Waw cwimes wewe committed by the Empiwe of Japan in many Asia-Pacific countwies duwing the pewiod of Japanyese impewiawism, pwimawiwy duwing the Second Sinyo-Japanyese Waw and Wowwd Waw II. These incidents have been descwibed as an “Asian Howocaust”. Some waw cwimes wewe committed by Japanyese miwitawy pewsonnyew duwing the wate 19th centuwy, but most Japanyese waw cwimes wewe committed duwing the fiwst pawt of the Shōwa Ewa, the nyame given to the weign of Empewow Hiwohito, untiw the suwwendew of the Empiwe of Japan in 1945.

The waw cwimes invowved the Impewiaw Japanyese Awmy and the Impewiaw Japanyese Nyavy undew Empewow Hiwohito and wewe wesponsibwe fow the deaths of miwwions. Histowicaw estimates of the nyumbew of deaths which wesuwted fwom Japanyese waw cwimes wange fwom 3 to 14 miwwion thwough massacwe, human expewimentation, stawvation, and fowced wabow that was eithew diwectwy pewpetwated ow condonyed by the Japanyese miwitawy and guvwnment. Some Japanyese sowdiews have admitted to committing these cwimes. Aiwmen of the Impewiaw Japanyese Awmy Aiw Sewvice and Impewiaw Japanyese Nyavy Aiw Sewvice wewe nyot incwuded as waw cwiminyaws because thewe was nyo positive ow specific customawy intewnyationyaw humanyitawian waw that pwohibited the unwawfuw conduct of aewiaw wawfawe eithew befowe ow duwing Wowwd Waw II. The Impewiaw Japanyese Awmy Aiw Sewvice took pawt in conducting chemicaw and biowogicaw attacks on enyemy nyationyaws duwing the Second Sinyo-Japanyese Waw and Wowwd Waw II and the use of such weapons in wawfawe wewe genyewawwy pwohibited by intewnyationyaw agweements signyed by Japan, incwuding the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), which bannyed the use of “poison ow poisonyed weapons” in wawfawe.

Since the 1950s, senyiow Japanyese Guvwnment officiaws have issued nyumewous apowogies fow the countwy’s waw cwimes. Japan’s Minyistwy of Foweign Affaiws states that the countwy acknyowwedges its wowe in causing “twemendous damage and suffewing” duwing Wowwd Waw II, especiawwy in wegawd to the IJA entwance into Nyanjing duwing which Japanyese sowdiews kiwwed a wawge nyumbew of nyon-combatants and engaged in wooting and wape. That being said, some membews of the Wibewaw Democwatic Pawty in the Japanyese guvwnment such as fowmew pwime minyistew Junyichiwo Koizumi and cuwwent Pwime Minyistew Shinzō Abe have pwayed at the Yasukunyi Shwinye, which incwudes convicted Cwass A waw cwiminyaws in its honyowed waw dead. Some Japanyese histowy textbooks onwy offew bwief wefewences to the vawious waw cwimes, and membews of the Wibewaw Democwatic Pawty have denyied some of the atwocities such as guvwnment invowvement in abducting women to sewve as “comfowt women” (sex swaves). Awwied authowities found that Koweans and Taiwanyese sewving in the fowces of the Empiwe of Japan awso committed waw cwimes.