In May of 1946 the allied nations convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for the purpose of exacting justice for war crimes committed by the Japanese during World War 2. The judgments of the tribunal are available online at ibiblio.org for anyone to peruse. This tribunal, comprised of two judges from the United States and ten more from other allied nations, sentenced seven Japanese citizens to death for committing War Crimes. Perhaps their descendants deserve an apology for this miscarriage of justice, if you believe the wingers among us.
Here is the description of the torture method the "water treatment" that was published in the judgment of the Tribunal:
Torture and Other Inhumane Treatment
The practice of torturing prisoners of war and civilian internees prevailed at practically all places occupied by Japanese troops, both in the occupied territories and in Japan. The Japanese indulged in this practice during the entire period of the Pacific War. Methods of torture were employed in all areas so uniformly as to indicate policy both in training and execution. Among these tortures were the water treatment, burning, electric shocks, the knee spread, suspension, kneeling on sharp instruments and flogging.
...The so-called "water treatment" was commonly applied. The victim was bound or otherwise secured in a prone position; and water was forced through his mouth and nostrils into his lungs and stomach until he lost consciousness. Pressure was then applied, sometimes by jumping upon his abdomen to force the water out. The usual practice was to revive the victim and successively repeat the process. There was evidence that this torture was used in the following places: China, at Shanghai, Peiping and Nanking; French Indo-China, at Hanoi and Saigon; Malaya, at Singapore; Burma, at Kyaikto; Thailand, at Chumporn; Andaman Islands, at Port Blair; Borneo, at Jesselton; Sumatra, at Medan, Tadjong Karang and Palembank; Java, at Batavia, Bandung, Soerabaja and Buitennzong; Celebes, at Makassar; Portuguese Timor, at Ossu and Dilli; Philippines, at Manila, Nichols Field, Palo Beach and Dumaguete; Formosa, at Camp Haito; and in Japan, at Tokyo.
This torture policy was in uniform effect across all parts of the Japanese Empire at the time. Former Bush administration officials such as Ari Fleischer and Dick Cheney and conservative media pundits such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly believe that this treatment of prisoners is not torture, but merely policy.
This is the list of those the Tribunal sentenced to death by hanging:
General Kenji Doihara
Baron Kōki Hirota
General Seishirō Itagaki
General Heitarō Kimura
General Iwane Matsui
General Akira Muto
General Hideki Tōjō
At least a portion of this punishment was meted out because of the commanders' implicit approval of, or failure to stop, the waterboarding that was inflicted on prisoners under their control.
Will we see apologies from the right-wing to the families of these men that were executed for a mere policy decision? If waterboarding is nothing more than a fraternity prank, when will we see Rush Limbaugh go on the air with an apology to the Japanese people for the unjust execution of their citizens by the Tribunal?
We'll be waiting a long time for that, I think.