UNIT 731: A BRIEF HISTORY
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The Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army was a Japanese military unit, which was created during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and which functioned till the end of the Second World War. Under its second name “the Unit 731” this military and scientific formation became famous for its terrible lethal experimentations on humans on the territory which was occupied by Japanese troops. At the same time, the history of Unit 731 and its atrocities was revealing only after the end of the Cold War. The analysis of evidences about a history of the Unit 731 and about its historical context shows that the Western states chose to cover the atrocities of this military formation, because the Western block needed Japan as its ally in the struggle against world communism.
Evidences about Creation of Unit 731
The historical background of creation of Unit 731 was related to the history of Japanese military aggression against China in 1931, Japanese occupation of Manchuria and creation of a satellite-state Manchukuo. According to plans of Japanese militarists and their idea of “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” this puppet-state should be used as a strategic foothold for invasion of the Soviet Union and Mongolia, on the one hand, and continue of the military aggression against China, on the other, the general goal of which was a creation of Japanese pan-Asian empire1. The goals of creation of a secret military laboratory in Manchuria were determined by these aggressive plans of Japanese militarism.
Development of a New Type of Warfare
The first half of the twentieth century and, especially, the period of the First World War was associated with great changes of the methods of war. First of all, these changes were associated with a usage of weapons of mass destruction, such as the chemical weapon and bacteriological weapon. The experience of successful German chemical attacks of the First World War was very attractive for some members of Japanese High Command, such as General Colonel Chikahiko Koizumi, who later became one of the initiators of creation of the Unit 7312. During the First World War he was a member of Japanese secret gas poison research committee, where he understood that a creation of military research laboratories for the experiments with mass weapons would be beneficial for Japanese military goals3. The decision of Japanese militarist was terrible, because these experiments should use live human beings as the biological material.
The Foundation of Unit 731
The foundation of Unit 731 was initiated by Japanese medical officer Surgeon General Shirō Ishii and was supported by the Japanese High Command. According to Daniel Barenblatt, the personal traits of Shirō Ishii were similar to the personal traits of his nazi counterpart Joseph Mengele, because both them embodied the archetype of functioning sociopaths4. Ishii was one of the finest scientists of Japan with a great talent in medicine5. At the same time, he was characterized by the lack of humanity. For example, after reading of Japan’s report on the Geneva Convention of 1925, which prohibited the use of bacteriological weapon, Ishii became attracted by the idea that this type of weapon is necessary for the goals of Japanese imperial expansion6. For this purpose, in 1920s Ishii began the study of bacteriological weapon in Europe and America7. After his return to Japan, General Colonel Chikahiko Koizumi from Japanese High Command helped Shirō Ishii to find sources for establishing of his research laboratory and for beginning of his first experiments on humans in Manchuria8. In 1932 the research laboratory received its official title “The Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory” and was located in the Zhongma Fortress at Pingfang District of Harbin9. The laboratory itself was a large building with near one hundred rooms, which contained laboratories and cells for prisoners10. The building was well guarded by the Japanese soldiers, who, according to testimonies of witnesses, fired everyone who tried to enter11. The territory of the research laboratory was protected by three-meter-high wall with high-voltage electric wire12. These aspects show that since the beginning the laboratory in Manchuria was established for conducting of secret projects of Japanese army, the goals of which were directed not only to prevention of epidemic diseases. Similarly, the founders of “The Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory” were aware these secret goals since the beginning of its history.