WAR RESPONSIBILITY--delving into the past (14) / More than 3.1 million Japanese died in Showa War

The Yomiuri Shimbun

According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the number of Japanese killed after the Sino-Japanese War started in 1937 stood at about 3.1 million.

They included 2.3 million servicemen and civilian employees who served for the military. Of them, 200,000 were killed on the mainland, and 2.1 million were killed on Okinawa Prefecture, Iwojima island and overseas.

Civilian war deaths are estimated at 800,000--500,000 killed in Japan and 300,000 overseas.

Since 1963, a memorial service to honor the war dead has been held every Aug. 15--the date in 1945 the Emperor announced over the radio the nation's surrender--at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan hall. Speeches by prime ministers and speakers of the House of Representatives at the services have mentioned the figure of "more than 3 million" war dead. This number is based on the ministry's figure.

The domestic war dead total of 500,000 was originally compiled by Taiheiyosen Zenkoku Sensaitoshi Kubaku Giseisha Irei Kyokai, a foundation for consoling the souls of air raid victims during the Pacific War, based on estimates by more than 100 local governments that were bombed in large-scale air raids.

However, many other municipalities were targets of smaller air raids during the war, so the actual figure should be much higher.

The government has not carried out detailed studies on casualties resulting from the atomic bombings and air raids. The number of civilian victims in Manchuria and other places abroad is not certain.

Because people were drafted into the armed forces and as civilian personnel through a notice called akagami, or red paper, because of its color, the government has been unable to calculate the actual number of Japanese war dead.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, which took over clerical work from the War and Navy ministries, has war dead figures by region, but only in units of hundreds or thousands.

Foreign military forces that fought against Japan in the Asia-Pacific region also suffered significant casualties.

According to research institutions under governments, parliaments and militaries of such countries, the United States suffered between 92,000 and 100,000 deaths, including 2,335 during the Pearl Harbor attack, 6,821 on Iwojima, 307 in the Battle of Midway and 12,520 during the Battle of Okinawa.

The Soviet Union recorded a total of 22,694 deaths, including civilians, in the war against Japan, including those in the Changkufeng Incident in 1938, the Nomonhan Incident in 1939 and the battles after its entry into World War II against Japan. Britain puts the number of war dead of both soldiers and civilians in the Asia-Pacific region at 29,968, and the Netherlands puts its toll at about 27,600.

The Chinese government puts the combined number of soldiers and civilians killed and wounded in the war with Japan at 35 million. China has not provided a breakdown for this figure.

However, a number of varying figures regarding China's casualties during the war against Japan have been put forward. Figures available in Japan have not been accepted as reliable.

According to historian Ikuhiko Hata, the original Chinese figure was based on one submitted by He Yingqin, defense minister of the Nationalist Chinese government, to the Tokyo Tribunal. He put the figure of military casualties at 3.208 million with 1.889 million killed and 1.319 million wounded.

But this figure has been inflated since then.

In 1985, China announced 21.685 million casualties among soldiers and civilians, with 12.215 million killed and 9.47 million wounded.

In 1995, then Chinese President Jiang Zemin said the number stood at 35 million.