Hiroshi Abe | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1922 |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan Japan |
| Service |  Imperial Japanese Army Japan Ground Self-Defense Force |
| Years of service | 1941-1952 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | Fifth Rail Regiment |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Hiroshi Abe (Japanese:阿部 宏; born c. 1922) was a Japanese soldier and a repenting war criminal. As a first lieutenant in theImperial Japanese Army's Fifth Rail Regiment duringWorld War II, he supervised construction of theBurma Railway atSongkurai. Over 600 Britishprisoners of war died under his supervision.[1][2]
Abe was sentenced to death by hanging as aB/C class war criminal and imprisoned inChangi Prison. In 1947, his sentence was commuted to 15 years. He was released in 1957.
"The construction of the railway was in itself a war crime. For my part in it, I am a war criminal."[3][4]
In 1995, Abe testified against the Japanese government in a lawsuit seeking compensation for Koreans in Japan during World War II. "This was probably the first time for a former Japanese officer to testify in court in the trial of war compensation issues."[5]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
 | This biographical article related to the military of Japan is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
