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As military sucess bgan to place greater demands on Japan's far-flung armed forces, the Japanese Prisoner of War Bureau, at the
request of the Japanese industrialists, hastened the transfer of American and other Allied POW's to Japan and other areas to replenish their labor pool. Most of the Japanese ships transporting POW's were old and unseaworthy. The conditions were shocking and inhumane. At least 25 ships carrying Allied prisoners of war were sunk due to enemy action. On these ships there were a total of 18,901 prisoners of war being transported. Of this total, 10,583 were determined to hav died because of submarine and air attacks--3,632 of them Americans. The number that died because of lack of food, sanitary conditions, medical supplies and attention, and brutal treatment by their Japanese captors has never been revealed. The death count of prisoners of war on these "HELL SHIPS" was astounding. Japanese records disclose that these ships had the ultimate destination of Japanese industialists to be used as "SLAVE LABOR". The following photos show the final destination of a most of these prisoners of war to be used as SLAVE LABOR by various Japanese industrialists.

HELL SHIPS USED TO TRANSPORT POW'S
TO JAPAN AND OTHER AREAS TO BE USED
AS SLAVE LABOR

Year Ship Number of POWs Camp

1942 Nagato Maru 1500 Osaka
1942 Tottori Maru 1992 Mukden
& Tokyo
1942 Shoun Maru 50 Osaka
1942 Tenshin Maru 50 Osaka
1943 Yuzan Maru 6 Taiwan
1943 Clide Maru 500 Fukuoka
1943 Kohho Maru 883 Fukuoka
1944 Kenwa Maru 200 Hokadate,
Tokyo,
Osaka. and Fukuoka
1944 Sekiho Maru 1024 Osaka,
Fukuoka
1944 Hokusen Maru 150 Osaka
1944 Nissho Maru 1539 Osaka, Fukuoka
1944 Noto Maru 1036 Tokyo, Fukuoka
1944 Hokusen Maru 1170 Taiwan
1945 Brazil Maru 581 Fukuoka
SHIPS SUNK TRANSPORTING POW"s
9/7/44 Shinyo Maru 750 200 Survived
10/19/44 Arisan Maru 1782 4 Survived
12/12/44 Oryoku Maru 1619 1311 Survived
1/9/45 Enoura Maru 1311 619 Survived

Coal Mine At Fukuoka, Japan

Mine at Hanoke, Japan

Slave Labor At A Zinc Smelter

Copper Mine At Akisa-Ken, Kasaka, Madri

Lead Mine At Kamioki

Ube Industries--Coal Mine Workers

Quite A Few Of The Industries That POW's
Performed Slave Labor For Are Now
Some Of The Largest InThe World

Noto Maru

Brazil Maru

There were over 62 Japanese Industries
That Used American POW Slave Labor

Oryoku Maru Sunk 12/12/44