MANILA (Kyodo) -- Copies of sketches and writings from the World War II diary of a Japanese engineer who was stationed in the Philippines at the time and became a prisoner-of-war are on display at a museum in Manila for the first time outside Japan.

The "Ryojin Nikki" diary of Shinichi Komatsu, commercially published in 1975, is featured in the exhibit that runs through Aug. 16 to invite "audiences to reflect on the complexities of war and its impact on individuals - beyond nationality and era," according to the Ayala Museum.

During a talk on Saturday afternoon at the museum located in the business district of Makati, Shiko Komatsu, 50, said he hopes his grandfather's diary, which he described as "very special" having "both words and pictures," will "help us learn from the past and understand each other more deeply."

Shinichi Komatsu was in his 30s when he was assigned in the Philippines in March 1944 to provide technical guidance on producing alternative fuel from plants. He was assigned to Negros in the central part of the country until the war ended and became a prisoner of war.

His diary included drawings of food in the jungle, as well as Japanese and American soldiers during and after the conflict, depicting both hardships and kindness. "I believe this diary will continue to tell the truth about history to us today and to people in the future," Shiko said.

Since its publication, Ryojin Nikki, or Prisoner's Diary, has been praised as a valuable resource of a noncombatant's wartime experiences in the battlefield.

Filipino professor Karl Cheng Chua, who specializes in Japanese studies, referenced the diary years ago for a paper and eventually worked on bringing it into Manila for exhibit.

"Recalling then President Elpidio Quirino's last message when he pardoned Japanese war criminals that the hate that we brought after the war should not exist for future societies, it was then that I had this idea of...why not exhibit Shinichi's collection?" Cheng Chua said.

Japan occupied the Philippines from December 1941 until it was defeated in 1945. Quirino, who was president of the Philippines from 1948, pardoned Japanese war criminals at the end of his term in 1953 despite losing several family members during the Battle of Manila in 1945.

(By Ronron Calunsod)