Horror in the East: Japan and the Atrocities of World War II is a BBC documentary film series that examines certain actions, including atrocities, and attitudes, of the Imperial Japanese Army in the lead up to and during World War II. The film also examines attitudes held by the British and Americans, toward the Japanese. It was written and produced by Laurence Rees and narrated by Samuel West.
First in a two-part programme which uses archive footage and interviews to document Japan's appalling treatment of PoWs during World War Two. Featuring previously unseen footage and personal accounts from those who suffered, as well as interviews with some of the Japanese perpetrators of the crimes.
When World War Two turned against the Japanese, why did so many soldiers choose death rather than surrender? What was the motivation of the kamikaze pilots who flew planes into British and American ships? The second of two programmes features interviews with American Marines, British PoWs and Japanese veterans - some of them war criminals - and attempts to uncover the answers to these questions, and build a comprehensive portrait of a nation in crisis.