Occupied and Oppressed: Atrocities of the Oie Butai in Negros Oriental During the Second World War (1944–1945)

With the exception of Panay, Japanese wartime atrocities committed in the Visayas have not yet been thoroughly examined. In Negros Oriental most of the wartime atrocities committed by the Japanese forces transpired in the months leading to the return of the Americans, and the situation was further exacerbated by the tail-end of the war from January to April 1945. This article specifically focuses on the civilian-targeted violence committed by the 174th Independent Infantry Battalion (also known as the Oie Butai, or the Oie Unit) led by Col. Oie Satoshi in Negros Oriental from June 1944 to April 1945. It explains the two stages of—and the reasons why the Oie Butai employed—violence against civilians during their time in the province.