和汽水等食物，但看到B-29轰炸机在硫磺岛机场起降时，仍不禁感到内疚——对他而言，未能守住岛屿意味着炸弹正落在祖国的土地上。

“There were about 1200 Japanese POWs in this camp [Leyte POW Camp]. All of us were ashamed that we were clinging greedily to life and forced to be idle in the midst of the enemy. Occasionally, we felt that we wanted to die.
Sekiyama Eiji, a sailor who had participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf where his ship had been sunk, said that:

曾参与莱特湾海战且其舰艇被击沉的水兵关山大治表示：
“这个营地（莱特战俘营）里大约有1200名日本战俘。我们所有人都为自己贪恋生命、被迫在敌人中间无所事事而感到羞愧，偶尔会产生求死之心。

As the days wore on, we realized the attitude of the American troops towards us was different from what we were accustomed to … [They] were all kind without exception. We were supplied with clothing, food and even PX items like candy and cigarettes on the same basis as the American soldiers. On the bulletin board was a sign saying POWs were allowed to write letters home to their families and have necessary items sent to them. This was the way we first found out about the existence of the Geneva Convention article on the treatment of prisoners of war.

随着时间推移，我们发现美国军队对我们的态度与我们习惯的截然不同……他们毫无例外都很友善，我们能像美国士兵一样获得衣物、食物，甚至糖果、香烟等福利社商品。布告栏上贴着通知，允许战俘给家人写信并寄送必需品，我们也是通过这种方式首次得知《日内瓦公约》中关于战俘待遇的条款存在。

One day, the camp commander … gathered us dejected POWs and told us, ‘You men fought bravely until the end without fleeing, so you have no reason to think that you are lacking in courage. You men are heroes.’ Having been indoctrinated for years that we must die with honor rather than surrender, those words were shocking to us. We had thought of ourselves to be dishonored prisoners of war. But the Americans not only dealt with us humanely, they also treated us as warriors who had fought courageously until the end and fallen into enemy hands.”

有一天，营地指挥官……召集了情绪低落的我们，说道：‘你们奋战到最后一刻未曾退缩，因此没有理由认为自己缺乏勇气，你们都是英雄。’多年来我们一直被灌输‘宁为玉碎不为瓦全’的思想，这番话让我们极为震惊。我们本以为自己是耻辱的战俘，但美国人不仅人道地对待我们，还将我们视为奋战至最后被俘的战士。”

Following their capture, those destined for America first went to Guam. From Guam, they traveled to a detention center in Oahu containing around 800 POWs at any given time. Around this time period, there were also a number of POWs from Okinawa, including Korean conscxtees. From here, they were sent to Fort McDowell on Angel Island to be immunized and checked for diseases before being sent to POW camps in the US.

被俘后，那些将被送往美国的战俘先前往关岛，再从关岛前往瓦胡岛的一处拘留中心，该中心随时关押着约800名战俘。同期还有不少来自冲绳的战俘，包括韩国应征入伍者。他们从这里被送往天使岛的麦克道威尔堡接受免疫接种和疾病检查，随后再被送往美国本土的战俘营。

In December of 1945, four months after the end of the war for Japan, Japanese POWs began their journey back to Japan. Omagari noted that while POWs in Texas were offered the chance to stay in the US and become citizens, the same offer was not extended to him or other Japanese POWs at Fort Eustis in Virginia. From Washington D.C. they went by train to Seattle. From there, Omagari, Mita and roughly 200 other Japanese POWs boarded a US naval transport bound for Japan. After docking at the Port of Uraga in Yokusuka, the men stayed onboard for one more night before departing. Kiichi Abe, another POW onboard noted the death of his friend. In the morning role call, one POW was found to be missing. It was later discovered that he had jumped to his death. Abe said that “He was my friend. I think he was too ashamed to face his family.”

1945年12月，即日本战败四个月后，日本战俘开始踏上归国之路。大曲指出，得克萨斯州的战俘获得了留美并成为公民的机会，但弗吉尼亚州尤斯蒂斯堡的他和其他日本战俘并未得到同样待遇。他们从华盛顿特区乘火车前往西雅图，大曲、三田及约200名其他日本战俘从那里登上一艘开往日本的美国海军运输船。船只在横须贺的浦贺港靠岸后，众人又在船上停留了一晚才离船。同船的另一名战俘阿部喜一提到了他朋友的死亡：“早上点名时发现一名战俘失踪，后来得知他跳海自尽了。他是我的朋友，我想他是羞于面对家人。”

From there, they were issued fresh uniforms from surplus stocks, given 500 yen (not a small amount in post-war Japan) and a small booklet which marked them as “returnees” with free train privileges.
From here, POWs and citizens filtered off and returned home.

