Video testimony of former Unit 731 member released

A former member of Unit 731, the notorious germ-warfare detachment of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, has confessed to conducting human experiments, including dissecting still-warm bodies, and developing biological weapons, according to video evidence released for the first time.

An 83-minute video of Masakuni Kurumizawa's oral testimony was released by the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army, a museum in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, on Monday, which marked the 88th anniversary of the Lugou Bridge Incident.

On the night of July 7, 1937, Japanese troops conducting military exercises near the Lugou Bridge in suburban Beijing attacked Chinese forces, an event that marked the start of Japan's full-scale invasion of China and China's whole-nation resistance against the Japanese invaders.

In his testimony, Kurumizawa said: "I dissected 300 human bodies, about one-third of which were preserved as specimens, while the rest were burned. When we performed the dissections, the bodies were still warm and blood spurted out."

Unit 731 developed and mass produced bacteria for causing diseases such as bubonic plague, cholera, typhoid, dysentery and anthrax, according to Kurumizawa.

In order to cultivate more virulent bacteria, Unit 731 used living test subjects including both animals and human prisoners. These living subjects, referred to as "marutas" by the Japanese, included Chinese, Korean, Mongolian and Soviet prisoners of war, he said. "We maintained a stock of more than 40 individuals for research purposes, and could replenish the stock as needed," he added.

Kurumizawa said that due to the confidentiality regulations of Unit 731, even his own family was unaware of his criminal activities.

Unit 731 was a top-secret biological and chemical weapon research base established in 1932 as the nerve center of Japan's germ warfare during WWII. It conducted experiments on at least 3,000 people, while more than 300,000 people across China were killed by Japan's biological weapons.

Jin Shicheng, deputy secretary-general of Harbin History Association of Biological and Gas Warfare of Japanese Army, said that Unit 731 placed humans and animals in the same category, showing an utter lack of respect for humankind.

"The brutal details confirm extreme disregard for human life. It is a major reason why incriminating evidence against Unit 731 was not immediately released to the public after WWII," Jin said.

Japanese Imperial Army registration forms record a total of 3,497 personnel attached to Unit 731, most of whom are now dead, Jin said.

"The new evidence is a crucial supplement to the study of Unit 731, with oral testimonies complementing written records, artifacts and sites to further reveal the atrocities committed during the war," he said.

"After the war, only a few former members of Unit 731 came forward voluntarily, while most others remained silent. Exposing all evidence related to Unit 731 should be a joint effort of peace forces worldwide," Jin added.