TOKYO — Japan's foreign minister apologized Monday for the suffering of a group of former World War II prisoners of war visiting from the United States and said they were treated inhumanely.

The six POWs, their relatives and the daughters of two men who died are the first group of U.S. POWs to visit Japan with government sponsorship, though groups from other countries have been invited previously.

"I offer my deep, heartfelt apology for the inhuman treatment you suffered," Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told the group.

One of the former POWs, 90-year-old Lester Tenney, welcomed the apology.

Tenney was one of the Americans forced to surrender on April 9, 1942 after a four-month battle. The Japanese military ordered the 78,000 prisoners of war — 12,000 Americans and 66,000 Filipinos — to walk from the Bataan peninsula on the Philippine island of Luzon to a prison camp.

As many as 11,000 died during what became known as the Bataan Death March.

"When you have to watch your own friends get killed and you have to stand there and can't do a thing, it is awful," Tenney told The Associated Press. "It stays with you forever."

Tenney recounted the horrors during his three years as a POW: Working 12-hour days in a coal mine, barely surviving on three small bowls of rice a day. Medical conditions so dire an American medic amputated limbs with a steak knife, without anesthetics and men died in droves from disease.

Tenney also recalled watching as a Japanese guard order two Americans to bury a malaria-stricken mate alive because he was too weak to stand. When they refused, the guard shot one dead. The next Americans pulled from the line buried both soldiers — one dead, one alive and screaming.

Japan surrendered in 1945 after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japanese leaders have apologized for the country's militarist past many times, but the government contends that all reparations issues were settled by treaties after the war.

Japanese courts have also ruled that reparations issues must be dealt with on a country-to-country basis, but cases challenging that are pending in several courts.

After a short time in Tokyo, each POW will travel to a city of his choice. Some will visit the factories, docks or mines where they worked.

Despite the apology, Tenney said he still seeks recognition from the private companies that "used and abused" prisoners in their mines and factories, often under brutal conditions.

"At no time have we gotten from these private companies just a letter," Tenney said. "These private companies have kept quiet for 65 years. It is an insult, because by their keeping quiet they are hoping we will die off."

The companies have had no comment on the visit.

After enduring the Bataan Death March, Tenney was brought to Japan and forced to work for Mitsui Mining Co. — now Nippon Coke and Engineering Co. The company has ignored his requests to meet, and he said he does not plan to visit the site of his forced labor.

Tenney and his wife, Betty, will instead visit the grave of a Japanese man in Matsuyama who stayed with them as an exchange student in San Diego, California, in 1968 and became a close friend. The Tenneys went to Japan for the man's wedding in 1988 and joined the newlyweds on their honeymoon.

Tenney taught accounting and finance at San Diego State and Arizona State universities after the war. He now resides in San Diego.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id...ld_news-asiapacific/

Now we need to hear from the Chinese for their torture of our POWs during the Korean War. They used our soldiers and Marines as guinea pigs for experiments. And what about accounting for the 8,100 still MIA since Korea? Yet we trade with them, borrow money from them and they laugh at us.

My Uncle JD died a premature death because of the Chinese treatment in a POW camp. He was captured at the Chosin Reservoir and forced to march to the Yalu River in temperatures that approached 40 below zero. At least the Japanese are civilized enough to apologize. Poor Uncle Jake survived Saipan, Iwo Jima, the Inchon landing only to get captured and tortured by the Chinese. We thought he died at Chosin and we didn't learn he survived until three months after the Korean War ended in July, 1953. My grandma died about five months after he returned. He must be rolling in his grave right now.

[This message has been edited by starlightcoupe (edited 09-13-2010).]

quote Originally posted by starlightcoupe: Now we need to hear from the Chinese for their torture of our POWs during the Korean War. They used our soldiers and Marines as guinea pigs for experiments. And what about accounting for the 8,100 still MIA since Korea? Yet we trade with them, borrow money from them and they laugh at us.

Agreed.

quote Originally posted by starlightcoupe: He was captured at the Chosin Reservoir and forced to march to the Yalu River in temperatures that approached 40 below zero.

My father also did time at "The Frozen Chosin".