之后，他们领到了库存剩余的新制服、500日元（在战后日本绝非小数目）以及一本标明“归侨”身份的小手册，凭手册可免费乘坐火车。
此后，战俘们与其他平民各自散去，返回故乡。

Matthew Middleton Student

马修·米德尔顿 学生

Japanese soldiers are rightly remembered for their unwillingness to surrender and their inclination to continue engaging in battle regardless of their personal safety. Through a series of officially distributed codes of conduct and propaganda campaigns, the Imperial Japanese Army indoctrinated its troops by ameliorating morale and discipline. Being taken prisoner not only carried significant shame to an individual’s pride and prestige, but it was also prohibited by the army and could result in punishment. Japanese troops were made to believe that the country’s enemies would torture, mutilate or even murder them in captivity, and as such preferred to end their lives by fighting to the death. Suicide was also a viable alternative to capitulation, generally being sought or suggested by the Imperial Japanese Army.

日军因不愿投降、不顾个人安危执意继续作战而被铭记，这一印象不无道理。通过一系列官方发布的行为准则和宣传运动，日本帝国陆军不断强化士气和纪律，以此对部队进行思想灌输。被俘不仅会严重损害个人尊严和声誉，还被军队禁止，可能招致惩罚。日军被灌输的思想是，敌方会在囚禁中对他们施以酷刑、致残甚至杀害，因此他们宁愿战死沙场。自杀也是投降之外的可行选择，这通常是日本帝国陆军所倡导或暗示的。


An isolated Japanese soldier pictured holding a grenade to his head moments before using it to commit suicide instead of surrendering to the advancing Australian troops. Source: Australian War Memorial.

图中是一名孤立无援的日本士兵，在澳大利亚军队逼近时，他手持手榴弹抵着头部，即将自杀而非投降。来源：澳大利亚战争纪念馆.

The governments of the Western Allies sought to abide by international agreements and treaties of the contemporary era and wanted to ensure fair treatment of Japanese prisoners of war, but their intentions were not shared by common soldiers and orders were frequently lost going down the command chain. As a result of strong anti-Japanese sentiment, abuse of Japanese forces was uncommonly ample among American troops. The sudden and unexpected strike on the tranquil and peaceful US resulted in widespread contempt and scorn for Japan that rendered government-ran propaganda campaigns aimed at increasing morale practically needless. Japanese war crimes, such as the Bataan Death March, which was highly publicized and received exceptional media coverage resulting in the American death count being boosted by ten times, triggered strong desire for vengeance against the Japanese. This brought the two opposing parties in an enduring circular chain reaction. Atrocities perpetrated by one side caused retaliatory barbarism on the other side, and vice versa.

西方盟国政府本打算遵守当时的国际协定和条约，确保日本战俘得到公平待遇，但普通士兵并未认同这一意图，命令在指挥链传递中也常常失效。由于强烈的反日情绪，美军中虐待日军的行为极为普遍。日本对和平宁静的美国发动突然袭击，引发了美国民众对日本的广泛蔑视和鄙夷，使得政府旨在提升士气的宣传运动几乎变得多余。日军的战争罪行（如巴丹死亡行军）被广泛报道并获得大量媒体关注，导致美国死亡人数被夸大十倍，这激起了美国对日本的强烈复仇欲。这使得敌对双方陷入了持久的循环连锁反应：一方的暴行引发另一方的报复性野蛮行为，反之亦然。

Battlefront danger sign built by American troops using a Japanese soldier’s skull during the Battle of Peleliu. Source: Department of Defense Media.

佩莱利乌战役期间，美军用日本士兵的头骨制作的前线警示标志。来源：美国国防部媒体.


Very few Japanese troops were willing to surrender, even in harsh conditions where death was inevitable. However, it was not uncommon for forces which lacked legitimate training, as well as utility and support servicemen such as medics and drivers, to wish farewell to arms. Attempts of capitulation were met with severe difficulties for yielding Japanese troops, as American soldiers would often open fire on those who appeared to be surrendering. The main cause for such actions which generally count as war crimes was the fear that surrender may be feigned by enemies in order to lure American troops into ambushes. It was for these reasons and factors that surrender was so uncommon from the Japanese side in the Pacific theater. Nevertheless, a small portion of Japanese forces wished to capitulate, and some managed to do so. Such actions were comparably dangerous and in the chance of failure, harsh consequences were applied on fleeing troops by the Imperial Japanese Army. Those who succeeded in surrender received varying types of treatment by the US, ranging from plain human rights abuses on front lines which lacked commissioned officers, to pleasant and tranquil lives in POW camps which abode by international standards for prisoner keeping, such as the Geneva Convention.

