Allied combatants were reluctant to take Japanese prisoners at the start of the Pacific War . During the first two years following the US entry into the war , US combatants were generally unwilling to accept the surrender of Japanese soldiers due to a combination of racist attitudes and anger at Japan 's atrocities committed against US and Allied nationals and its widespread mistreatment or summary execution of Allied prisoners of war . Australian soldiers were also reluctant to take Japanese prisoners for similar reasons . Incidents in which Japanese soldiers booby-trapped their dead and wounded or pretended to surrender in order to lure Allied combatants into ambushes were well known within the Allied militaries and also hardened attitudes against seeking the surrender of Japanese on the battlefield . As a result , Allied troops believed that their Japanese opponents would not surrender and that any attempts to surrender were deceptive ; for instance , the Australian jungle warfare school advised soldiers to shoot any Japanese troops who had their hands closed while surrendering . Furthermore , in many instances , Japanese soldiers who had surrendered were killed on the front line or while being taken to POW compounds . The nature of jungle warfare also contributed to prisoners not being taken , as many battles were fought at close ranges where participants " often had no choice but to shoot first and ask questions later "
atrocities committed against US and Allied nationals
Japanese war crimes
Japanese prisoners of war in World War II