The request includes a sample letter, a copy of Congressman Lipinksi's draft resolution, and a copy of an April 9 story by AP Diplomatic Writer Barry Schweid quoting former Ambassador to Japan Walter Mondale on the issue of apology and compensation by the Japanese government.

Lipinski's draft resolution is quite detailed and requires attentive reading.

In the resolution, Lipinksi detailed facts and figures of Japan's unresolved wartime legacy comparing the death rates of allied POW and civilian internees held by Germany with those held by Japan.

The resolution lists the major war crimes including slave labor, drafting of sexual slaves (comfort women), medical experiments by Unit 731, the Bataan Death March, and the Nanjing Massacre.

The figures are dreadful. US prisoners-of-war in Japanese hands died at a rate approaching 40%, while those held by the Germans succumbed at about 1.2%. Similar ratios hold for other allied POW and civilian internees.

What Congressman Lipinski's draft resolution does not mention is Japan's top secret "Kill Order", sent by radio to prison camp commanders in 1945 ordering them to "annihilate" all POW "leaving no trace", destroy all records, and to avoid capture and inter rogation by making good their escapes from advancing U.S. and allied forces.

If atomic bombs had not helped persuade Japan's leaders to capitulate, and bring World War II to an end, the survival rate of POW and internees would have been near to 0.0%.

That might have meant no survivors to tell the stories, and fewer problems for Japan today.

It is interesting to note that in the aftermath of World War II in the Pacific, no Simon Wiesenthal type of figure emerged to hound war criminals. Wiesenthal is remembered as the prototype Nazi hunter, at times waging a one man campaign to establish Holoc aust records and bring Nazi criminals to justice. Only after long and steadfast campaigning by a handful of surviving comfort women, internees and POW has Japan been forced to reckon with the issue.

Copies of the sample letter, Lipinski's draft resolution and the AP story on former Ambassador Mondale may be requested from APTSJW Secretary Ignatius Y. Ding, or from Japan War Crimes Mail List.