即便在死亡不可避免的恶劣条件下，愿意投降的日本士兵也寥寥无几。然而，缺乏正规训练的部队以及医护人员、司机等后勤支援人员希望放下武器的情况并不少见。对试图投降的日军而言，他们面临着巨大困难——美军常常向看似要投降的人开火。这类通常被视为战争罪的行为，主要原因是美军担心敌人佯装投降以诱使他们陷入伏击。正是这些原因，使得太平洋战场上日本方面的投降极为罕见。尽管如此，仍有一小部分日军希望投降，且部分人成功做到了。这种行为风险极高，一旦失败，逃亡的士兵会受到日本帝国陆军的严厉惩处。成功投降者受到的美国待遇各不相同：在缺乏军官的前线，他们可能遭受纯粹的人权侵害；而在遵守《日内瓦公约》等国际战俘待遇标准的战俘营中，他们则能过上舒适安宁的生活。


A Japanese POW bathing naked aboard the USS New Jersey as US troops stare at him. Source: Department of Defense Media.

一名日本战俘在新泽西号战舰上赤裸沐浴，美军士兵在一旁注视。来源：美国国防部媒体.

Approximately 35,000 - 50,000 Japanese military personnel were taken as prisoners of war by the Western Allies before the end of the Pacific War. It should be noted that some estimates put this figure to as low as 20,000. Very few of these troops had served under the Imperial Japanese Army, they were mainly made up of various non-combat servicemen, such as engineers and medics. Bona fide soldiers who became POWs were mostly captured while in a desperate, distressed and delirious state. The United States turned over most of Japanese POWs to Australia and New Zealand, largely due to the ease of transporting them there. The US provided these countries with compensatory aid and remained responsible for interned troops, organizing and securing their release after the war. Minor camps were operated on American soil for the purpose of interrogating interned troops and extracting information. As Japanese troops were indoctrinated into believing that capitulation was an illegal act, many of them, particularly commissioned officers, thought that they had broken all ties with Japan by surrendering. These beliefs made loads of POWs scared of returning to Japan, and many attempted not to.

太平洋战争结束前，西方盟国俘获的日本军事人员约为3.5万至5万人，需注意部分估算数据低至2万人。这些战俘中曾服役于日本帝国陆军的极少，主要由工程师、医护人员等各类非战斗人员构成。真正成为战俘的士兵，大多是在绝望、困顿且神志不清的状态下被俘。美国将大部分日本战俘移交澳大利亚和新西兰，主要因其运输更为便捷。美国向这些国家提供补偿性援助，并仍对战俘负责，战后组织并确保他们获释。美国本土设有小型营地，用于审问战俘以获取情报。由于日军被灌输投降是非法行为的思想，许多人（尤其是军官）认为投降已使自己与日本断绝所有联系，这让大量战俘惧怕返回日本，不少人试图拒绝归国。

Japanese soldiers lay down their rifles before an Allied commander. Source: WWII Today.

日本士兵在盟军指挥官面前放下步枪。来源：今日二战.

As the end of World War II neared, rates of surrender were increasingly high for Japanese troops fighting in the Pacific. Following the capitulation of August 15th, 1945, millions of Japanese military personnel started to surrender. Chinese Nationalist forces consented to the surrender of 1.2 million Japanese troops, while the Soviets took well over 600,000. The government in charge of Japan encouraged its troops to surrender following the capitulation of the country, and negotiated conditions of treatment of Japanese forces. The strict indoctrination of the Japanese could still be seen at the end of the war, as many commissioned officers sought to keep fighting and likely would have, had the Japanese government not pressured them to give up. Repatriation was commonly delayed by the United States and other Allied powers. The US kept in excess of 60,000 POWs for nearly a year and a half after the end of the war. This interned Japanese personnel was used for work across the West Pacific, mainly for the purpose of dismantling military installations and repairing Allied war equipment. Western Allies used approximately 110,000 POWs in IndoChina and South East Asia to rebuild damaged infrastructure. The British went as far as using Japanese Surrendered Personnel to quell rebellions demanding independence in liberated parts of Asia. In a stunning and unparalleled move, they began to give their POWs military equipment and weapons, commanding them to fight for British interests, and the Japanese usually obeyed the British. Louis Mountbatten took over 35,000 POWs to fight for Britain and the Netherlands in Indonesia. Over 80,000 Japanese prisoners of war died in captivity before they could be repatriated to Japan. Japanese POWs were not given the possibility of moving to the United States, except for a sext few who contributed to the American war effort with valuable intelligence. This was mainly due to the ubiquitous negative view of the Japanese ethnicity and culture in the US. In fact, Japanese-Americans who had settled on American soil prior to the Second World War were subject to harsh treatment, with an estimated 120,000 of them being interned in concentration camps.

