Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Scott Arthur (Labour), on Monday, 1 September 2025, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 29 members in total.

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Commemoration of the sinking of the Suez Maru and Allied prisoners of war lost

That this House solemnly commemorates the tragic sinking of the Suez Maru on 29 November 1943, in which 550 Allied prisoners of war, primarily British and Dutch, were being transported by the Japanese Imperial Army from Ambon to Surabaya; notes with deep sorrow that many of these prisoners, already gravely ill, perished when the ship was torpedoed by the USS Bonefish, unaware of its human cargo, and that those who survived the initial sinking were subsequently executed by Japanese forces in violation of international law; recognises the Suez Maru as one of the most harrowing examples of the suffering endured by Allied POWs in the Asia-Pacific theatre; further notes that this atrocity remained largely unacknowledged for decades; further recognises the Suez Maru Apology Campaign’s calls for an apology for the government at the time’s failure to support a war crimes trial; and calls on the Government to ensure that the memory of those lost is preserved through education, remembrance, and support for the families of the victims, particularly around Victory over Japan Day, as a solemn reminder of the cost of war and the enduring importance of international humanitarian law.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

1769 

Session

2024-26

Other sponsors

Chris Law

Jim Shannon

Bernard Jenkin

Brian Leishman

Graham Leadbitter

Subjects

Japan Prisoners of war Shipping World War II

Link

View this Early day motion on edm.parliament.uk