"Frozen Memories" Taiwanese Siberian prisoner of war Wu Zhengnan died at the age of 99

Wu Zhengnan, who served as a Taiwanese Japanese soldier during World War II and was captured by the Soviet Union after the war, died of hepatocellular carcinoma on October 24 at the age of 99. Wu Zhengnan only attended the Tokyo screening of the documentary "Frozen Memories" in September to share his experience as a prisoner of war in Siberia. He said at the time that the greatest happiness in life is to come back alive from the battlefield.

The Japanese Friends of Lee Teng-hui released an obituary today, stating that Wu Zhengnan was admitted to Yokohama City Hospital due to physical discomfort on September 18, and was subsequently diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma. He received catheter treatment on October 1, was admitted to a nursing home on the 15th, and passed away peacefully on the 24th. In accordance with my last wish, the family held a family funeral on November 5 and declined to pay tribute, offer flowers or express condolences.

According to the Japan Friends of Lee Teng-hui, Wu Zhengnan was born in Douliu, Yunlin, Taiwan in 1926. He went to Japan to study as a boy and volunteered to join the Japanese Army during World War II as a bomber communicator. When Japan was defeated in 1945, he was captured by the Soviet army in northern Korea and sent to Central Asia for labor. He was not released until 1947.

During World War II, approximately 200,000 Taiwanese participated in the war as Japanese soldiers, and approximately 30,000 of them died. After Japan's defeat, about 600,000 Japanese soldiers were sent to prisoner-of-war camps by the Soviet Union, known in history as "Siberian Detention." At least 19 Taiwanese Japanese soldiers are known to have experienced this.

Wu Zhengnan attended the Tokyo screening of the documentary "Frozen Memories" directed by Taiwanese director Hsu Ming-chun on September 5 this year. When talking about his time as a prisoner of war, he still described himself as "lucky" because compared to other captives, he was only detained for about 2 years, and the lowest temperature in the location was about minus 25 degrees Celsius, not a severe cold area of ​​minus 50 degrees Celsius.

Wu Zhengnan said that he always believes that the greatest happiness in life is to come back alive from the battlefield. Rather than his own experience, he hopes society will remember those who did not survive, emphasizing that each war dead has his or her own life and memory and should not be forgotten over time.

Wu Zhengnan has been working hard to secure a memorial site for Taiwanese war dead for many years. After decades of hard work, he finally established a memorial site in Isoko District, Yokohama City in the summer of 2025, fulfilling his long-standing wish.

Wu Zhengnan served as a director of the Japanese Friends of Lee Teng-hui for 22 years since 2003, until the end of 2025 when he resigned due to old age.