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)