The advertisement placed by The Committee for Historical Facts in the June 14 2007 Washington Post insists, regarding the Semarang Incident, that “the responsible officers were punished.” But is this in fact true?
The comfort station was closed just after the incident was detected (opening in February 1944 and closing after 2 months.) They might be have been reprimanded but they were not punished severely.
Seiji Nozaki, a Commander of the Cadet Unit of the Southern Army at Semarang base was in charge of the station. He became Commander of the 56th Independent Mixed Brigade and a Lieutenant General in June, immediately after the incident. Moreover, he would become Commander of the 152nd division, return to Japan and stay near Choshi, Chiba to prepare for battle on the mainland.
Furthermore, Chiyomatsu Kawamura, a Lieutenant of the Cadet Unit, who was sentenced 10 years to jail at the B/C class war criminal trial led by the Netherlands after the war ended, became a Major in December 1944.
These promotions would not have been possible if they had been punished.
