Murder, mayhem
and torture in wartime Asia. The book
opens by explaining the origins, organisation and roles of the Kempetai
apparatus, which exercised virtually unlimited power throughout the Japanese
Empire. The author reveals their criminal and collaborationist networks, which
extorted huge sums of money from hapless citizens and business. They ran the
Allied POW gulag system which treated captives with brutality and a complete
lack of mercy.
Other Kempetai activities included biological and chemical
experiments on live subjects, slave labour, including 'Comfort Women' drawn from
all races.
Their record of reprisals against military and civilians was
unrelenting. For example Colonel Doolittle's raid on Tokyo in 1942 resulted in
a campaign of revenge not just against captured airmen but thousands of Chinese
civilians. Their actions amounted to genocide on a grand scale.
Of particular distaste is the revelation of the Maruta vivisection
campaign.
The author backs up his text with first hand testimonies from those
survivors who suffered at the hands of this evil organization. He examines how
the guilty were bought to justice and the resulting claims for
compensation.
