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52, Col, and CO of the Seibu Kempei Tai, from Feb 1945 to end of War, which escorted 72 captured flyers to Division WA and Tokyo Hq. 35 prior to 1 May and three after. In some cases the ordinary police acted as escorts. The Kempei Tai only conducted superficial interrogation as to name, rank, age, place of crash, etc, had instructions to turn over captured flyers to WAH, as soon as possible for intelligence purposes. About May or June 1945, Maj Seijuro Ohno and his subordinates interrogated flyers relative to indiscrimate bombing, arrangements being made thru Takada's subordinate Maj Takashi Yanasa after request from Enatsu or Sato of WAH. Takada believes all the records were burned. A report as to each escorting job was sent to Takada's Hq. At the end of the War the Tokyo KT Hq instructed Takada to report all flyers handled by him and Takada sent Lt. Yoshio Yamaguchi to the various units to secure as much information as possible, since the records had been burned. Tokyo KT Hq did not issue instructions as to handling Prisoners. While Takada was at Tokyo Hq, Col. Yamamura, he thinks, instructed him to cooperate with the Army. The KT would take the captured flyer to the nearest dividional unit of the Army. Lt Col Masuo Kaku was the KT Area Commander for Kagoshima ken, he possibly had a local agreement as to turning some flyers over to a Navy unit. Lt Col Nishizawa was the KT Area Commander in Miyazaki-ken. On some occasions, the capturing Army unit escorted the flyer to higher Hq. The primary responsibility for capturing flyers in Kyushi was in the army. WAH issued a regulation before Takada's duty calling on the KT to escort flyers. Takada did call in the area KT commanders under him and told them to see that captured flyer were protected from violence by the populance, treated according to the Geneva Convention, that they should be delivered safely. (Takada's predecessor in command was Maj Gen Katsushichi Kamisage). A WAH directive with the CG's han was read by Takada on taking command (Feb 45) stating that flyers would be held in custody there and that the KT would act accordingly. Where the KT took effects from a dead flyer, they were submitted to WAH. Takada didn't learn that all captured flyers would not be sent to Tokyo until after the War. A directive was received from Col. Yamamura, Chief of external and foreign affairs section of the KT Hq in Tokyo, which he discussed with Yanase, which stated that the status of captured flyers should be determined as soon as possible, were not to be considered Prisoners until a determination as to whether guilty of indiscrimate bombing. (This was not interpreted to mean that the flyers were to be killed). Maj Ono and his subordinates did interrogate flyers on one occasion as to indiscriminate bombing on instruction of WAH. While Takada saw Enatsu once a week he did not know of executions until the War was over. Maj Yanasa reported to Takada that he had refused to lend any good kendo men to WAH. In October or November 1945, Sato wanted Takada to say if questioned that about 10 flyers had been sent to Second Central Army Hq at Hiroshima, that they were accompanied by a particular KT Cpl. About a month later, he refused after thinking it over.
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