Vet refuses to take Unit 731 to his grave

[Captain Japan]

Vet refuses to take Unit 731 to his grave
Japan Times

A member of Unit 731 in northeast China in the 1930s and '40s, Shinozuka belonged to perhaps the most advanced biological weapons operation of its time. As a teenager, he participated in atrocities -- vivisections and other experiments on humans -- that for millions of Chinese epitomize Japan's Imperial rampage through Asia.

In February 1939, as Japan's war machine was devouring China, a recruiter came to Shinozuka's rural high school, dressed in an army aviator's uniform and promising a bright future for those who signed up. There would be college scholarships and possible careers in medicine or aviation, lots of travel, the satisfaction of serving the Emperor.
"We were all impressed," Shinozuka recalled. "It seemed like quite an opportunity."

Shinozuka aced the examination. "I think everybody passed that test," he said. "It was very easy."

In a tiled operating room, Shinozuka cleaned the victim with a scrub brush, front then back, then dried him off. Another man used a stethoscope to make sure the victim was still alive and then assisted a third man who quickly but methodically cut the victim open and removed his organs.

[gkanai]

[this is good]

JapanTimes doesnt have a "Print" format link?

Booooooo!!!

[kurohinge1]

For those interested in the above and the stark reality of how brutal the Japanese army was in China, you can hear more from the mouths of 14 other veterans in this documentary:

Riben Guizi: Devil Soldiers From Japan
(Director: Minoru MATSUI, 2000)

In this film (160 minutes), 14 former soldiers of the Imperial Army of Japan report on plain, unvarnished truth, confessing their atrocious deeds against Chinese soldiers and civilians during the war against China from 1931 to 1945. One of the soldiers says: "I had completely lost control of myself, and I derived pleasure from killing people. The more I killed the better I felt."

The things I remember most about the film were the lack of remorse shown by almost all of the veterans as they told of horrific deeds they performed (and even volunteered to do), and the fact that they were all still alive and free.

[stuckinkysuhu]

The things I remember most about the film were the lack of remorse shown by almost all of the veterans as they told of horrific deeds they performed (and even volunteered to do), and the fact that they were all still alive and free.

It's easy to think that way, but as seen in the Japan Times article we are talking about _kids_ here. The same guys you see on the train playing pokemon on their gameboys were being recruited to do horrific stuff in China. Not that they don't have some level of responsibility, because they do, but it's one of those tough situations where they probably aren't bad people but ended up in a horrible situation. The worst war criminals were the ones who put Japan's war machine in motion in the first place and those who preceded over it during the wars Japan fought. Thankfully many of them were tried and punished.

[blackcat]

stuckinkysuhu

Thankfully many of them were tried and punished.

SORRY VERY WRONG just over 100 were tried and punished. thousands were welcomed home and recieved 400,000 yen (in 1945 ) for services to the empire. many ex unit 731 ers started the green cross, others went onto successful political careers PM in 1957

they showed no remorse because what they were doing was to non japanese....so it didnt matter...they were brainwashed to think non japanese were irrelevant. pity was weak.

scum of the earth

[Ketou]

stuckinkysuhu

Thankfully many of them were tried and punished.

SORRY VERY WRONG just over 100 were tried and punished. thousands were welcomed home and recieved 400,000 yen (in 1945 ) for services to the empire. many ex unit 731 ers started the green cross, others went onto successful political careers PM in 1957

they showed no remorse because what they were doing was to non japanese....so it didnt matter...they were brainwashed to think non japanese were irrelevant. pity was weak.

scum of the earth

Being brainwashed (although I think people also detach themselves to cope) to view the enemy as non-human is common throughout most conflicts. This was not a Japanese only phenomenon.
As for pity. Well, pity was not shown to the enemy by many armies. One example being the battle of the Owen Stanley Ranges (WWII) where almost no prisoners were taken by either side. Most were shot on the spot.
What unit 731 did was horrific.
But I can't help and wonder if I was told to dissect some poor bastard or take a bullet what I would do. (pretty sure I'd ask where the scapel is)

[japslapper]

stuckinkysuhu



they showed no remorse because what they were doing was to non japanese....so it didnt matter...they were brainwashed to think non japanese were irrelevant. pity was weak.

