What did the Japanese do to British Prisoners of War?
The Japanese believed that it was a shame and disgrace to be captured and taken a prisoner of war and preferred to die rather then be captured. So they treated their prisoners of war badly, ill treated them, beat them, did not feed them if they did feed them the food was inadequate, in some camps the prisoners were worked to death. Most of the prisoners that survived the prison camps came out looking like skeletons. The Japanese did not believe in the Geneva Convention which protected prisoners of war. Some prisoners were sent to build the Burma-Thailand railway, prisoners of war and Asian labourers worked side by side to build the 260 mile railroad by hand. They were expected to work from dawn to dusk, ten days on and one day off, moving earth, building bridges, blasting through mountains and laying track. They survived on a meagre diet of rice and vegetables and illness was common. Prisoners suffered from malnutrition, ulcers and cholera. Around 61,000 prisoners were put to work on t
