Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
WARNING: The following contains graphic content and descriptions. Reader discression is advised.
WARNING: The following contains graphic content and descriptions. Reader discression is advised.
A Secret Unit made of evil
Unit 731 was a covert division of Japan’s Kwantung Army, officially named the “Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department,” operating in occupied Manchuria from 1936–1945.
It served as a hidden laboratory for biological warfare and human experimentation.
Led by a Visionary—Turned War Criminal
The unit was commanded by Lieutenant‑General Shirō Ishii, a microbiologist who believed biological weapons could secure Japan’s dominance.
He led the program until the end of the war in 1945.
Human Experimentation on a Chilling Scale
According to the website allthatisintersting.com, between 3,000 and 14,000 prisoners—mainly Chinese civilians, but also Korean, Russian, and Allied POWs—were subjected to vivisection without anaesthesia, frostbite trials, organ removal, and high-altitude simulations
Forced pregnancies
The most inhumane programme of Unit 731 was forcing female prisoners to become pregnant, either by insemination or rape.
The point of this was to research the hypothetical of vertical transmisisons (from mother tho child) of diseases – syphilis in particular.
Diseases Used as Weapons
Various records describes how the unit infected victims with plague, anthrax, cholera, typhus, and other pathogens.
Biological weapons were deployed via fleas dropped from planes, and contaminated food and water supplies, resulting in deadly outbreaks.
Death Toll: Thousands—Or Hundreds of Thousands?
While 3,000 to 14,000 prisoners died directly in the experiments, researchers estimate that up to 200,000 civilians may have been killed by disease attacks in China.
Immunity for Atrocities
After Japan’s surrender, the US under General MacArthur’s occupation, granted immunity to Ishii and his colleagues in exchange for their data on biological warfare.
They were never prosecuted.
The complex of Unit 731 was destroyed to cover up what had been going on.
The Long Shadow of Silence
The full atrocities of Unit 731 remained hidden for decades. In Japan and public discussion was minimal.
In the West, US secrecy kept the truth buried until the 1980s and 1990s, according to an article from EBSCO.
Survivors Speak Out
According to The Times, some of the surviving staff of Unit 731 has since shared horrifying testimonials detailing vivisections and deliberate infections witnessed firsthand.
But many nationalist of today dismiss the witness testimonies, with several Unit 731-members being alienated from their families for speaking up.
China’s Memorial to the Victims
The former Unit 731 facilities in Harbin have been converted into a museum documenting the experiments.
Detailed exhibits and survivor testimonies now serve public education and memory.
Court rules: It happened
In 2002, a Tokyo court ruled that the Japanese crimes of WW2 did in fact take place.
But the court rejected any compensation claims for surviving victims and their families, on the grounds that all reparation issues had been settled through international peace treaties.
A Painful Diplomatic Wound
Japan has never delivered a full state apology.
Occasional denials or minimisations by some historians and officials continue to strain relations, particularly with China and South Korea