In a large part Japanese culture is still the same. As a FG a I am the brand that everyone loves to show off but in reality if it is "non brand mode time" then,I am worse than dirt - out group/in group view is polarised here in Japan as in the "official" version of history.

Some Vets have balls - but they are in the news because they are rare!

[Cubed]

Some Vets have balls - but they are in the news because they are rare!

No, actually I think the problem is that most of the people with the balls to publicicse what they did or what they were ordered to do are not in the Japanese media, as Japanese media is heavily censored by the government through the Press Club.

[blackcat]

"cubed"

100% spot on. and thats the point I would make to you "Ketou" yes this has happened in other wars, not the issue tho is it?
this is the typical excuse used by japanese to avoid responsiblity and even admittance of these crimes.

much is known of napalm/agent orange/Nazi death camps etc. ask some people (anywhere) about unit 731!!!!

little is known because the japanese are obsessed with hiding negative truths about thier society/history.

[Ketou]

You are quite correct Blackcat.

Cubed, spot on there also.

I was not talking about the denial of the Japanese government/people but about the atrocities themselves.
The outright censorship of the truth by the press etc is a real stain on the Japanese people.

[gkanai]

little is known because the japanese are obsessed with hiding negative truths about thier society/history.

It ain't just the Japanese.

The Americans and their extermination of the American Indians.

The US self-testing atomic weapons on US soil, irradiating civilians and unknowing military.

The list goes on and on, for every nation that has fought a war.

[devicenull]

i have seen enough evidence and have enough pictures to shut up the japs who try to deny this shit happened. excellent feature on 731 at the memorial too.

[Captain Japan]

Filmmaker documents Japan's WWII germ experiments in China
Mainichi

A documentary film on Japan's notorious secret unit that conducted germ experiments on Chinese prisoners of war (POWs) in northeastern China during World War II is to be shown in Tokyo Friday evening, its producer said Thursday.

The 60-minute film titled, "The Phantom Unit 731," directed by TV producer Haruko Yoshinaga, will be shown at the Shufu Kaikan hall in Chiyoda-ku, beginning at 6:30 p.m., Friday.

"I'd like to show the film anywhere in Japan if requested," Yoshinaga said....more...

[Mulboyne]

Xinhua: Picture album exposing Japan's biochemical crime to be published
A picture album exposing the crimescommitted by Unit 731 of the invading Japanese troops in China during the World War II will be published within the year, according to the Unit 731 Crimes Exhibition Hall based in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province...more...

[Mulboyne]

ABC: US paid for Japanese human germ warfare data
...But two declassified US Government documents reveal Washington's eagerness to obtain such data extended to providing monetary rewards, despite the awful nature of Unit 731's activities, in an apparent attempt to beat the Soviet Union in the arms development race. Historians believe that some 3,000 people died in the human experiments conducted in China by the unit led by military doctor Shiro Ishii before and during the war. The total amount paid to unnamed former members of the infamous unit was somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 yen, equivalent to about 20 million to 40 million yen today...more...

[Mulboyne]

[Captain Japan]

Tokyo homes may sit on WWII mass grave
AP via the Star-Telegram

TOKYO - The Toyama No. 5 apartment block is quiet at midday - laundry flapping from balconies, old people taking an after-lunch stroll. But the building and its nearby park may be sitting on a gruesome World War II secret.

A wartime nurse has broken more than 60 years of silence to reveal her part in burying dozens, perhaps hundreds, of bodies there as American forces occupied the Japanese capital.

The way experts see it, these were no ordinary casualties of war, but possible victims of Tokyo's shadowy wartime experiments on live prisoners of war - an atrocity that has never been officially recognized by the Japanese government, but is well documented by historians and participants.

The neighborhood on the west side of Tokyo is deeply troubled.

