November 20, 2025

A survey by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (JPSS) has found that the estimated number of Japanese war deaths during the last two years of the Asia-Pacific War in 1944 and 1945 reached approximately 3.76 million.

The figure differs significantly from government statistics which indicate that the number of Japanese war deaths in the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the Pacific War (1941-1945) together was around 3.1 million.

This suggests that a large number of war victims were overlooked. Many bereaved families may not have received postwar compensation.

The government should swiftly ascertain the accurate number of war deaths and provide bereaved families with state compensation, including special benefits and pensions.

The JPSS survey estimated the number of deaths in 1944 and 1945 based on known figures from national censuses and birth and death rates. According to the estimates, approximately 6.26 million people died in total, 3.76 million of whom were directly attributed to the war.

The government has stated that the number of war dead was around 2.3 million among “military personnel, military dependents, and quasi-military dependents,” and that the “approximate number” of civilian war victims was 800,000. About 90% of all the war dead perished during the final stages of the war, from 1944 onward.

Professor Yamada Akira of Meiji University, a specialist in modern Japanese history, points out, “The number of civilian casualties in ‘Japan-occupied areas’ overseas, such as Taiwan and Manchuria (northeastern China), has not been fully ascertained. Even in Japan, exact numbers remain unknown in some cases because of hasty burials due to events like the Great Tokyo Air Raid.” Yamada adds, “Some soldiers and military employees are listed as missing in action, so they were not recognized as having been killed in action.”