Shozo Tominaga

Summary

Shozo Tominaga (富永 正三, Tominaga Shōzō, 1914 or 1915 – January 13, 2002)[1] was a Japanese war criminal turned peace activist.

Tominaga served in Manchuria during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In that time, he participated in many war crimes.[2] He served with the 39th Division, based in Hiroshima, and from July 1941 onward served in Central China.[3] Tominaga was captured during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945. As with many other Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union, he was interred in a harsh POW camp in Siberia. In 1950, he was handed over to People's Republic of China.[4]

Tominaga was released in 1957 and returned to Japan.[5] That same year, he co-founded a peace activist group[1]

In 2001, shortly prior to his death, he participated in the Japanese documentary film Japanese Devils (Riben guizi).[6]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Obituary: Shozo Tominaga. Japan Times, January 15, 2002
  2. ^ Reily et al., 305
  3. ^ Article about Tominaga
  4. ^ Cook, 463
  5. ^ Cook 40 says he left Japan in June 1941. Cook 468 says he arrived home 16 years later.
  6. ^ Data at IMDB

Sources edit

  • Cook, Haruko Taya; Theodore F. Cook (1992). Japan at War: An Oral History. New Press. ISBN 1-56584-039-9.
  • Reilly, Kevin Taya; Stephen Kaufman; Angela Bodino (2003). Racism: A Global Reader. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-7656-1059-0.

External links edit

  • "Recalling Japanese POWs' Life in Fushun" (China Daily August 25, 2005)