Statement Concerning Oguri

Statement of Oguri (10 July 1947)

36, now owner of a chinaware wholesale business. Was drafted in army 1934. In 193S transferred as clerk in Adjutant Section of Western District Defense Headquarters, at Kokura, which in 1940 was redesignated Western District Army Headquarters and moved to Fukuoka City. In 1941 as clerk in WA personnel department of the adjutant section, he made W.O., commissioned 2nd Lt. 1 Febru­ary 1945, still in personnel department. Duties: recommending promotion of Officers, commissioning of WOs to regular Officers to Minister of War and supervising secretaries in personnel department. From April to end of war, served as personal adjutant to Lt. Gen. Isa who was the acting CG of WA, concerning army and civilian relations. Oguri was also in charge of WAH Motor Pool, arranged for meetings and parties for high army officials visiting headquarters. Was demobilized 1 December, worked at Western Demobilization until 31 March 47.

Whenever Isa made a trip, Oguri would make arrangements, his "servant." Isa arrived at WAG about March 1945.

Oguri talked to Koga and Jin sometimes 20 times a day, sometimes once or twice. Talked to Kusumoto about half that, his business with Kusumoto usually concerned with promotion and reassignment of EM, sometimes about Prisoners. It was after the end of the war that Kusumoto told Oguri about the unfairness of some per­sons at WA to blame the other persons for the atrocities that occurred at WAH. It seemed as if the Staff Section were trying to blame the adjutant section for the atrocities.

Yoshito Higashi and Tsuneaki Egashira served as secretaries to Jin. Egashira was chief secretary.

General Hata visited WA for 3-4 days in late Spring. Oguri doesn’t know exactly when. His visit concerned strategy plans. Prince Mikasa visited WA in March or April and stayed for one day, inspected the army defense installa­tions and came as a member of the Imperial Staff Headquarters. Prince Higashi-Kuni came around March or April, stayed one day, came to inspect the defense installations, and Oguri believes he left after making a tour of the WA units.

Mikasa was at WAH about 1/2 day. Oguri believes he toured the city after leav­ing the headquarters. He stayed over night at the Sakaeya Hotel. At the lunch hour he had a conference with the general Officers. This was in February, April, or March 1945.

Higashi-kuni was at WAH about 1/2 day. He inspected the air defense building and the main headquarters building. While he was resting in the reception room, some of the high Officers went there and had a discussion.

On 1 February, when promoted to 2nd Lt. and assigned to Personnel Office of Adjutant Section (?), one of Oguri's duties was to dispatch all vehicles be ­ longing to WAH. The person requesting the vehicle would bring Oguri an appli­cation slip, which Oguri would then approve and go to the motor pool and assign a driver to a vehicle and order the driver to report to the person requesting. As a personnel Officer, Oguri assigned Officers to various stations. As per­sonal orderly to Isa, he arranged for visiting guests, etc.

Oguri -2-

Oguri was in charge of the Motor pool during April, May and June. Goiyama on 2 different occasions requested a vehicle to take PWs to KIU, in the latter part of May or early June. Oguri dispatched a sedan on 2 occasions, but did not see how many PWs Goiyama took in the vehicle. Goiyama told Oguri to assign a driver that could keep secrets, that the Prisoners would be injected before they would be taken to the University. Oguri was later told that Toyozato, an NCO in charge of the motor pool, had sent Jogo to drive the PWs to the Univer­sity. 

In the latter part of May Oguri heard Komori tell Kusumoto that he had secured blood from PWs and had made a powder form. Komori held the bottle of blood in his hand while he was telling this to Kusumoto. This conversation took place in the Adjutant’s Office at WAH. Komori told Kusumoto that he had taken the blood from PWs that had been operated on at KIU.

Goiyama and Yukino, under the direction of Col. Sato, were in charge of PWs at WAH. Yokoyama's permission had to be secured before PWs could be operated on.

Where an official letter is sent to higher headquarters (Tokyo) from WA, a rough letter is written by the pertaining section. It is sent to the Adjutant’s Office (Jin). If he approves the letter, it is sent through channels to the Chief of Staff for final approval. Jin is the only Officer that had a special stamp to approve official letters sent to higher headquarters. Without Jin’s official stamp, the letter could not leave headquarters.

While Oguri was working at the Demobilization Office at Chikushi Women’s Higher School, Fukuoka-Shi, Kego, Kusumoto told Oguri that the staff Officers at WA were trying to run away from the responsibility of killing PWs and had made 2 devices to deceive the Allied Forces, and that they had also made up various fabrications. He further told Oguri that no matter what order the staff Offi­cers of WA gave Oguri to deceive the Allied Fordes, he (Oguri) would tell the truth (sic), Fukushima, Akita, Sato and Yakumaru often came to see Kusumoto at the Demobilization Office. Kusumoto was often called by these persons also.

Kusumoto's duties at WAH: personnel Officer for NCOs, general affairs of adjutant section, administrations Officer at WAH.