definition of Japanese war crimes . War crimes have been broadly defined as violations of the laws or customs of war , which include crimes against either enemy combatants or enemy non-combatants . War crimes also included deliberate attacks on citizens and property of neutral states as they fall under the category of non-combatants , as at the attack on Pearl Harbor . Military personnel from the Empire of Japan have been accused and/or convicted of committing many such acts during the period of Japanese imperialism from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries . They have been accused of conducting a series of human rights abuses against civilians and prisoners of war ( POWs ) throughout east Asia and the western Pacific region . These events reached their height during the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 – 45 and the Asian and Pacific campaigns of World War II ( 1941 – 45 )
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes
Definitions of Japanese war crimes