It was true: on occasion, Japanese troops devoured their own and others. Japanese provisions were running short, in part owing to the vast number of ships sunk. Malaria, dengue fever, and scrub typhus were ravaging the ranks of able-bodied men expected to forage for food and fight. Approximately two-thirds of Japan’s total military deaths in the Pacific would arise from illness or starvation. Cannibalism stalked the troops, and some succumbed. “It’s a matter of survival,” recalled linguist Min Hara, who had taken confessions from wild-eyed POWs.
