Japan had long denied it engaged in
germ warfare in China during World War II. But the situation took a
shift in August 2002 when 180 Chinese victims sought compensation
from the Japanese government.
Although they were to face disappointment when their petition was
rejected by the Tokyo District Court, Judge Koji Iwata declared for
the first time "The deployment of biological weapons (in China in
the 1930s and 1940s) was a strategic part of Japan's war plans and
was carried out under orders from the central command of the
army."
The Japanese army's so-called "Epidemic Prevention and Water-Supply
Unit" is better known as Unit 731. It was established in 1936 under
an imperial edict issued by Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989) which
established the basis for the atrocities it would go on to commit.
Judge Iwata said its "main objective was to research, develop and
manufacture biological weapons."
From 1936 to 1945, the notorious Unit 731 conducted biological
experiments on live human subjects as it developed its biological
weapons. Many Chinese people lost their lives subjected to these
cruel experiments.
Many people have come from around the world to the site of the Unit
731 headquarters some 20 kilometers south of Harbin, capital of
northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province. They wish to see the evidence of the Japanese army's
guilt with their own eyes. However there has been disappointment at
the lack of tangible evidence to be seen on the spot.
With its defeat in 1945, the retreating Japanese army blew up all
the buildings on the site except the main office. This now houses
the Unit 731 Criminal Evidence Museum.
"In fact, Unit 731 constructed extensive underground facilities for
their human experiments. They did not have time to destroy these
when they pulled out. So a tremendous amount of evidence must have
been buried deep underground," said Wang Peng, the museum's
curator.
According to local people, those underground structures had caused
them a lot of trouble. For instance, when excavating for house
foundations, they have often come across hidden openings going down
to fathomless depths.
Since 1945 the local government has never carried out a
comprehensive investigation into the ruins of the buildings and
equipment left by Unit 731," said Wang Peng. "To make matters
worse, over the past few decades people were moving into the area
of the historic site. This continued until 2000 when all the
residents here were relocated and a small-scale excavation was
launched.
The 2000 dig exposed the No.7 prison and a germ warfare laboratory
where prisoners were subjected to bacteriological experiments. In
the absence of good maintenance due to a shortage of funds, all the
remains that were unearthed have fallen prey to erosion,
weathering, and frost damage even though they were under
provincial-level protection.
"Taking the post-dig costs of preserving the relics into account,
some experts say that no less than 30 million yuan (about US$3.75
million) would be needed to launch a full-scale excavation at the
Unit 731 site. The state's current annual budgetary appropriation
of 270,000 yuan (about US$33,750) is just a drop in the ocean.
Given the museum's inadequate ticket earnings and the lack of any
non-governmental capital it's proving extremely difficult to get
the excavation project started," said Wang.
Thus the museum has often found itself in a difficult position for
many of the Japanese atrocities admitted by former members of Unit
731 cannot be confirmed by tangible evidence at the site. For
instance, on August 11, 1945, after blowing up the buildings at the
Unit 731 headquarters site, the Japanese army shot dead over 400
prisoners on the experimental list. They poured gasoline on the
corpses and burned them in eight pits. Some remains were thrown
into the Songhua River.
Wang said, "Many former Unit 731 members have spoken of this
cold-blooded massacre, but none of the victims' remains have been
found, nor will they be without a full-scale excavation."
Another problem troubling Wang is that the former personnel of Unit
731 are now dying off themselves. They are important witnesses with
information on the Japanese army's brutality. In 2000, excavations
to the northwest of the No.7 prison uncovered what was at first
thought to have been the boiler room. However, some former Unit 731
personnel returned to the spot by invitation on two occasions in
2001. They all consistently verified that what had been unearthed
was in fact a "dissecting room". One of the returnees admitted he
had personally vivisected five Chinese prisoners in that
place.
Another former member of Unit 731 told Wang Peng, "Eight of my
former colleagues in Unit 731 who are now confined to their
sickbeds, hope to see you in Japan. They want to tell you of the
tormenting secrets buried in their hearts."
According to Wang, six or seven years ago, around 700 to 800 former
Unit 731 members were still alive. However in recent years,
visiting Japanese delegations have saying that more and more of
them are now dying.
Many former Unit 731 members prefer not to reveal the truth about
what they were involved in until one or two months before their own
deaths.
"So it's necessary for us to keep in close touch with them and help
dispel their misgivings," said Wang.
"The physical remains to be found at the Unit 731 site represent
material evidence. Those former Unit 731 members who are still
alive are witnesses," Wang said. "Our job is to take account of
what both the material evidence and the witnesses have to tell us.
This dialogue is becoming more urgent than ever before."
(China.org.cn by Shao Da, October 4, 2004)