二战临近结束时，太平洋战场上日军的投降率日益升高。1945年8月15日日本投降后，数百万日本军事人员开始投降。中国国民党军队接纳了120万日军投降，苏联则俘获了超过60万人。日本当权政府在国家投降后鼓励军队投降，并就日军待遇条件进行谈判。战争末期仍能看出日军所受的严格思想灌输——许多军官试图继续作战，若不是日本政府施压要求他们放弃，他们很可能会顽抗到底。美国及其他盟国普遍推迟了战俘遣返工作，美国在战后将近一年半的时间里仍关押着超过6万名战俘。这些被拘留的日本人员被派往西太平洋各地劳作，主要负责拆除军事设施和修复盟军战争装备。西方盟国在印度支那和东南亚使用约11万名战俘重建受损基础设施。英国甚至利用日本投降人员镇压亚洲解放地区要求独立的叛乱活动，其采取的惊人且前所未有的举措是：向战俘提供军事装备和武器，命令他们为英国利益作战，而日本人通常会服从英国的指令。路易斯·蒙巴顿带领3.5万名战俘在印度尼西亚为英国和荷兰作战。超过8万名日本战俘在被遣返回国前死于囚禁之中。除少数凭借宝贵情报为美国战争努力做出贡献的人外，日本战俘均无移居美国的可能，这主要是因为美国国内对日本种族和文化普遍存在负面看法。事实上，二战前定居美国的日裔美国人也遭受了严苛待遇，估计有12万人被关押在集中营。


Repatriated Japanese soldiers wait to disembark from a ship at Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture. Source: Japan Times.

被遣返的日本士兵在京都府舞鹤港等待下船。来源：《日本时报》.

Andrew Drew Andersen
Accountant at Toyota (car company)

安德鲁·德鲁·安德森 丰田（汽车公司）会计师

I don’t have a full answer to your question, as the information I could find speaks more about the Allies as a whole, rather than Americans. But rarely, it seems, were Japanese POWs actually brought to (continental) American soil; most were kept on island facilities in the Pacific. In fact, “Most Japanese captured by US forces after September 1942 were turned over to Australia or New Zealand for internment.” Some were also detained by the US, longer, to help dismantle various military facilities.

我无法对你的问题给出完整答案，因为我找到的信息更多涉及整个盟国，而非仅美国。但日本战俘似乎很少被真正带到美国本土（大陆部分），大多数被关押在太平洋的岛屿设施中。事实上，“1942年9月后美国军队俘获的大多数日本人都被移交给澳大利亚或新西兰拘留”。部分战俘也被美国长期关押，以协助拆除各类军事设施。

The Japanese soldiers were, of course, heavily indoctrinated with the idea that they should never surrender or be taken alive. [The header photo demonstrates this: “A Japanese soldier in the sea off Cape Endaiadere, New Guinea, on 18 December 1942 holding a hand grenade to his head moments before using it to commit suicide. The Australian soldier on the beach had called on him to surrender.”] They were also taught that, if captured, they would be treated just as horribly as they treated their own prisoners (the Japanese Government signed, but never actually ratified or followed, the Geneva convention); so that was certainly also a convincing reason not to get captured. Some Japanese forces would pretend to surrender, only to subsequently ambush the enemy. Others, who were wounded, would set off grenades rather than accept help (taking as many enemy soldiers out with the same blast as possible). So, this all made the Japanese soldiers less amenable to surrender, and the opposing forces quite leery of accepting it, early on. Later, once the war was over, Japan declared that soldiers who surrendered at that point would not be considered POWs (and therefore there was no shame in surrendering); these troops were often taken home immediately after being disarmed.