"I feel sorry for remains with such a sad history," said Teppei Kuroda, a college senior who lives there. "I think they should be dug up and mourned properly."

Their first burial was anything but dignified.

Former nurse Toyo Ishii says that during the weeks following Japan's surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, she and colleagues at an army hospital at the site were ordered to bury corpses, bones and body parts - she doesn't know how many - before the Americans arrived....more...

[Taro Toporific]

Tokyo homes may sit on WWII mass grave
AP via the Star-Telegram

Yesterday's thread "TOKYO POLTERGIEST" is also covering this AP story (but merging the threads seems unnecessary). As I said before....

People in the neiborhood say that this area was the site of the WWII bio-war experiments.
I think this is the map to Toyama No. 5 apartment which is between the park, Infectious Disease Center, by the Toyama Sunrise (colored orange).


However, I have also heard that the location was just west of Ikebukero. Does anybody know the exact location?

[Greji]

Yesterday's thread "TOKYO POLTERGIEST" is also covering this AP story (but merging the threads seems unnecessary). As I said before....

The map would seem right, but exactly what are you trying to dig up here?

[Mulboyne]

Japan Focus: The United States and the Japanese Mengele: Payoffs and Amnesty for Unit 731

...Everyone has heard of Auschwitz, but what about Pingfan? This Japanese germ warfare headquarters and laboratory in Manchuria, northern China, did not hold as many victims, but atrocities committed there were physically worse than in the Nazi concentration camp, and lasted much longer. Many people know of Dr. Josef Mengele, the Nazi SS "Angel of Death" and a physician (though not chief medical officer) at Auschwitz from 1943-45. There, he deliberately infected prisoners with deadly diseases and conducted fatal surgeries, often without anesthetic. He escaped and lived in South America undiscovered until after his death at 68 in 1979 in Brazil. But what of Army General Dr. Ishii Shiro? He was the chief of Japan's well financed, scientifically coordinated and government approved biological warfare program from 1932-45. Ishii rose to general and supervised deliberate infection of thousands of captives with deadly diseases. He also conducted grotesque surgeries, but the unique medical specialty of Ishii and his surgical team were dissections, without anesthetic, on an estimated 3,000 live, conscious humans. In 1959, Ishii, a wealthy man, died peacefully at home in Japan at the age of 67...more...

[Thanatos' embalmed botfly]

Japan Unit 731

2009 Reunion.


We have reunion this year to reminisce.

Please to reminisce together.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731



Unit 731, Premiere Wartime Industry Operation.




Old Lieutenant with polaroid of Unit 731 smelter
running at full capacity in Spring evening, 1944.
Polaroid was invented in 1972. Japan is advance technology.














"This game is shit. Let's skin someone."




















"This map? That grate? No relation.
Now switch off that fucking camera, boy."



















Useless teenagers stupidly unaware of
history of old skin-graft drying benches.

















"Unit 731? Ah yes, those were the days. Now how
about that ice-cold beverage, you pesky dickhead?"














Randy old Cap'n tries to see up hot madams dress.
To no avail. She is wearing trousers today.

















In background, Death Train prototype DF738/2.
In foreground, comfort woman and dwarf. Maybe
execute later. (Woman and dwarf. Not train.)

[DrP]

If you go to Toyoma Koen, you can find a monument there that honors the soldiers who were recruited and trained at the 'hospital' school. Also - don't forget to check out the infectious disease center - notice how different it is from the rest of the buildings...

Lastly, the most obvious thing about the park itself is that its almost entirely free of homeless blue tarps. I talked to one guy there and he said its definitely haunted so locals prefer to stay away.

According to some research [sic] quite alot of <research materials> were transported back to the hospital and disease center for use in ongoing training and research. Of course those research materials were largely the remains of POW and victims of various Japanese bio experimentation - including 731.

I find it interesting that it took until the 1980's for Japan to 'discover' the 731 atrocities. Obviously alot of collusion and denial.

