1. I would refer to the original communication which I have received from Lieutenant Ino Takeo of the Japanese Army which is attached hereto together with a copy thereof in English . . .
2. In this Lieutenant Ino Takeo asks to say something on his behalf as he is being tried for alleged War Crimes committed against Prisoners of War in his hands.
3. During the time that he was Commandant of the Camps containing Prisoners Of War in which I was the Senior Allied Officer he behaved much better than the great majority of Japanese Officers and I am prepared to say that he and one other were the only ones with whom I came in contact of whom I could say a good word.
4. It is quite correct, as he states in his letter to me, that he did use his influence to prevent beating and striking Prisoners of War, and as far as I know, he never struck any Prisoner of War himself.
5. It is also correct to state that he did on many occasions give to the Prisoners of War in his charge the opportunity of purchasing extra food.
6. I would sum up by saying that although conditions in the Camps referred to were by no means satisfactory according to European standards, yet Lieutenant Ino Takeo did take some trouble to help us, and no doubt according to his own lights and standards, he behaved very well.

I trust that this submission may be given due weight when his case comes before the Court for Trial and Sentence.

SWORN by the above-named Alec Albert

Johnson at No, 34 Silver Street in the City

of Lincoln England this 15 day of March 1947

Sworn statement by Lt INO TAKEO

I Lt INO TAKEO make oath and say as follows:-

I have been duly warned that I am not obliged to make any statement but that whatever I will say will be taken down in writing and may be used in evidence.

I wish to state voluntarily that:-

The principle cause for the illness and deaths on both the ASAKA MARU and HAKUSAN MARU amongst the PoW was because the voyage was a long one. Another reason was that the food the PoW received was bad in comparison to that which they received in the PoW camps ashore. I brought this matter to the members of the ship’s crew who was in charge of the food on board. I was told that the food allotted to the PoW was fixed and they would have to do with what they were given.

The PoW received and carried the regulated or fixed amount of medical supplies. If there was any shortage on board a ship, they were to be supplemented from the medical supplies carried by the ship. In this case there were none carried on the ship. Hence they were not able to receive any.