日本士兵当然被反复灌输永不投降、绝不被俘的思想。[标题图片就体现了这一点：“1942年12月18日，新几内亚恩代亚德雷角附近海域，一名日本士兵手持手榴弹抵着头部，即将自杀。海滩上的澳大利亚士兵此前已呼吁他投降。”]他们还被教导，若被俘，将遭受与他们对待己方战俘同样可怕的待遇（日本政府签署了《日内瓦公约》，但从未实际批准或遵守）；因此，这无疑也是不愿被俘的有力理由。部分日军会佯装投降，随后伏击敌人；另一些受伤士兵则会引爆手榴弹而非接受救助（力求在爆炸中尽可能多地消灭敌军）。因此，这一切都使得日本士兵不愿投降，而敌方军队在战争初期也对接受投降颇为警惕。后来战争结束后，日本宣布此时投降的士兵不会被视为战俘（因此投降并无耻辱可言），这些士兵通常在解除武装后立即被遣返回家。

Millions of Japanese military personnel surrendered following the end of the war. Soviet and Chinese forces accepted the surrender of 1.6 million Japanese and the western allies took the surrender of millions more in Japan, South-East Asia and the South-West Pacific. In order to prevent resistance to the order to surrender, Japan's Imperial Headquarters included a statement that "servicemen who come under the control of enemy forces after the proclamation of the Imperial Rescxt will not be regarded as POWs" in its orders announcing the end of the war. While this measure was successful in avoiding unrest, it led to hostility between those who surrendered before and after the end of the war and denied prisoners of the Soviets POW status. In most instances the troops who surrendered were not taken into captivity, and were repatriated to the Japanese home islands after giving up their weapons.

战后数百万日本军事人员投降。苏联和中国军队接纳了160万日军投降，西方盟国在日本、东南亚和西南太平洋地区又接纳了数百万日军投降。为防止对投降命令的抵抗，日本帝国大本营在宣布战争结束的命令中包含了一项声明：“圣旨颁布后受敌军控制的军人将不被视为战俘”。这一措施虽成功避免了动乱，但导致了战争结束前后投降者之间的敌意，并剥夺了苏联俘获人员的战俘身份。多数情况下，投降的军队并未被囚禁，而是在放下武器后被遣返回日本本土。

Repatriation of some Japanese POWs was delayed by Allied authorities. Until late 1946, the United States retained almost 70,000 POWs to dismantle military facilities in the Philippines, Okinawa, central Pacific, and Hawaii. British authorities retained 113,500 of the approximately 750,000 POWs in south and south-east Asia until 1947; the last POWs captured in Burma and Malaya returned to Japan in October 1947. The British also used armed Japanese Surrendered Personnel to support Dutch and French attempts to reestablish their colonial empires in the Netherlands East Indies and IndoChina respectively. At least 81,090 Japanese personnel died in areas occupied by the western Allies and China before they could be repatriated to Japan. Historian John W. Dower has attributed these deaths to the "wretched" condition of Japanese military units at the end of the war.

盟军当局推迟了部分日本战俘的遣返。直到1946年末，美国仍关押着近7万名战俘，让他们拆除菲律宾、冲绳、中太平洋和夏威夷的军事设施。英国当局在东南亚约75万名战俘中保留了11.35万人直至1947年；在缅甸和马来亚被俘的最后一批战俘于1947年10月返回日本。英国还利用武装的日本投降人员，支持荷兰和法国分别试图在荷属东印度和印度支那重建殖民帝国的努力。至少有81090名日本人员在被遣返回国前，死于西方盟国和中国占领的地区。历史学家约翰·W·道尔将这些死亡归因于战争末期日本军事单位的“悲惨”状况。

Nationalist Chinese forces took the surrender of 1.2 million Japanese military personnel following the war. While the Japanese feared that they would be subjected to reprisals, they were generally treated well. This was because the Nationalists wished to seize as many weapons as possible, ensure that the departure of the Japanese military didn't create a security vacuum and discourage Japanese personnel from fighting alongside the Chinese communists. Over the next few months, most Japanese prisoners in China, along with Japanese civilian settlers, were returned to Japan. The nationalists retained over 50,000 POWs, most of whom had technical skills, until the second half of 1946, however. Tens of thousands of Japanese prisoners captured by the Chinese communists were serving in their military forces in August 1946 and more than 60,000 were believed to still be held in communist-controlled areas as late as April 1949. Hundreds of Japanese POWs were killed fighting for the People's Liberation Army during the Chinese Civil War. Following the war, the victorious Chinese communist government began repatriating Japanese prisoners home, though some were put on trial for war crimes and had to serve prison sentences of varying length before being allowed to return. The last Japanese prisoner returned from China in 1964.

