the professor from hiroshima university studied post-war history of japan and the philippines. he recently gained access to diplomatic documents from around the time of onoda's return to japan. with an nhk crew he's analyzing the documents that were long kept top secret. >> translator: these documents show that rescuing lieutenant onoda was more than just a soldier's return. both japanese an filipino governments were handling the issue as an political and diplomatic case. >> reporter: the 670 pages of documents contain a detailed record of secret negotiations between the two countries. onoda was confirmed to be alive in the fall of 1972. japanese government officials were considering making a consolation payment to the philippines, especially to the people of lub ong island. they were concerned onoda's return could result in a lawsuit. the documents show that onoda caused great harm to the island and its people. >> i went there to find out more. >> reporter: since oin ordnoda s fellow soldier believed the war was going on they didn't hesitate to use violence. they stole food fr