Even in the mid 19 forties, it looked barbaric. A british or american soldier who fell into japanese hands had a 27 % chance of dying before being returned home. It's not even close. The most gentle thing you could probably say is that the japanese had a much lower level of prior in terms of attention and resources towards p o ws than other major powers did. They would wait for any chance to take im out of line and beat em or kill im,. asking for water tod get you killed.