Memory of Detention in Mongolia Still Fresh for 107-Yr-Old Japanese

   Nanto, Toyama Pref., July 5 (Jiji Press)--As Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are set to make an official visit to Mongolia from Sunday to July 13, Shuzo Yamada recalls his internment experience in the country nearly 80 years ago, a memory that remains vivid for the 107-year-old Japanese man.
   The Imperial couple will offer flowers Tuesday at a memorial monument for Japanese who were captured by the former Soviet Union after the Pacific War, part of World War II, and died while being detained in Mongolia.
   "Without water or food, I had an unimaginable experience," says Yamada, who heads the national association for former detainees, and now lives in Nanto, Toyama Prefecture, central Japan.
   In July 1941, at age 23, Yamada received his draft notice, just six months after getting married. He was sent to former Manchuria, now northeastern China, where he was assigned to guard aviation fuel at an airfield, among other duties. While in Manchuria, he learned of the birth of his first son. But the baby died when he was three months old without ever seeing his father.
   Yamada was at an airfield near Dalian, China, when World War II ended.

(2025/07/05-18:16)