For months, the Japanese had planned to move the American POWs from the Philippines to more secure spots in the empire. If they were liberated, Japan would suffer a propaganda disaster and an accompanying loss of prestige among peoples of the Pacific and Asia. Nor did the Japanese want tales of their horrendous mistreatment of the prisoners to circulate throughout America and the rest of the world. Plus, they wanted to continue to exploit the slave labor of the prisoners.5