战后，中国国民党军队接纳了120万日本军事人员投降。尽管日本人担心会遭到报复，但他们总体上受到了良好待遇。这是因为国民党希望尽可能夺取武器，确保日军撤离不会造成安全真空，并阻止日本人员与中国gcd并肩作战。在接下来的几个月里，中国境内的大多数日本战俘以及日本平民定居者都被遣返回日本。然而，国民党保留了超过5万名战俘（其中大多数具备技术技能）直至1946年下半年。1946年8月，中国gcd俘获的数万日本战俘仍在其军队中服役，据称截至1949年4月，仍有超过6万人被关押在gcd控制的地区。内战期间，数百名日本战俘在为中国人民解放军作战时阵亡。战后，胜利的中国gcd政府开始遣返日本战俘，但部分人因战争罪受审，需服完不同期限的刑期后才能获准返回。最后一名日本战俘于1964年从中国返回日本。

Hundreds of thousands of Japanese also surrendered to Soviet forces in the last weeks of the war and after Japan's surrender. The Soviet unx claimed to have taken 594,000 Japanese POWs, of whom 70,880 were immediately released, but Japanese researchers have estimated that 850,000 were captured. Unlike the prisoners held by China or the western Allies, these men were treated harshly by their captors, and over 60,000 died. Japanese POWs were forced to undertake hard labour and were held in primitive conditions with inadequate food and medical treatments. This treatment was similar to that experienced by German POWs in the Soviet unx. The treatment of Japanese POWs in Siberia was also similar to that suffered by Soviet prisoners who were being held in the area. Between 1946 and 1950, many of the Japanese POWs in Soviet captivity were released; those remaining after 1950 were mainly those convicted of various crimes. They were gradually released under a series of amnesties between 1953 and 1956. After the last major repatriation in 1956, the Soviets continued to hold some POWs and release them in small increments. Some ended up spending decades living in the Soviet unx, and could only return to Japan in the 1990s. Some, having spent decades away and having started families of their own, elected not to permanently settle in Japan and remain where they were.
Due to the shame associated with surrendering, few Japanese POWs wrote memoirs after the war.

战争最后几周及日本投降后，数十万名日本人也向苏联军队投降。苏联声称俘获了59.4万名日本战俘，其中7.088万人被立即释放，但日本研究人员估计被俘人数为85万人。与中国或西方盟国关押的战俘不同，这些人受到了俘获者的严苛对待，超过6万人死亡。日本战俘被迫从事繁重劳动，关押条件简陋，食物和医疗供应不足。这种待遇与苏联境内的德国战俘所经历的相似，西伯利亚的日本战俘待遇也与该地区关押的苏联战俘所遭受的待遇相近。1946年至1950年间，许多被苏联囚禁的日本战俘获释；1950年后仍被关押的主要是那些被判犯有各类罪行的人。他们在1953年至1956年间通过一系列大赦逐渐获释。1956年最后一次大规模遣返后，苏联仍关押着部分战俘，并少量分批释放。有些人最终在苏联生活了数十年，直到20世纪90年代才得以返回日本。部分人因离家数十年且已组建自己的家庭，选择不永久定居日本，而是留在了当地。
由于投降带来的耻辱感，战后很少有日本战俘撰写回忆录。
Assistant 匿名

Overview
After Japan’s surrender on 15 August 1945, hundreds of thousands of Japanese military personnel became prisoners of war (POWs) in Allied hands. Those captured by American forces were processed, held in camps across the Pacific and the continental United States, and then repatriated to Japan in phased operations from late 1945 into 1947. A very small number resisted repatriation, sought to remain abroad, or desertion-like transitions occurred; the majority returned to Japan under organized programs.

概述
1945年8月15日日本投降后，数十万日本军事人员沦为盟军战俘。其中被美军俘获者经处理后，被关押在太平洋地区及美国本土的多个营地，并于1945年末至1947年间通过分阶段行动遣返回日本。仅有极少数人拒绝遣返、寻求滞留海外或出现类似逃兵的情况，绝大多数人均通过有组织的计划返回日本。

Numbers and disposition

人数与处置情况

U.S. custody: Roughly 80,000–115,000 Japanese personnel passed through U.S. custody during and immediately after the war (estimates vary by source and counting method). Many more were held by other Allies (China, British Commonwealth, Soviet unx), where conditions and fates differed.

