Were POWs mistreated at Aso Mining?
In any case, since Prime Minister Aso himself has conceded that Aso Mining did use POWs at the Yoshikuma coal mine, the problem of establishing this fact has been solved. The next question is, “Were those POWs abused?” International law permits making POWs engage in labor, but unless humane living and working conditions are provided, international law becomes violated. By verifying the situation according to the various records discussed above, the following points become clear. Fukuoka POW Branch Camp 26 was surrounded by a fence that was three meters high and the compound contained six buildings for housing prisoners. The newly constructed buildings were not bad. There was no violence by guards such as severe mass punishments; camp supervision was better than what the POWs previously experienced at the Kobe Kawasaki Shipyard or in Singapore. (But some POWs did testify that they were beaten; face slapping was common behavior for Japanese guards and must have been rampant.) Harsh labor
