Japanese Prisoners of War in Australia and New Zealand: The Role of Japanese Officers in the Featherston and Cowra Incidents

Abstract

This brief research report discusses two controversial incidents during World War 2 involving Japanese military prisoners of war: one in New Zealand (Featherston) on February 25, 1943; the other in Australia (Cowra) on August 5, 1944. The author examines the role of Japanese officers in these events in order to assess the effects of imprisonment on the interaction between officers and their men. This examination is first set in the context of the decision-making process in Japanese society, with special emphasis on the concept of authority. The paper concludes that, despite the initial social disorganization of the Japanese prisoners and differing conditions in the two camps, the officers in both cases responded to the crisis situation by trying to reestablish the original hierarchical command structure. This finding may be of interest to those concerned with the behaviour of people from very cohesive societies when placed in unusually stressful foreign situations.