Hiroshi Abe (war criminal)

Hiroshi Abe (born ca. 1922) is a former Japanese soldier. As a first lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, he supervised construction of the Burma Railway at Songkrai. Over three thousand British Commonwealth prisoners of war died under his supervision.[1]

Abe was sentenced to death as a B/C class war criminal and imprisoned in Changi Prison. In 1948, his sentence was commuted to 15 years. He was released in 1957.

"The construction of the railway was in itself a war crime. For my part in it, I am a war criminal."[2]

In 1995, Abe testified against the Japanese government in a lawsuit seeking compensation for Koreans in Japan during World War II. "This was probably the first time for a former Japanese officer to testify in court in the trial of war compensation issues."[3]

External links

References

  1. ^ Death Row at Changi Prison. Oral History by Abe Hiroshi. Published in Japan At War - An Oral History. Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook. New York Press, 1992. ISBN 1565840399
  2. ^ Statement by Hiroshi Abe, as quoted by Tony Lloyd in the British House of Commons. Transcript
  3. ^ Proceedings at the prefectural court and the lower-court judgement (1991-1996). Support Group For Ex-Korean BC Class War Criminals Who Were Held Responsible In Place Of Japanese.