The Thai Government and the Problem about the Japanese Prisoners of War after the End of the Second World War

Abstract

Objectives: This article studies the Thai government’s solution to the problems regarding Japanese prisoners of war after the Second World War.

Methods: This research employed a historical methodology to conduct an analysis of documentary data to produce a descriptive analytical report. The study places significant emphasis on utilizing primary evidence sourced from the National Archives of Thailand.

Results: This research found that right after the war, a large number of Japanese soldiers previously stationed in Thailand suddenly became Prisoners of War (POWs). The Thai Government, which was officially known as an ally to the Japanese army, was standing in an uncertain status between a winner and a loser, and therefore had to follow the demands of the Alliance. One of its demands was that the Thai government must take care of the Japanese POWs until they were repatriated.  Life of the Japanese POWs was difficult due to the government’s limited budget. Moreover, there were crimes committed by the Japanese POWs and crimes in which they were the victims. However, the relationship between Thailand and Japan was good after the war, unlike many Southeast Asian nations which were ferociously ruled by Japan during the War. This is why after the War, the Japanese government transferred the ownership of Japanese factories which had belonged to their private and the public sectors to Thailand. At the same time, the relationship between both nations was rapidly reconciled in the context of the Cold War in which the United States of America acted as the middleman.

Application of this study: This study provides a framework for the study of the history of Japanese prisoners of war during the post-World War II period.