; one-third of all POW deaths resulted from attacks on the hellships by friendly fire from American submarines or aircraft. (14) More than 600 members of the United States Merchant Marine including one female Mariner, became prisoners of Imperial Japan, many of whom were turned over to Japanese control after being first captured by Nazi Germany’s naval forces. Fifteen percent were killed by either Imperial Japan Navy officers during capture or died in Japanese POW camps. (15) Throughout World War II, the Imperial Japanese military maintained approximately 775 POW camps throughout the Empire: 185 POW camps on the Home Islands of Japan and 590 in other areas of the Pacific Theater, which includes an unknown number of temporary camps. (16) A priority of International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal and the ad hoc American and Allied military tribunals throughout the Asia Pacific from 1945 to 1951 was to obtain justice for the maltreatment of POWs. Approximately seventy-five percent of the more than 5,600 defendants were charged with offenses against POWs. This reflects the July 26, 1945, Potsdam Declaration’s warning that, stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals, including those who have visited cruelties upon our prisoners . (17) President Ronald Reagan first proclaimed National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day in 1988, which was established to coincide with April 9, the anniversary of the start of the Bataan Death March. (18) In 2009, the Government of Japan issued an official, Cabinet of Japan approved apology saying We extend a heartfelt apology for our country having caused tremendous damage and suffering to many people, including prisoners of wars, those who have undergone tragic experiences in the Bataan Peninsula, Corregidor Island, in the Philippines, and other places . (19) In 2010, the Government of Japan initiated an annual visitation program for former United States POWs of Japan and family members to visit Japan for