This is an incomplete list of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese-run military
prisoner-of-war and
civilian
A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
internment
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
and
concentration camps
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
during World War II. Some of these camps were for
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
(POW) only. Some also held a mixture of POWs and civilian internees, while others held solely civilian internees.
Camps in the Philippines
*
Cabanatuan
Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan (; ; kapampangan language, Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Cabanatuan''), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Acco ...
*
Davao Prison and Penal Farm
*
Camp O'Donnell
*
Los Baños
*
Santo Tomas Internment Camp
*
Bilibid Prison
*
Puerto Princesa Prison Camp
*
Camp John Hay
*
Camp Holmes Internment Camp
* Camp Manganese, Guindulman, Bohol
* Camp Malolos, Bulacan
Camps in Malaya and the Straits Settlements (Singapore)
*
Changi Prison
Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...
, Singapore
*
Selarang Barracks, Singapore
*
River Valley Camp, Singapore
*
Blakang Mati, Sentosa, Singapore
*
Outram Road Prison, Singapore
* Sime Road, Singapore
* No 2 and no 5 detached camp,
Port Dickson, Malaya
* No 1 detached camp,
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, Malaya - possibly
Pudu Prison
*
Unit 9420
Camps in Formosa (Taiwan)
*
Kinkaseki#1
*
Taichu#2 (Taichung)
*
Heito#3 (Pingtung)
*
Shirakawa#4 (Chiayi)
*
Taihoku#5 Mosak (Taipei)
*
Taihoku#6 (Taipei)
*
Karenko (Hualien)
*
Tamazato (Yuli)
*
Kukutsu (Taipei)
*
Oka (Taipei)
*
Toroku (Touliu)
*
Inrin (Yuanlin)
*
Inrin Temporary (Yuanlin)
*
Takao (Kaohsiung)
*
Churon (Taipei)
*
Tiahokum (Taipei)
*
Giran (Yilan)
Camps in British Borneo (Brunei and East Malaysia)
*
Batu Lintang camp (Batu Lintang, Kuching)
*
Jesselton camp (Kota Kinabalu)
*
Sandakan camp (Sandakan)
Camps in China
*
Ash Civilian Assembly Center (Shanghai)
*
Chapei Civilian Assembly Center (Shanghai)
*
Columbia Country Club Civilian Assembly Center (Shanghai)
* Fengtai Prison
* Kiangwang POW Camp
*
Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center (Shanghai)
* Lushun (Port Arthur) POW Camp
*
Unit 1855 (Beijing)
*
Unit 1644 (Nanjing)
*
Unit 8604 (Guangzhou)
*
Unit 543 (Hailar District)
* Wusong POW Camp (
Wusong, Shanghai)
*
Weixian Civil Assembly Center (, near
Weifang
Weifang ( zh, s=潍坊, t=濰坊, p=Wéifāng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao ...
)
* Yu Yuen Road Civilian Assembly Center (Shanghai)
*
Yangtzepoo Civilian Assembly Center (Shanghai)
*
Zikawei Camp
Camps in Manchuria
*
Hoten Camp
* Harbin Camp
* Mukden POW Camp
*
Unit 731
, short for Manchu Detachment 731 and also known as the Kamo Detachment and the Ishii Unit, was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that engaged in lethal human experimentat ...
*
Unit 100
was an Imperial Japanese Army facility called the Kwantung Army Warhorse Disease Prevention Shop that focused on the development of biological weapons during World War II. It was operated by the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police. Its h ...
*
Unit 516
*
Zhongma Fortress
Camps in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)
Japanese Internment Camps in
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
(now
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
):
* (3 camps),
Rantau Prapat, North Sumatra
*
Ambon (Ambon Island)
*
Ambarawa (2 camps), Central
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
*
Balikpapan POW camp,
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...
(Dutch Borneo)
*
Bangkong, Semarang, Central Java
* , Central Java
*
Bicycle Camp, Batavia, West Java
*
Berastagi
Berastagi (), is a town and district of Karo Regency situated on a crossroads on the main route linking the Karo highlands of Northern Sumatra to the coastal city of Medan. Berastagi town is located around south of Medan and about above se ...
, North Sumatra
*
Fort van den Bosch,
Ngawi, East Java
*
Glodok Gaol, Glodok, a suburb of Batavia, West Java
* (Glugur),
Medan
Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
, North Sumatra
*
Grogol
Grogol is an urban administrative village in the Grogol Petamburan Districts of Indonesia, subdistrict of West Jakarta, Indonesia. The triangle-shaped administrative village is bounded by the Jakarta Flood Canal, West Flood Canal to the east, Jak ...
, Batavia, West Java
* , near
Makassar
Makassar ( ), formerly Ujung Pandang ( ), is the capital of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, ...
, South
Celebes (today Sulawesi)
*
Kampoeng Makasar, Meester Cornelis, West Java
*
Camp Kareës,
Bandung
Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
, West Java
*
Koan School,
Batavia (today
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
), West Java
*
Lampersari, Semarang, Central Java
*
Makasoera, Celebes
*
Moentilan, Magelang, Central Java
* (5 camps) (Pulo Brayan),
Medan
Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
, North Sumatra
*
Pontianak POW camp,
Pontianak
Pontianak, also known as Khuntien in Teochew and Hakka, is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded first as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 118.21 km2 in the delta of the Kapuas R ...
