While you wait for a more specific answer, you might be interested in past threads on this topic:

• Why was The Empire of Japan particually vicious during WW2 , or is it due to propaganda that people think that?
  ^(15 Sep 2014 | 30 comments)
  ^(/u/ParkSungJun discusses the general reasons behind Japanese war crimes in the 1930s and 1940s, paying particularly close attention to the role of officers and command responsibility in these incidents.)

• During the second Sino-Japanese war, was the "Rape of Nanking" conducted as a policy direction from the Japanese Officers or had they lost control of their Enlisted men?
  ^(27 Nov 2013 | 32 comments)
  ^(/u/AsiaExpert analyzes one extremely infamous incident, showcasing arguments both for and against placing responsibility on the Japanese high level officers.)