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Unit 731’s official name was ‘Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army’ but their actual work had nothing to do with safeguarding health and security. This biological and chemical warfare research development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army actually started epidemics and polluted rivers with human remains. Based at the Pingfang district […]
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties and three additional protocols which establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. Basically, the treaties define the basic rights of wartime prisoners for both civilians and military personnel. In other words, just because you have conquered a country, it doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you […]
Kempeitai or also known as Kenpeitai was the infamous Japanese military police from 1881 to 1945. In Japanese-occupied territories, this police force was in charge of arresting and executing those who were suspected of being anti-Japanese. They were notorious for their brutal treatment of prisoners during World War II (WWII). Many historians refer to them […]
World War Two (WWII) brought a lot of changes into the world including the food that we eat. During the war, food supply was low in Japanese-occupied Asian countries because priority was given to the military. There were even incidents of animal captives in zoos being sacrificed for Japanese military food. When people are pushed […]
When humans decide to start a war, there is always a price to pay. Other than innocent lives, the environment and the animals are the casualties of war which are often overlooked. Looking back in history, here are five sad stories on what happened to some animals during World War II (WWII): 1.The British pet […]
Sandakan No. 8 (1974) is a Japanese film directed by Kei Kumai which focused on the ‘karayuki-san’. ‘Karayuki-san’ is the Japanese term for young women forced into sexual slavery in the 19th and early 20th century. Directly translated, it means ‘Ms. Gone-To-China’, although it was expanded to ‘Ms. Gone-Abroad’ as it saw these young women […]
If you are not familiar with silent vloggers, they are the ones who do not talk to the camera but communicate via subtitles. They film themselves doing their normal daily activities such as cooking and cleaning. Over the years, many silent vloggers have started to pop up on YouTube especially from South Korea and Japan. […]
Nothing sums up ‘fusion food’ better than yōshoku. Yōshoku is a Western-influenced cooking style of Japanese food. Most of these dishes originated during the Meiji Restoration era (1868 to 1912) when the Meiji Emperor opened its border to foreign ideas and trading. During that time, the Emperor lifted the ban on red meat and promoted […]
The Borneo campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II (WWII) to liberate Japanese-held Borneo. One of the combats that took place during the campaign was Battle of Beaufort in 1945. Located about 90 kilometers south of Kota Kinabalu, the town of Beaufort […]
Different cultures have their own versions of almost the same mythical creature, which is almost always inspired by the same animal. Take the fox, for example. Although there are some variations in their depictions, the fox often appears in the folklore of many cultures. Typically, they are known as symbols of cunning and trickery, especially […]