Oh, by the way, I have the video 'Men Behind the Sun' -- a pretty gnarly dramatization of 731. The scene with the woman getting her frozen arms beat with a piece of lumber until they crumble apart would be considered way over the top, except the fact that this type of 'experimentation' actually happened according to their 'research notes'.

Yesterday's thread "TOKYO POLTERGIEST" is also covering this AP story (but merging the threads seems unnecessary). As I said before....

[Takechanpoo]

I am sure that testing on a living person like 731 must had been done in U.S.A, Soviet, China or other countries in the same period or the later.
Just still have not been revealed.
So you dudes should not speak about 731 like other people's affair.

[Bucky]

Digging up the past.

Japan is starting to excavate the site of a former medical school that may reveal grisly secrets from World War II.

The investigation begins Monday at the former school linked to Unit 731, a germ and biological warfare outfit during the war. Shadowy experiments conducted by the unit on war prisoners have never been officially acknowledged by the government but have been documented by historians and participants.

It is the first government probe of the Tokyo site, and follows a former nurse's revelation that she helped bury body parts there as American forces began occupying the capital at the end of the war.
Health Ministry official Kazuhiko Kawauchi said the excavation is aimed at finding out if anything is buried in the plot.

"We are not certain if the survey will find anything," Kawauchi said. "If anything is dug up, it may not be related to Unit 731."

The former nurse, Toyo Ishii, now 88, broke 60 years of silence in 2006, saying she and colleagues at an army hospital at the site were ordered to bury numerous corpses, bones and body parts during the weeks following Japan's Aug. 15, 1945, surrender before American troops arrived in the capital.

[TennoChinko]

Here is a pictoral 'tour' of the alleged 731 sites in Tokyo:

http://www.hellodamage.com/top/2009/04/29/unit-731-walking-tour-of-ookubo/

[McTojo]

"cubed"

100% spot on. and thats the point I would make to you "Ketou" yes this has happened in other wars, not the issue tho is it?
this is the typical excuse used by japanese to avoid responsiblity and even admittance of these crimes.

much is known of napalm/agent orange/Nazi death camps etc. ask some people (anywhere) about unit 731!!!!

little is known because the japanese are obsessed with hiding negative truths about thier society/history.

It is the issue. What Ketou is trying to get you to see is that you cannot, regardless of the issue, condemn the soldiers for following orders. And like he said, there were more example of this in other countries. You just want to JapanBash, that all. All nations follow suit. Most people know very little about atrocities committing against native Americans and negroes because it's not kosher to talk about. In Japan's case it's the same.

[Iraira]

Most people know very little about atrocities committing against native Americans and negroes because it's not kosher to talk about.

Read any US history textbooks back in high school and college?

[AML]

If they fucking admitted openly to doing what they did I could forgive them.

But the more I learn about Japan (and what they did) the more I fucking hate these people!

And I married one!

[Yokohammer]

If they fucking admitted openly to doing what they did I could forgive them.

But the more I learn about Japan (and what they did) the more I fucking hate these people!

And I married one!

Be careful with that line of thought, it can drive you nuts.

Do you hate the Germans? The British Empire was pretty brutal in its many "colonizations." The crusades were a massacre, do you hate all Christians? (I'm a devout atheist, so you can say "yes" if you like ).

The point is that just about every country/culture has a few skeletons in the closet. Admittedly Japan needs to clear the air regarding a few of it's skeletons, but are you going to decide that the entire country is evil because of that? You'll just end up eating yourself up from the inside out.

It's really easy to get all wound up about this stuff, but it just isn't healthy.

I married one too, by the way. 30+ years. And that's another very good reason not to spread the blame too much.

End of sermon ... (sorry 'bout that).

[AML]

Of course I dont hate everyone just the attitude that people have.

It just pisses me off because its like they didn't learn ANYTHING from fighting and loosing the war!

If anything, Japans rise to economic power has made them even worse....

They are still incredibly racist, and look down on Chinese and Koreans (is it any wonder they still harbor resentment towards the Japanese?)

And now that they have all this money they think they can do whatever they fucking want and get away with it!

At least the Germans learned not to be (total) dicks!

Rant over.