Information about the Prisoners of War of the Japanese
An armed merchant cruiser converted from a civilian merchant ship in 1941 The Asaka carried 709 British Australian POWs from Singapore to Japan but was sunk by USN aircraft off Taiwan on 13/8/44 690 survived Sources 4 13 18 Asama Maru Designed as a civilian cruise liner in 1941 the ship became a troop transport for the Japanese Navy