During WWII the Chinese people were slaughtered whole villages at a time by the Japanese for hiding our soldiers, who had to ditch their plane.
Yet the Chinese government did horrific things to our boys ten years later.
The Japanese enslaved and tortured the Chinese people in WWII for their war efforts against us, yet there has never been an apology to the Chinese people.
The Japanese government owes the Chinese people, and the Chinese government owes the American people.
I vent my anger on the governments, not the people.

Frankly, I just don't get it. I know many of the guys who were held as POW's, (my dad is editor of The Quan, a publication for the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregador) and I've met many former POWs at various functions, including the grand opening of a spectacular display of WWII memorabilia (maybe one of the biggest and best in the country) that's maintained by my dad and his wife (not my mom) that's kept at the Wellsburg Library where she is the director. A guy by the name of Ed Jackfert has been pushing for this apology really hard. Now, don't get me wrong, generally I have a lot of respect for most of these guys, but I really think the whole "you owe me an apology" thing is just so whiny. Most of these guys I know are pretty stoic and of the attitude that that was yesterday, this is today, get on with your life. But others for whatever reason seem to think that having people from Japan who weren't there and had nothing to do with their treatment offering up a coerced apology is somehow going to make them feel better. Just a little baffling to me.

quote Originally posted by partfiero: The Japanese enslaved and tortured the Chinese people in WWII for their war efforts against us, yet there has never been an apology to the Chinese people.

I accidentally used Japanese instead of Chinese while talking to a Chinese woman at work and boy was she pissed. The hatred is still strong between the two races due to the inhuman atrocities. As for Americans I used to hear comments from older veterans saying, "I'll never buy anything Japanese."

quote Originally posted by madcurl: I accidentally used Japanese instead of Chinese while talking to a Chinese woman at work and boy was she pissed. The hatred is still strong between the two races due to the inhuman atrocities. As for Americans I used to hear comments from older veterans saying, "I'll never buy anything Japanese."

I always ask what is their nationality is to be safe, never guess it.
Once asked a Taiwanese if he was Chinese and he got pissed.
Like you can tell whether a Chinese person is from Taiwan or China or Hong Kong or here.
I was in China when the Japanese government issued their official statement on WWI to the Chinese government, live on TV.
There was no apology for the slaughter of the Chinese people.
There were massive protests in the streets right afterwords.
Not long after that some Japanese business men beat up some Chinese prostitutes they had order up for the evening.
Another mass protest by the Chinese.
The Japanese government issued an apology to the Chinese over that, but still not for the Chinese they slaughtered.
Bad blood.

quote Originally posted by Taijiguy: Frankly, I just don't get it. I know many of the guys who were held as POW's, (my dad is editor of The Quan, a publication for the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregador) and I've met many former POWs at various functions, including the grand opening of a spectacular display of WWII memorabilia (maybe one of the biggest and best in the country) that's maintained by my dad and his wife (not my mom) that's kept at the Wellsburg Library where she is the director. A guy by the name of Ed Jackfert has been pushing for this apology really hard. Now, don't get me wrong, generally I have a lot of respect for most of these guys, but I really think the whole "you owe me an apology" thing is just so whiny. Most of these guys I know are pretty stoic and of the attitude that that was yesterday, this is today, get on with your life. But others for whatever reason seem to think that having people from Japan who weren't there and had nothing to do with their treatment offering up a coerced apology is somehow going to make them feel better. Just a little baffling to me.

Actually, I don't think words of an apology have any real meaning. Words are cheap but deeds speak volumes. Where are the 400-500 Americans who died or disappeared in North Korean and Chinese POW camps? What happened to them? They were seen alive and in good health but were taken from the camp and never returned. Some were truck drivers, others were pilots, navagators, infantrymen. Account for these missing as well as the other 8100 and they can keep their apologies.

My grandma nearly croaked when she heard that her second to youngest survived the Korean War because she had endured the grief of his death and was beginning to accept the fact that he would never return. I can still hear her wailing when she heard the news from the Marine Corps that he was alive and would be coming home. When she saw him missing toes and most of his left foot and part of his right hand, she cried for days.

Did the Chinese people or the Chinese government do this to my uncle and the other POWs? Some guards were actually humane while others were sadistic. The Chinese government allowed some Indian, Swedish and Swiss Red Cross visits but not enough to keep many POWs from dying. The Chinese government instituted the polices for care of the POWs but they were draconian and barely at survival levels. They were not and are not signatories of the Geneva Convention.

I remember my uncle and buy American whenever I can.