The photo taken by Suzuki was the absolute evidence of Hiroo Onoda’s existence, Onoda’s brother confirmed this. It was definitely Hiroo, based on Suzuki’s stories, the Japanese government finally figured out that Onoda had been waiting for his commanding officer’s mission order. The Japanese government immediately ordered Major Yoshimi Taniguchi to fly to Lubang Island.
Two weeks after Onoda parted with Suzuki, he found a letter on the mailbox. The letter said that Suzuki brought Major Taniguchi to the island as promised. They set up a tent and waited for Onoda. But, for Onoda, he was still doubtful about them. First, he watched them from a distance and then moved closer to them so he could check out the surroundings to see if enemies were hiding or not. Then on March 9, 1974, he appeared in the dusk with his back against the light so he could run away just in case–It was under such a condition that the enemy could not see him well but, for Onoda, he could recognize them.
Finally, Onoda gambled his 30 year-life and showed up on the scene to receive the order from his commanding officer.
Under the national flag, Major Taniguchi issued a last command to relieve Onoda of his duty, It was the order to surrender. Onoda never realized in his 30 year-jungle-life, that he served his country for almost 30 years in the military service. He knew the truth finally, the war was over and Japan was defeated. He lost the spirit of his duty which supported him for about 30 years and then he thought about the reasons for the death of his comrades Shimada and Kozuka.
Onoda reported his activities for about 30 years to Major Taniguchi all night long. In the morning, he and Suzuki let the staff of the Japanese government and Onoda’s brother know. His elder brother was a doctor, so he checked Onoda’s medical condition. Onoda had low body fat and was quite healthy. It was because the Philippine police authority tried to capture Onoda 133 times for about 30 years until finally, Onoda surrendered.
The news reached the Philippines, so they considered the last remaining issue: how they would forgive Onoda’s guilt. It was necessary to put Onoda in full perspective, because there had been incidents where Lubang residents had died. President Marcos paid attention to the situation wherein Onoda had been following orders from his superiors. So he concluded that all things happened because this soldier was loyal to the orders and he thought that war was still on-going. In addition, the ceremony for his surrender would be held to praise him for his loyalty to the nation as a model soldier at the Malacanang Palace. Japan welcomed his decision and prepared the ceremony together.
Onoda’s feelings at that time were not unsure because he had no idea what would happen to him in the future after he surrendered. He left the fate of himself up to the Philippines. Onoda just groomed his body in the river before he went to the Philippine air base. There was a request from the Philippines to maintain his original appearance when he finally appeared from the jungle. Onoda went down to the city, escorted safely by the Philippine Air Force commander and a Cpl to protect Onoda from any harm that could happen coming from Lubang residents. .
He headed to the Philippines military base. So many Filipino military officers and soldiers stood and waited for him on both sides of the road welcoming him. Then he stepped forward in front of the Philippine Troop Commander and passed on his Japanese sword as a symbol of his surrender. The commander would not take his sword and said, “You are the very best of the soldiers because of your loyalty,”as he returned the sword to Onoda.
Onoda was also interviewed after the ceremony. The first question was “Why didn’t you surrender?” Then Onoda answered, “I am a soldier and the command brought me to this place, so without commands, I would not do this task.” The next question was, “What was the hardest thing you had to endure while hiding?” He said huskily, “I lost my fellow soldiers”. The third question was “What was the most pleasant thing you had? He said twice softly, “I had not had any pleasant things for the last 29 years…until now”.
That night, the Philippine Air Force held a welcome party for Him. There were many nice dishes on the table. In addition, they celebrated in advance, his 52nd birthday. He was overwhelmed by so many activities after he surrendered.
The next day, before Onoda left Lubang Island, he visited the symbolic grave of Kinshichi Kozuka. Kozuka became the last victim of World War II. It brought the faces of Kozuka and also Shimada into his mind and he was flooded with nostalgia, and then, he said his good bye.
On March 11 1974, he was transferred from Lubang Island to Manila City by a helicopter.
He visited the graves of Filipino soldiers during World War II and then went to the Malacaang Palace and met the former president, Ferdinand E. Marcos. The ceremony was broadcasted via live satellite all over the world. Onoda then stepped forward to the Philippine President and gave his Japanese sword to the President as a symbol of his surrender and then the President returned it to Onoda the same way that the Troop commander did. President Marcos said to him, “I fought as a guerrilla leader for 4 years, but you had, had a strong will to survive in the jungle for about 30 years. You are an honorable soldier”. In addition, the President gave him amnesty. He said that “We fought for each purpose; however, the war had ended. I will forgive you until you received the last command from the Philippine President.”
Onoda prepared for his death because he had killed many Filipino soldiers and caused problems among residents in the jungle for about 30 years. In addition, all the troubles he started or not were connected with him. Onoda was surprised and felt that he was given a second chance to live because of the amnesty granted by the president.
Onoda was then allowed to return to his home country as a hero. The Philippine government’s consideration also made his story more dramatic.
After Onoda returned to Japan, the Japanese government sent an emissary to the Philippines to close Onoda’s case. The Japanese government and the former President Marcos agreed on the compensation to Lubang Island through a series of negotiations. But, when the day came for the ceremony, the President refused to receive the money. He said that he had already forgiven him due to humanitarian purposes, “For that, I do not want the money”. He did not prefer the Filipino citizens connecting the money with Onoda’s amnesty. The other reason was he did not want to send money to Lubang Island because the compensation issues for the other similar cities might follow again.
A Japanese government representative got confused with the abrupt change of his decision. The Philippine side was also surprised. The Japanese emissary appreciated his decision but struggled to negotiate with President Marcos because they would like to show the gratitude of the Japanese nation to the Philippines. So they suggested that the money be used for other things. The President agreed to that, and they made a private financial group to handle the funding of programs. The funds were used for a limited scope such as providing Japanese language courses to Filipinos. The relationship between both countries became good after Onoda’s story.
President Marcos gave a sound of advice to Onoda not to go into hiding in the jungle again even if he does not like the current society.