Why Japanese so very cruel?

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Treaty (NATO etc) signing countries today are held to a higher standard. Sometimes, by the mostly useless and occasionally terrorist-run United Nations 'peace-keeping forces' and sometimes just by the media and foreign scrutiny. Here in Israel, for example, prisoners, even prisoners of war, have rights, and a soldier who attacks or kills one is charged and sent to prison. We are far superior to the US and maybe most of the world on prisoners of war, but perhaps it is at least partly because the world is watching us. Holding us accountable.

As Nagase says, noone is talking about this. And Turkey is still denying it committed genocide on Armenians and Kurds. And most of the Middle East has terrible torture, the Sudan - many, many parts of the world do still. But in answer to your question, I think the reason for the extreme cruelty portrayed here is a reflection of the era, when EVERYONE got away with that. In 2016, it is just the acknowledged barbarians (terrorists) perpetrating torture on prisoners of war.

For the same reason the British were so cruel in Ireland and Kenya, or why the Americans have done the things they've done in places like Korea and Vietnam, or even in their own country. Colonialism, ideology of racial superiority. In Japan's case, fascism and militarism added extra doses of cruelty to the mix. And the very nature of war lends something to it as well.

It's far from accurate, and frankly it's racist, to say this is an inherently Japanese thing, something common to all Japanese and something they've always had. It was something specific to the circumstances and it's far from unique to Japan.