Japanese war criminal confesses atrocities

Japanese World War II officer Hiroshi Hara's written confession, which was published on Monday, reveals atrocities including the burning and torturing of Chinese people.

According to the original document, available on the State Archives Administration (SAA) website, the Japanese army arrested about 1,000 Chinese people, including anti-Japanese operators across Rehe Province, in two major assaults in September and October of 1943.

Hara recalled that various methods of torture were used including bloating the stomachs of Chinese people with water or kerosene oil during interrogations.

He also wrote that atrocities such as killing, wounding and burning were carried out on people.

Additionally, in May 1937, Hara ordered searches of civilian houses in Tangyuan City where one of his soldiers shot a Chinese boy, who was seriously wounded and died later, according to the confession.

Hara served successively as guard division chief of the Inspection Department, and major general and chief of staff of the Railway Security Police Forces of the "Manchukuo" puppet state from 1933 to 1945.

This is the latest of 45 Japanese war criminal confessions the SAA plans to publish. The SAA has been issuing one a day since July 3.

The move follows denials of war crimes by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and right-wing politicians.