On 1 August 1945, a Japanese infantry regiment boarded a hospital ship and left for Singapore to strengthen Japanese defences there. One of the soldiers gave the following account.
The ship was loaded with 1562 men along with weapons and ammunition, and we knew full well this violated international law. We left the Kai Islands southwest of New Guinea in the evening. On the third day, two American destroyers were already pursuing us. We did not stop until we received their second signal: "If the ship does not stop, we will fire."
A large number of American soldiers boarded our ship. Our weapons and ammunition were discovered. "This violates international law; we are arresting all of you." I think it was because of this order, justifiably given, that my fellow soldiers and I are alive now.
一九四五年八月一日，日本一步兵團登上醫療船，準備往新加坡加強當地防務。一名日軍有以下記述。
船上載了一千五百六十二人，還有武器、彈藥。我們很清楚這是違反國際法的。那天黃昏，醫療船從新幾內亞西南的卡伊群島出發，到了第三天，就被美國兩艘驅逐艦窮追，我們收到第二個信號才停下來：「不停下來，我們就開火。」
大批美軍登上醫療船，找到我們的武器、彈藥。「這違反國際法，我們要把你們全船人拘捕。」我想，不是因為這個合理的命令，我和同袍未必活到今天。