1986 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
SOME DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THEORIES AND PRACTICES CONCERNING THE RULES OF LEGAL PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS AS OBSERVED IN JAPAN DURING THE WORLD WAR II --- A CASE-STUDY COMPARING CASES OF JAPANESE NON-COMBATANTS OF OKINAWA and those of main islands in the world war ii---
| Project/Area Number |
60520013
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Public law
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| Research Institution | KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
KODERA SAYOKO KAGOSHIMA UNIVERSITY, 法文学部, 教授 (10084120)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1985 – 1986
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| Keywords | The Battle of Okinawa / Protection of War Victims / Non-combatants / Civilians / Peaceful Population / Non-belligerents / 平和的人民 / 非交戦者 / 国際人道法 |
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| Research Abstract |
As it is shown in the Title of this Research Project, at the time of application for this grant-in-aid, the writer intended to study on discrepancies, if any, between theories and practices concerning the rules of legal protection of civilians as observed in Japan during the WWII and to describe them in comparison of the cases of war-victims in Okinawa with those in main islands of Japan. It soon, however, has come to be clear that the above mentioned comparison is not possible, since the most part of war casualties caused to Okinawa people resulted from land-warfare, while there was no land-warfare existed in main islands. Therefore, this report deals only with the cases of Okinawa people.
The report consists of six parts; Prologue, four Chapters and Epilogue. In Prologue, the state in which Japan was at the last stage of the WWII in the Pacific Area is stated, referring to various documents of Japan and the United States (official as well as non-official) issued during war and in post
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-war time. In the following Chapter <I> , the progress of the Battle of Okinawa is studied, in an effort to find out some pursuasive reasons why nearly 100,000 civilians of Okinawa had to be killed during this Battle which lasted for only three months. In the Chapter <II> , this writer tries to describe, as precisely as possible, rules and principles of the International Law (written and unwritten) relating to the legal status of:combatants and non-combatants.
Among various causes of death of civilians of Okinawa, there are cases in which they were killed not in ordinary warfare but by soldiers intentionally. The Chapter <III> which deals with this incredible scandals is divided into two sections; in the former of which the writer treats the cases of civilians killed by Japanese soldiers, while in the latter those killed by Amdrican soldiers. The question of whether these killings are lawful under the Law of War has also been dicussed in this Chapter. In the following Chapter <IV> , some other legal problems which sound to this writer to have concern with these civilians' death are studied. And in Epilogue, the writer tries to sum up reasons for civilians' casualties in Okinawa which she has come to find out as a result of this research, one of which being the fact of utter disregard of fundamental rules of the Law of War on the part of Japanese Army. Due to lack of governmental efforts to disseminate humanitarian rules of the Law of War then in effect, most of the Japanese nationals, both soldiers and civilians, were too ignorant of these rules. In this writer's opinion, it is this ignorance that brought about such a great number of losses of civilians' lives in Okinawa. Less
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