美军关押情况：战争期间及战后初期，约8万至11.5万名日本人员曾处于美军关押之下（估算数据因来源及统计方式不同而存在差异）。更多战俘被其他盟国（中国、英联邦国家、苏联）关押，其所处条件与命运各不相同。

Camp locations: Initial processing and interrogation occurred in-theater (Philippines, Okinawa, Guam, Saipan). Larger, longer-term camps were on U.S. Pacific islands and at several mainland sites (e.g., Fort Leavenworth KS, various POW relocation centers in the continental U.S.) used for security, labor, and debriefing.

营地位置：初步处理与审讯在战区内进行（菲律宾、冲绳、关岛、塞班岛）。规模更大、关押期限更长的营地位于美国太平洋岛屿及本土多个地点（如堪萨斯州莱文沃思堡、美国本土各地的战俘转移中心），用于保障安全、安排劳动及情报问询。

Processing, uses, and treatment

处理、用途与待遇

Interrogation and intelligence: POWs were intensively debriefed for intelligence about later-war operations, POW locations, and war crimes.
Labor: Under the Geneva Convention (applied de facto by the U.S.), able-bodied POWs performed non-dangerous labor—camp maintenance, agriculture, construction. Labor assignments assisted occupation logistics and local economies in the Pacific.

审讯与情报获取：战俘接受了密集的情报问询，内容涉及战争后期行动、其他战俘关押地点及战争罪行等信息。
劳动安排：根据《日内瓦公约》（美国实际执行该公约），身体健全的战俘从事非危险性劳动，包括营地维护、农业生产、建筑施工等。这些劳动任务为太平洋地区的占领后勤保障及当地经济提供了支持。

War crimes investigation: Some POWs were screened, detained, and transferred for prosecution if suspected of war crimes; others provided testimony against Japanese personnel.
Medical care and subsistence: POWs received medical treatment and rations; mortality among those held by the U.S. was relatively low compared with other theaters.

战争罪行调查：部分战俘经筛查后，若涉嫌战争罪则被拘留并移交起诉；另有部分战俘提供了指证其他日本人员的证词。
医疗与生活保障：战俘获得了医疗救治与口粮供应，与其他战区相比，美军关押的战俘死亡率相对较低。

Repatriation timeline and procedures
Immediate repatriation (late 1945): Priority returns began in autumn–winter 1945. Repatriation used U.S. troopships and commercial vessels converted for passenger use. The first organized large-scale shipments left the Philippines and Pacific islands in late 1945.

遣返时间表与流程
即时遣返（1945年末）：优先遣返行动于1945年秋冬季节启动，使用美军运输船及改装为客运用途的商船。首批有组织的大规模遣返船只于1945年末从菲律宾及太平洋岛屿出发。

Continued repatriation (1946): Most POW transfers to Japan occurred during 1946 as ocean shipping capacity increased and occupation authorities organized reception, demobilization, and reintegration programs.
Final transfers (1947): Some POWs remained later because of medical grounds, pending legal processes (war crimes investigations or trials), or administrative delays; these were repatriated through 1947. By mid–late 1947 the bulk of U.S.-held Japanese POWs had been returned.

持续遣返（1946年）：1946年是战俘遣返日本的主要阶段，此时海运运力提升，占领当局也组织了接收、复员及重新融入社会的相关计划。
最终遣返（1947年）：部分战俘因健康原因、未决法律程序（战争罪调查或审判）或行政延误而滞留，这些人在1947年期间逐步被遣返。至1947年中后期，美军关押的大部分日本战俘已全部遣返完毕。

Exceptions: Japanese held by the Soviet unx were not repatriated until 1946–1949 (and many stayed longer); those held by Chinese Nationalist or communist forces had varied, longer fates.
Refusal to return, asylum, and staying in the U.S.

特殊情况：苏联关押的日本战俘直至1946年至1949年间才开始遣返（部分人滞留时间更长）；被中国国民党或gcd军队关押的战俘则有着各不相同且更为漫长的命运。
拒绝返回、寻求庇护与滞留美国

Formal asylum requests: Very few Japanese POWs formally sought asylum or attempted to immigrate directly from POW status. U.S. immigration law, security checks, and the postwar atmosphere made formal asylum from enemy combatant status highly unusual and practically difficult.

