You cannot conclude the history of WWII in Japan without mentioning Mutsuhiro Watanabe who served his home country as a corporal in the Imperial Japanese Army. His assigned responsibility throughout the war was to serve in many POW camps, including Omori, Naoetsu, now known as Jōetsu, Niigata, Mitsushima, now called Hiraoka, as well as the third POW camp. stationed in Yamakita.
After his home country was defeated in battle, Mutsuhiro Watanabe was branded a war criminal for the brutal treatment he inflicted on defenseless POWs. It happened that the American occupation authorities failed to bring him to court because he had gone into hiding quickly and had never been brought to trial.
Mutsuhiro Watanabe – Biography
Mutsuhiro Watanabe was born in his home country of Japan on January 18, 1918, his father’s identity has remained secret, but his mother has been identified as Shizuka Watanabe who raised him alongside his five siblings, including his older sister Michiko. His family was known to be wealthy and he grew up in luxury.
After the end of World War II, his name was on General Douglas MacArthur’s list of most wanted Japanese criminals in 1945, but he escaped trial and later in 1956, Bungeishunjū – Japanese Literary Magazine had an exclusive interview with Mutsuhiro Watanabe with the title “I don’t want to be judged by America” Later in life, he joined another profession of insurance salesman, which brought him both wealth and recognition. Before the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagamo, the 60-minute television program of the Canadian television network CBS organized an interview with Mutsuhiro Watanabe, at the Okura hotel in Tokyo,
Mutsuhiro Watanabe admitted to abusing prisoners in the interview but showed no remorse, saying he only treated those prisoners as enemies of his home country. Even Zamperini’s attempt to meet him was aborted by the POW’s former guard.
Facts about Mutsuhiro Watanabe, Japanese Army Corporal in World War II
Family history
Mutsuhiro Watanabe came from one of the wealthy As a patriotic citizen in Japan, he enlisted in the Japanese army after graduation hoping to recruit him as an officer with the influence of his wealthy name of family, but the Army ignored his last name and enlisted him as a corporal.
Trivia
Outside the military, Mutsuhiro Watanabe had an interest in insurance; he was an agriculturist with a healthy respect for occupation. However, family is very important to him because, according to his claims, he had to put his life on the line to keep his family and the people he cared for alive and well.
His brutal reputation
He was nicknamed Mu-cchan by his family members and bird by his victims in the POW camps who considered him one of the most vicious guards in the history of the Japanese military, with his form of punishment that was seen as callous, ruthless and brutal. The account of his activities in POW camps revealed that he punched a prisoner in the face every night continuously for two weeks and used a patient suffering from an appendectomy to practice judo. The constant blows he inflicted on his victims left mortal wounds. He would also have tied a prisoner of about sixty years to a tree for three days and allegedly ordered a certain officer to undress and sit in a cabin for four days. during the cold winter.
The net worth of Mutsuhiro Watanabe
After leaving the military, the former POW guard joined the insurance business as a salesman and became wealthy in the process. Although his net worth was never listed, his apartment in Tokyo was worth $1.5 million; he also owned a vacation condo located on the Gold Coast of Australia
Death and Legacy
Despite all his crimes, Mutsuhiro Watanabe led a long and prosperous life and died in his 80s on April 1, 2003. His life story sparked the publication of a book and several films.
Media works
Several filmmakers and authors have portrayed Watanabe’s cruelty in their projects, including the Angelina Jolie film titled Unbroken in which the character of the war criminal was portrayed by Miyavi – a singer and actor of Japanese descent. Louis Zamperini – an Olympian track athlete is one of its victims and tells his story in a book by Laura Hillenbrand titled Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption. Another film made in his name was Ali Sen The Devil at My Heels