Unit 731

[The Smoking Man]

On a lot of the sites that I post on, people inevitably say when I mention 'Unit 731' or ANYTHING to do with Japan during the second world war ... 'That was over 50 years ago. Time to forget'.

I wish it could be so easy.

You see, due to the Official Secrets Act, the revelations about what actually occurred during the war have been sealed to the world and have only JUST come out from behind the 'veil of secrecy'.

Individual Chinese citizens have been trying to sue the Japanese government for things done to them during the war for over 50 years however the Japanese courts have been allowed a peculiar defence stating that there is 'no evidence'.

Actually, there is evidence, it is just sealed.

Unit 731, the 'Mengle-esque' unit responsible for biological and chemical experimentation was not even acknowledged to have existed until the early 1990's by the Japanese Supreme court but the government itself refused to acknowledge its activities.

Due to the veil of secrecy being lifted, this is some of the information that is coming to light:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050815a1.htm

What do you think?

Should we forget?

Should we really ignore what happened as a result of Japan's activities?

Ishii is said to have killed 12 times the number of victims of Mengele and yet he was PAID for his information by the US government.

[TheStatutoryApe]

I agree that these people should have been taken to trial. Guilty parties don't always go to jail though. Quite often they strike bargains for a get out of jail free card.
Should the arrangements that were made no longer be honoured? If so I would think that you would have to consider the arrangements made illegal so should those that made those arrangements be prosecuted too?

[The Smoking Man]

I agree that these people should have been taken to trial. Guilty parties don't always go to jail though. Quite often they strike bargains for a get out of jail free card.
Should the arrangements that were made no longer be honoured? If so I would think that you would have to consider the arrangements made illegal so should those that made those arrangements be prosecuted too?I don't think there were any official arrangements not to prosecute.

I think they just 'failed to bring suit' in return for information.

Unfortunately, from some of the other information I have read on the subject, this 'conspiracy' seems to go as high as the presidency.

A 137-page counterintelligence file from the National Archives which had been declassified, makes it clear that U.S. intelligence agents not only covered up war crimes against Americans, but also aggressively protected the architect of those crimes, Lt. Gen. Shiro Ishii.

"At the request of Nationalist Chinese officials who heard about "bacteriological experiments upon Chinese and Americans as human guinea pigs," the U.S. counterintelligence corps prepared a report on Ishii, the head of Unit 731, according to a July 24, 1947, memo. The document makes it clear that a high-level U.S. intelligence officer, Col. Philip Bethune, quashed the report after informing his agents that " no information is to be released to any agent as data on subject is classified as top secret." The agent who wrote the memo, identified only by the initials WSC, also wrote that "Col. Bethune desires no further action be taken in this case. No further action was taken."

Months later, on April 15, 1948, it was noted for the record that "It is of a highly sensitive nature, and that every precaution must be taken to maintain its secrecy."

A report dated April 18, 1947 from the legal section of Gen. MacArthur's headquarters, specifying that the Unit 731 investigation was "under direct Joint Chiefs of Staff order." "Every step, interrogation, or contact must be coordinated with this section," said the report by Lt. Neal R. Smith of Report of Investigation Division, Legal Section, " The utmost secrecy is essential in order to protect the interests of the United States and to guard against embarrassment."

Some of the reports were labeled "Commander in Chief" that leaves little doubt that US President Truman was informed of the events. President Truman also withdrew the 1925 Geneva Protocol outlawing Chemical and Biological Weapons from Senate ratification of protocol in 1947.

http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/packages/ccic/cnd/InfoBase/NJMassacre/germ-warfare1.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/28/1030508070534.html?oneclick=true

[TRCSF]

Does anybody else find it deeply ironic that right now the WH is actively trying to hide photos and videos of war crimes at Abu Ghraib? They're not even releasing the reasons why they're hiding the evidence.

[PerennialII]

Never forget. The dirty deals, arrangements, failures to carry legal action etc. that have been made should belong to the same category, power doesn't supersede laws and treaties as obvious and naive as it is. For that purpose alone cleaning under the rugs serves a purpose, thinking about our day and age it doesn't appear that lessons have been learned.

[russ_watters]

'That was over 50 years ago. Time to forget'. This isn't about forgetting, its about lawsuits.

What do you think the statute of limitations should be on such lawsuits? Should children, grandchildren, etc. be allowed to sue?

