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I've been watching a documentary on Japan's WW2 era research into biological and chemical warfare material and I must say Japan committed some horrible atrocities. The focal point of Japan's research was the Japanese Imperial Army Unit 731 based in Manchuria which often used live test subjects, vivisection, and Chinese peasants as research material. The tale is public domain and available free on the internet via Google video.
This is a link top part 1 of 5 of the documentary and all five parts are free over the internet.
Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that undertook lethal human experimentation during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and World War II.
It was responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes carried out by Japanese personnel. Officially known by the Imperial Japanese Army as the Kempeitai Political Department and Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory, it was initially set up under the Kempeitai military police of the Empire of Japan to develop weapons of mass destruction for potential use against Chinese, and possibly Soviet forces.
Unit 731 was based in the Pingfang district of the city of Harbin in the puppet state of Manchukuo.
Shiro Ishii, commander of Unit 731
More than ten thousand people, from which around 600 every year were provided by the kempeitai, were subjects of the experimentation conducted by Unit 731. These were both civilian and military of Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, and Russian origin as well as some Japanese criminals from the Japanese mainlands. Some American and European Allied prisoners of war also died at the hands of Unit 731.
In addition, the use of biological weapons researched in Unit 731s bioweapons and chemical weapons programs resulted in tens of thousands of military and civilian deaths in China – possibly as many as 200,000 casualties by some estimates.
Unit 731 was the headquarters of many subsidiary units used by the Japanese to research biological warfare; other units included Unit 516 (Qiqihar), Unit 543 (Hailar), Unit 773 (Songo unit), Unit 100 (Changchun), Unit Ei 1644 (Nanjing), Unit 1855 (Beijing), Unit 8604 (Guangzhou), Unit 200 (Manchuria) and Unit 9420 (Singapore).
Many of the scientists involved in Unit 731 went on to prominent careers in post-war politics, academia, business, and medicine. Some were arrested by Soviet forces and tried at the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials; others, who surrendered to the Americans, were granted amnesty in exchange for access to the data collected by them.
On 6 May 1947, Douglas MacArthur, as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, wrote to Washington that additional data, possibly some statements from Ishii probably can be obtained by informing Japanese involved that information will be retained in intelligence channels and will not be employed as War Crimes evidence. The deal was concluded in 1948.
Because of their brutality, Unit 731s actions have now been declared by the United Nations to have been crimes against humanity.
It was responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes carried out by Japanese personnel. Officially known by the Imperial Japanese Army as the Kempeitai Political Department and Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory, it was initially set up under the Kempeitai military police of the Empire of Japan to develop weapons of mass destruction for potential use against Chinese, and possibly Soviet forces.
Unit 731 was based in the Pingfang district of the city of Harbin in the puppet state of Manchukuo.
Shiro Ishii, commander of Unit 731
More than ten thousand people, from which around 600 every year were provided by the kempeitai, were subjects of the experimentation conducted by Unit 731. These were both civilian and military of Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, and Russian origin as well as some Japanese criminals from the Japanese mainlands. Some American and European Allied prisoners of war also died at the hands of Unit 731.
In addition, the use of biological weapons researched in Unit 731s bioweapons and chemical weapons programs resulted in tens of thousands of military and civilian deaths in China – possibly as many as 200,000 casualties by some estimates.
Unit 731 was the headquarters of many subsidiary units used by the Japanese to research biological warfare; other units included Unit 516 (Qiqihar), Unit 543 (Hailar), Unit 773 (Songo unit), Unit 100 (Changchun), Unit Ei 1644 (Nanjing), Unit 1855 (Beijing), Unit 8604 (Guangzhou), Unit 200 (Manchuria) and Unit 9420 (Singapore).
Many of the scientists involved in Unit 731 went on to prominent careers in post-war politics, academia, business, and medicine. Some were arrested by Soviet forces and tried at the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials; others, who surrendered to the Americans, were granted amnesty in exchange for access to the data collected by them.
On 6 May 1947, Douglas MacArthur, as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, wrote to Washington that additional data, possibly some statements from Ishii probably can be obtained by informing Japanese involved that information will be retained in intelligence channels and will not be employed as War Crimes evidence. The deal was concluded in 1948.
Because of their brutality, Unit 731s actions have now been declared by the United Nations to have been crimes against humanity.
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