(Dutch
Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
) (today
Kalimantan
Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
)
*
Si Rengo Rengo (Siringo-ringo),
Labuhanbatu, North Sumatra
*
Tandjong Priok POW camp,
Tandjong Priok, Batavia, West Java
*
Tebing Tinggi, North Sumatra
*
Tjideng, Batavia, West Java
*
Tjibaroesa, Buitenzorg (now part of
Bekasi
Bekasi (, ) is the
List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta. It serves as a commuter town, commuter city within the Jakarta m ...
), West Java
*
Klapanoenggal, Buitenzorg, West Java
* Tjimahi (6 camps), West Java
*
Usapa Besar,
Timor
Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...
Camps in Thailand and Burma (Myanmar)
*
Anakwin
*
Apalon (82 Kilo Camp)
*
Aungganaung (105 Kilo Camp)
*
Ban Kao
*
Ban Pong
Ban Pong (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Ratchaburi province, Thailand. It is in the northeast of the province.
Geography
Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Tha Muang district, Tha Muang and Tha Maka district, Tha Maka of Ka ...
*
Chungkai
*
Hellfire Pass
Hellfire Pass (, known by the Japanese people, Japanese as ''Konyu Cutting'') is the name of a railway cutting on the former Burma Railway ("Death Railway") in Thailand, which was built with forced labour during World War II. More than 250,000 ...
*
Hintok
*
Kanchanaburi
*
Khonkhan (55 Kilo Camp)
*
Konkoita
*
Konyu
*
Mezali (70 Kilo Camp)
*
Nakhon Nayok
Nakhon Nayok is a capital of Nakhon Nayok province in the central region of Thailand.
The town ('' thesaban mueang'') covers Nakhon Nayok subdsitrict (''tambon'') and parts of Tha Chang, Ban Yai, Wang Krachom, and Phrommani subdistricts, Mueang ...
*
Niki Niki
*
Nong Pladuk
*
Paya Thanzu Taung (108 Kilo Camp)
*
Rephaw (30 Kilo Camp)
*
Sonkrai (Songkurai)
*
Tamarkan
*
Tampi
*
Tarsao
*
Taungzun (60 Kilo Camp)
*
Tha Kanun (Takanun)
*
Thanbaya (53 Kilo Camp)
*
Thanbyuzayat
Thanbyuzayat (; , "Reid, Robert and Grosberg, Michael (2005) ''Myanmar (Burma)'' (9th edition) Lonely Planet Publications, Footscray, Victoria, Australiapage 159 ) is a town in the Mon State of south-eastern Myanmar. It is the administrative cente ...
*
Three Pagodas Pass
*
Wang Pho
Camps in New Guinea
*
Rabaul
Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...
* Oransbari - Civilian internment camp. Alamo Scouts liberated a family of 14 Dutch-Indos, a family of 12 French, and 40 Javanese on 5 Oct 1944. Zedric, Lance Q. Silent Warriors: The Alamo Scouts Behind Japanese Lines (Pathfinder 1995).
Camps in Portuguese (East) Timor
*
Baucau
*
Dili
Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...
Camps in Korea
*
Inchon
*
Seoul (Keijō)
*
Hamhung
Hamhŭng (''Hamhŭng-si''; ) is North Korea's List of cities in North Korea, second-most populous city, the capital of South Hamgyong, South Hamgyŏng Province and the 16th largest city in the Korea, Korean Peninsula. Located in the southern part ...
Camps in Hong Kong
*
Argyle Street Camp
*
Ma Tau Chung Camp
*
Ma Tau Wai Camp
*
North Point Camp
North Point Camp was a Japanese World War II Prisoner-of-war camp in North Point, Hong Kong which primarily held Canadian and Royal Navy, Royal Naval prisoners.
History
Built by the Hong Kong government as a refugee camp before the war, it w ...
*
Sham Shui Po Camp
*
Stanley Internment Camp
Camps in the United States
*
Manenggon
Camps in Japan
See also
*
List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Australia
*
List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Canada
*
List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Italy
*
List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United Kingdom
*
References
External links
Fairly comprehensive list*
ttps://archive.today/20121220013943/http://home.comcast.net/~winjerd/CmpGroup.htm ALL-JAPAN POW CAMP GROUP HISTORYThe story of the Taiwan POWs*
ttp://www.powresearch.jp/en/archive/camplist/outside_index.html POW Research Network JapanMap of WWII Japanese POW campsOkinoyama – The Story of a Coal Mine John Oxley Library blog,
State Library of Queensland
State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...
. Includes digitised photographs of within the Okinoyama Prisoner of War Camp.
A comprehensive English-language site in Japan with exact opening/closure resp. renaming/reclassification dates of the various camps based on Japanese official sources which should be imported into the current listing:
Camps in Japan properjapanseburgerkampen.nl{{in lang, nl
Japanese POW Camps
Internment camps
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...
Human rights abuses in Japan