>>566526
Some reasons I have for the poor treatment for POWs by the IJA are as follows
>doctrine-wise, Japanese military planners saw POWs as an unnecessary burden in logistics
>Previous point is reflected in the Japanese position in 1929 Geneva Conventions regarding POWs with their reservation status, not signatory status
>POW camps during WW1 had been made and run to Hague Convention standards but where expensive to maintain
>Towards the middle part of the war, transporting POWs from the Pacific to the Home Islands was deadlier than keeping them there; of the 18,000+ troops attempted to be shipped to the Home Islands, 10,000+ had drowned
>Japanese military ethics had seen surrender as a shameful act, and this was reinforced in the late 30's during the rise of the Military in Japanese politics; as such POWs of foreign nations were treated with disdain through education
>Towards the end of the war, war planners had essentially given up on the Pacific (see Gyokusai Charges) to focus on their cores (Home Islands, Korea, Taiwan); Pacific garrisons did not receive enough supplies, and naturally, neither did the POWs
It is regrettable that the Japanese army treated the POWs so poorly, and if anything, those who had committed war crimes and those who didn't were sentenced in a military tribunal; about 1000 officers and soldiers were executed. My Great Uncle on both my Japanese and Australian sides of the families were involved with POWs. The former was a camp guard in Malaya or Singapore I've forgotten which, while the latter was held at one of these POW camps in Malaya or Singapore again, I don't know the specifics. Anyways, both of them had survived the war, but my Australian uncle had lost two fingers, and came back with a burning hatred for the Japanese, meanwhile my Japanese uncle had lost his wife, and both his children in a bombing raid on Tokyo. They both died of cancers in the late 50's, and this was only known later.
In response to your "Have you no humanity?" question, I will give you this. I don't care how war is waged, but I do care about how it can be avoided, or when it does regrettably happen, how it can be won. I may hate Curtis LeMay's fire bombing campaigns but his strategy worked; I may despise how Tojo Hideki had taught the men that dying for your country is better than living for it, but his doctrine created the most loyal soldiers seen in modern times. I prefer peace to war, as does any rational human being. But when war does start, it should be quick, brutal, and effective. Thus I personally have no qualms against the use of the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a tactic, as I would have done the same thing if I was a military planner. I, do however, hold a grudge against the American political and ideological leaders who knew that Japan was willing to surrender near unconditionally, with the sole condition being the protection of the Emperor yet utilising vague wording in the Potsdam Declaration.
On a side note, I highly suggest the TV mini-series "TOKYO TRIAL" - it's about the Far East Military Tribunal and features the different aspects of Japanese War Crimes, and the trial from the Judges points of view. I believe one of the judges was from the Netherlands, and is featured heavily in the series. You can get the torrent at nyaa https://nyaa.si/view/880632