Committee of Inquiry into Treatment of British Subjects in Japanese Controlled Territory

A file of documents relating to a report produced by an enquiry into the treatment of British subjects in captivity in Japan. The file includes both the final report, and several earlier drafts, detailing Japanese violations of British diplomatic missions; the arrest of diplomatic personnel and British civilians; the seizure of private property and archives and documents; the conditions in which the British prisoners were held; details of the interrogation and torture of several British prisoners; and where known the names of the Japanese individuals involved. The report contains multiple eye-witness accounts, and also includes a detailed description of international law and practice on the treatment of diplomatic staff, comparing the Japanese behaviour to other examples in both World Wars, including Britain's treatment of German consular staff in Glasgow on the outbreak of war in 1939.