正式庇护申请：极少数日本战俘以战俘身份正式申请庇护或直接尝试移民美国。美国移民法、安全审查制度及战后社会氛围，使得敌方战斗人员申请正式庇护的情况极为罕见，且实际操作难度极大。

Refusal or desertion: Small numbers attempted to hide or evade repatriation in the immediate postwar chaos, sometimes blending into local populations in Southeast Asia or the Philippines before later being rounded up or repatriated. Cases of deliberate refusal to repatriate to Japan while in U.S. custody were exceptional.
Post-repatriation immigration: Some former Japanese servicemen later emigrated to the United States through standard immigration channels in the 1950s–1960s (family reunification, work, or as students), but that was distinct from seeking asylum as POWs.

拒绝遣返或逃匿：战后初期的混乱中，有少数人试图藏匿以逃避遣返，部分人融入东南亚或菲律宾的当地族群，最终仍被抓获或遣返。在美军关押期间蓄意拒绝返回日本的案例极为特殊。
遣返后移民：部分前日本军人于20世纪50至60年代通过标准移民渠道（家庭团聚、工作或留学）移民美国，但这与战俘身份期间寻求庇护截然不同。

Notable exceptions and anecdotes:

特殊案例与轶事：

Isolated individuals: A few Japanese soldiers who surrendered late or were left in remote areas avoided capture entirely and later “surrendered” to civilians or municipal authorities; on rare occasions, individuals expressed desire to remain abroad but lacked legal means.
POWs who cooperated with Allies (e.g., providing interrogation assistance) sometimes received more favorable treatment, faster repatriation, or assisted emigration later, but systematic offers of asylum were not a common policy.

孤立个人案例：有少数投降较晚或被遗弃在偏远地区的日本士兵未被抓获，后来向平民或地方当局“投降”；极少数人表达了滞留海外的意愿，但缺乏合法途径。
与盟军合作的战俘（如提供审讯协助者）有时会获得更优厚的待遇、更快的遣返速度，或在日后获得协助移民的机会，但系统性提供庇护并非普遍政策。

Legal and political context

法律与政治背景

Geneva Convention principles: The U.S. broadly observed POW protections under the 1929 Geneva Convention (housing, labor, medical care, repatriation when hostilities ceased).
Occupation policy: U.S. occupation authorities prioritized orderly demobilization and return of combatants to decrease security burdens and aid Japan’s postwar reconstruction under Allied supervision.
Security concerns: Screening for war-crimes culpability, fanaticism, or potential security risk delayed or redirected some POWs into trials or internment, accounting for part of the staggered repatriation.

《日内瓦公约》原则：美国普遍遵守1929年《日内瓦公约》中关于战俘保护的规定（包括住宿、劳动、医疗保障及敌对行动停止后的遣返）。
占领政策：美国占领当局将战斗人员的有序复员与遣返列为优先事项，以减轻安全负担，并在盟军监督下助力日本战后重建。
安全考量：对战犯罪责、狂热分子及潜在安全风险的筛查，导致部分战俘的遣返被延误或转而接受审判/拘留，这也是遣返工作分阶段进行的部分原因。

Practical reasons repatriation was the norm
Logistics and cost: Maintaining and guarding large POW populations overseas was expensive and burdensome compared with organized return.
Japanese government and families: Repatriation was practical for restoring citizens to their families and for occupation-era rebuilding.
Diplomatic norms: International expectations favored repatriation of captured personnel after hostilities.

遣返成为主流的实际原因
后勤与成本：与有组织的遣返相比，在海外维持和看守大量战俘成本高昂且负担沉重。
日本政府与家庭：遣返有助于公民重返家庭，也为占领时期的重建工作提供了便利。
外交惯例：国际社会普遍期望敌对行动停止后遣返被俘人员。

Summary
Most Japanese POWs held by American forces were processed, used for non-dangerous labor and intelligence debriefing, screened for war-crimes ties, and repatriated in organized waves from late 1945 through 1947. Formal asylum requests or refusals to return were rare; a handful of isolated cases tried to evade repatriation or later emigrated via ordinary immigration channels, but no significant movement of POWs remaining in the U.S. against repatriation occurred.

总结
美军关押的大多数日本战俘均经过处理、从事非危险性劳动、接受情报问询、接受战争罪关联筛查，并于1945年末至1947年间通过有组织的批次遣返回国。正式申请庇护或拒绝遣返的情况极为罕见，仅有少数孤立案例试图逃避遣返或日后通过常规移民渠道移民，但并未出现大规模战俘抗拒遣返而滞留美国的情况。