Internment by the Soviet Union: Japanese Detainees’ Tragic Deaths Should Not Be Forgotten

Editorial

15:00 JST, August 23, 2025

To prevent the mistakes of war from being repeated, it is important to preserve the records and memories of the tragedy. The suffering of Japanese people subjected to internment by the Soviet Union must not be forgotten.

On Aug. 23, a memorial service will be held at the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo to honor those who were detained by the Soviet Union after Japan’s surrender and subsequently died. We once again would like to pray for their souls.

On Aug. 9, 1945, the Soviet Union went to war against Japan, and on Aug. 23 of that year, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the transfer of 500,000 Japanese from Manchuria, now northeastern China, and other regions to be used as labor forces.

In fact, about 575,000 people were moved to the Soviet Union and Mongolia, which was then under Soviet control. It is estimated that about 55,000 people died due to extreme cold, starvation and forced labor.

This was not only inhumane but also clearly violated international norms governing the treatment of prisoners of war.

It is only natural for the families of those who died in detention to want to know how their loved ones died and where they were buried.

The Japanese government should urgently obtain as much information as possible from the records created by the Soviet Union and Mongolia regarding the detainees and work to identify those who died.

The government’s information-gathering efforts and research on burial sites have prioritized the former Soviet Union region, which was centered on Russia, as many Japanese nationals died there and records are relatively well-organized.

Currently, Russia, the successor of the Soviet Union, is waging aggression against Ukraine and forcibly relocating residents from occupied territories to its own country. This constitutes war crimes reminiscent of the internment of Japanese nationals by the Soviet Union. As a result, Japan has issued a travel advisory against Russia, making on-site research impossible.

About 14,000 Japanese were taken to Mongolia, of whom about 1,700 died. The Emperor and Empress visited Mongolia this summer to pay their respects to the victims.

A former staff writer of The Yomiuri Shimbun revealed that a Mongolian security agency was strictly controlling documents related to the internment of Japanese nationals. It is necessary to strengthen efforts, such as having the health, labor and welfare minister or other cabinet ministers directly request the director of the security agency that relevant information be disclosed.

The remains of about 32,000 detainees are still in former Soviet Union countries and Mongolia. Based on a 2016 law to facilitate the collection of the remains of war dead, the government is working to collect them not only in the former Soviet Union but also in such places as Southeast Asia and Pacific islands.

However, time is running out as the intensive collection period under the law only lasts through fiscal 2029. It is essential to seek cooperation from other governments to expand collection efforts and return as many of the remains as possible to the waiting families. This is the responsibility of the nation that mobilized soldiers and sent them to the battlefield.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 23, 2025)