80 Years On: State Policy Victimized Manchuria Pioneers

   Nagano, Aug. 19 (Jiji Press)--Hiroyoshi Takizawa, who moved to Manchuria, in today's northeastern China, at the age of 8 as part of a pioneer group, was forced to flee for about three weeks, after the former Soviet Union's invasion.
   Along the way, he endured the harrowing ordeal of his father fatally shooting his younger brother and sister as part of a group suicide. "We were victims of national policy. Such a tragedy must never be repeated," says Takizawa, now a 91-year-old resident of the city of Nagano.
   In March 1943, spurred by his father's ambition to "make it big in Manchuria," Takizawa's family left their home in what is now the village of Kijimadaira in Nagano Prefecture and relocated to eastern Manchuria. They joined the Koshago pioneer group, formed largely in their home region, and the seven-member household--Takizawa, his parents, two elder brothers, a younger sister and a younger brother--settled there. After their arrival, a baby sister was born.
   For a time, life was comfortable. That changed on Aug. 9, 1945, when the Soviet Union invaded Manchuria, in violation of its neutrality pact with Japan. The Imperial Japanese Army's Kwantung forces, which were expected to defend the area, had apparently already withdrawn, leaving civilians including the Takizawas to flee without a clear destination.
   In the face of repeated attacks, the Koshago pioneer group continued southward. On Aug. 24, 1945, nine days after Emperor Hirohito's radio broadcast announcing Japan's surrender, the group, fearing a Soviet assault, chose mass suicide.

(2025/08/19-12:30)

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