386

Cemetery plot location: A-05-23



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Classification: POW
Identification number: PWJA 100024
Surname: WATANABE
Other names: Shotaro
Plate name: WATANABE, SHOTARO
AKA (Also Known As): None
Name in kanji: 渡邉 庄太郎
Grave location: A-05-23
Date of birth: 1919-07-12
Place of birth: Higashi-Okitama, Yamagata-ken, Japan
Private address:

Higashi-Okitama, Yamagata-ken, Japan

Business address:

Not recorded

Military rank: Superior Private
Unit regimental number: Army, Artillery Ohara-Butai 3616
Date of capture: 1943-03-18
Place of capture: Bismarck Sea
Reason for internment: Prisoner of war
Camp interned: Cowra
Date interned: 1943-04-10
Health condition on arrival: Suffering from malaria
Trade or occupation: Farmer
Length of residence in Australia: Not recorded
Date of entry: Not recorded
Port of disembarkation: Not recorded
Ship: Not recorded
Personal effects:

Nil

Religion: Buddhist
Nationality: Japanese
Marital status: Single
Next of kin: Mioki WATANABE
Address of next of kin: Higashi-Okitama, Yamagata-ken, Japan
Relationship to next of kin: Father
Father’s name: Mioki WATANABE
Father’s occupation: Not recorded
Mother’s maiden name: Not recorded
Identification: Height 5' 2", weight 130 lbs, sallow complexion, black hair, dark eyes
Movement report:

WATANABE was transferred to Australia by hospital ship and admitted to the 3 Australian Camp Hospital with malaria. He was interned in Gaythorne on 10 April 1943 and transferred to Cowra on 1 August 1943. He died in the breakout.

Cause of death: Self inflicted wound/s to throat and neck
Date of death: 1944-08-05
Cremation or burial: Burial
Date of burial: 1944-08-07
Place of first burial: Cowra
Extra information:

In the interrogation records, WATANABE is recorded as being married, but he was recorded as single in his service and casualty record. His next of kin was not recorded in his National Archives of Australia file (NAA: MP1103/2).

Related images:

WATANABE’s Allied Translator & Interpreter Section (ATIS) interrogation report summary (pdf): 

118-386-WATANABE-Shotaro-AJRP

The Cowra Japanese War Cemetery Database Project ( 2016-2024 ) © Embassy of Japan, Canberra