Statement of Tetsusaburo Ito Related to Japanese Activities in Batangas in World War II

This page contains the testimony from one accused, Warrant Officer Tetsusaburo Ito, submitted as evidence in U.S.A. v Shumpei Hagino, et al., one of the war crimes trials conducted after the conclusion of World War II in the Pacific in 1945. This document was the record of a deposition likely held at a Japanese POW in Luzon. The pages contained herein are now declassified and were part of compiled documentation¹ of war crimes trials conducted by the United States Military Commission after the conclusion of World War II. This transcription has been corrected for grammar where necessary by Batangas History, Culture and Folklore. The pagination is as it was contained in the original document for citation purposes.

[p. 1]

STATEMENT OF ITO, TETSUSABURO

Q What is your name and rank?
A ITO, Tetsasuburo, Warrant Officer, Japanese Army.

Q What was your organization?
A I was with the Headquarters 2^nd Battalion, 17^th Regiment.

Q On what dates were you with the Headquarters, 2^nd Battalion?
A I’ve always been with the 2^nd Battalion but went with [the] Headquarters in February, 1945.

Q Did you go on any of the expeditions of the 2^nd Battalion against the Filipinos?
A Yes, I went to Taal in the latter part of February, 1945.

Q Will you name all those who you remember on this expedition to Taal?

A

1. Lt. TAKEMOTO, Kiyomi   2. Lt. HAGINO, SHUMPEI   3. W/O HOSAKA, Shinkichi   4. M/Sgt. KIMURA, Keiichi   5. W/O Sato   6. W/O KATO, Sadakatsu   7. W/O KOBAYASHI, Ichiro   8. W/O SASAKI, Umeo

9. W/O MONMA, Rikizo 10. 2nd Lt. FUKUOKA, Chiyokochi 11. M/Sgt. SUZUKI, Masaichi 12. S/Pvt. KAWAMURA, Yuijiro 13. S/Pvt. Ikeda 14. Pfc. SUZUKI, Eichi 15. Cpl. MATSUKI, Naosuke 16. L/Pvt. ENDO, Shoichi 17. L/Pvt. ENDA, Koiichi

Q How long did this expedition last?
A For three days.

Q Did you go out on the expeditions during this time?
A Yes, on each of the three days, I was with a platoon that had W/O HOSAKA, Shinkichi in charge.

Q What orders did you have?
A W/O Hosaka told us that Lt. Takemoto had ordered that everyone be killed. However, W/O Hosaka told us to kill just the men and not to harm the women and children.

Q Did the platoon you were with kill any Filipinos?
A Yes. During the three days, we saw about fifty or sixty Filipinos and we were able to shoot and kill about ten of these.

Q Did you kill any of these ten Filipinos?
A No.

Q Do you know Lt. Hagino?
A Yes.

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Q Did he participate in the killing of the Filipinos?
A Yes. On each of the three days of the expedition, I saw him leaving the billeting area with a platoon of about 20 men. Some of these men were armed with rifles, pistols and poles, and some were unarmed. After the expedition was over, I spoke with S/Pvt. Ikoda, S/Pvt. Kawamura and L/Pvt. Enda and they told me they were with Lt. Hagino’s platoon. They told me that this platoon killed a great number of Filipinos at Taal.

Q What do you know of the expedition to Bauan?
A I did not go on this expedition so I do not know what happened.

Q Do you know anything about other punitive expeditions?
A No.

2^nd Lt., INF (PA)

Photo taken during the war crimes trials in Manila.  Image credit:  U.S. National Archives.

Notes and references:
¹ “Statement of Tetsusaburo Ito, part of the documentation in U.S.A. v Shumpei Hagino, et al.,” part of the U.S. Military Commission compilation of war crimes documentation, online at the Internet Archive.