New evidence of how Japanese troops tested biological weapons on live people during World War II was revealed Tuesday in Anda City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The evidence, found at the site of Anda experiment field of Japan's infamous Unit 731, contains 11 pottery bacteriological bomb flakes, which are similar to those found in the headquarters of Japan's infamous Unit 731.

The site of prison cells in which subjects were locked for tests, according to Jin Chengmin, a researcher on the germ and gas warfare of Japanese troops.

He believes this is the first direct evidence of Unit 731's field germ tests on live people in World War II, following documentary evidence and statements from victims and perpetrators.

"We caught typhoid, and two died of it after drinking water from this well left by Japanese troops," said wartime victim Liu Zhi, pointing to a well on the site.

Unit 731 set up several testing fields around Anda, Taolaizhao and Pingfang during the World War II. The Anda station was built in 1941 and frequently used.

The site was spotted by Chinese experts and Japanese archeologists, who have investigated the area since March 2002. They also found specific locations of barracks, underground channels, prison cells, dissecting rooms, three wells and a temporary airport.

Unit 731 carried out bacteriological tests on live people and livestock, according to laborers and members of Japan's Unit 731.

A Japanese who attended the tests confessed to Jin Chengmin, "We used live people in the tests, forcing them to wear Japanese army uniforms. A test usually needed about 16 to 20 people. I took part in such tests seven times. About 20 minutes after the warning whistle, planes dropped germ bombs to an area circled by 18 to 20 people. We were about 150 to 300 meters away from the subjects, near enough to observe the situation."

Before Japan's retreat from China in August 1945, the unit destroyed most of the incriminating evidence.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2002)