Ikeda Koiichi was connected to the Japanese military during the Second World War, serving in a procurement capacity for the overseas army. He was born in the Maijuru region, where he remembers growing up poor. When the opportunity came, he began his time overseas, originally serving in Manchuria, and that is where he spent most of the war. When the end came in 1945, he and many other were making their way back to Japan when they were stopped at the northern border, arrested by Soviet troops. Ikeda and many others were detained in Siberia, trapped by the newly emerging Cold War. He spent several years there, detained in Siberia and then Uzbekistan. When he did return to Japan, Ikeda and many others took their case to court, where they have been trying to win compensation and recognition from the Japanese government.

Ikeda Koiichi was interviewed by Scott Masters and Shahmir Kyani in July 2017 at his home in Osaka, Japan. We are thankful to Naoko Jin for setting this interview up, and to Yoshie Ishikawa for her translation back in Toronto.