6. Physical Abuse and Torture
Japanese POW guards regularly enforced discipline through brutal beatings and systematic torture. Survivors recount being struck for minor infractions, forced into painful stress positions, or subjected to cruel punishments. Such treatment starkly contrasted with the protocols in most Western POW camps, where the Geneva Convention’s protections were more likely to be observed. The constant threat of violence created an atmosphere of terror, further eroding prisoners’ physical and mental health.