In the US, there is a (small) movement for getting decendants of slaves reparations for work performed 150+ years ago. Do you think that is reasonable?

[The Smoking Man]

This isn't about forgetting, its about lawsuits.

What do you think the statute of limitations should be on such lawsuits? Should children, grandchildren, etc. be allowed to sue?When the evidence required to sue is buried in the name of 'national security' and lawsuits are repeatedly being thrown out, what do you think?

These are not grand kids, by the way ... in most cases, they are the principals.

Also, there is no statute of limitations on murder and crimes against humanity.

Are you implying becasue the crimes were committed 50 years ago, they have no basis in law?

[The Smoking Man]

This isn't about forgetting, its about lawsuits.

What do you think the statute of limitations should be on such lawsuits? Should children, grandchildren, etc. be allowed to sue?

In the US, there is a (small) movement for getting decendants of slaves reparations for work performed 150+ years ago. Do you think that is reasonable?Ms. Wang Xuan is called by some as " The Joan of Arc of China". She was interviewed by PBS and BBC for their documentary films, including: "Unit 731: Nightmare in Manchuria", "Rotten Foot Village" and the most recent "Avoiding Armageddon".

She used to live in rural village called Yiwu on China's east coast. She shows visitors the Tragedy Pavilion which lists 1,500 plague victims, and describes how Unit 731 dropped plague-infected fleas from aircraft and killed 20 villagers a day at one point in 1942. She then leads visitors through the gray-brick Buddhist temple where the Japanese performed autopsies to gauge the impact of their biological tests.

Ms. Wang has assembled 180 Chinese victims and sued Japan, charging that Japan had spread bubonic plague and other diseases in China during WWII. However, in 2002, Tokyo District Court rejected their claim for an apology and compensation.

I should add that this was the test case where the Supreme Court of Japan was forced to admit the presence of Unit 731 since they had a Japanese participant testify as to what he did.

[arildno]

Well, and then it is the matter with our beloved Werner von Braun.
Made quite a career for himself in the US, didn't he?
The old f*cking Nazi.

[The Smoking Man]

This isn't about forgetting, its about lawsuits.

What do you think the statute of limitations should be on such lawsuits? Should children, grandchildren, etc. be allowed to sue?

In the US, there is a (small) movement for getting decendants of slaves reparations for work performed 150+ years ago. Do you think that is reasonable?Only in November 1995, after US declassified documents pertaining to the weapons, did the Japanese government admit that it had used "lethal gases". according to a report in 2001 by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

During the final weeks of WWII, Japanese lmperial Army truckloaded thousands of WMD Chemical Weapons, including mustard gas and another lethal toxin and dumped them into the Nen River, northeast China. The dumping was part of a secret campaign to erase evidence of Japan's Chemical War against China.

Only recently the Japanese government begun to admit to their work on these weapons of mass destruction by Unit 516, Japan's top-secret WMD Chemical Weapons research facility in Qiqihar, China.

They now have until 2007 to clean then up.

[Skyhunter]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050815a1.htm

What do you think?

Should we forget?

Should we really ignore what happened as a result of Japan's activities?

Ishii is said to have killed 12 times the number of victims of Mengele and yet he was PAID for his information by the US government.
We went after Saddam in Iraq for using chemical weapons, why not Japan?

Uh, nevermind. I have just been informed that Japan doesn't have oil.

Sorry about the sarcasm, I couldn't help myself. :devil:

I would like to think that the US would be more willing to help the victims of such crimes, not pay the perpetrators for the data collected from chemical and biological experiments conducted on human beings!

[loseyourname]

We went after Saddam in Iraq for using chemical weapons, why not Japan?

Perpetrating an all-out war for four years and then dropping two nuclear bombs on them doesn't constitute going after them?

[Art]

Perpetrating an all-out war for four years and then dropping two nuclear bombs on them doesn't constitute going after them?I understood it in the context of going after war criminals to bring them personally to justice as is being done to Saddam.

[Burnsys]

I understood it in the context of going after war criminals to bring them personally to justice as is being done to Saddam.

Not nuking 150.000 inocent civilians.

[russ_watters]

These are not grand kids, by the way ... in most cases, they are the principals. For crimes comitted 50 years ago? I find that a little hard to believe. Also, there is no statute of limitations on murder and crimes against humanity. That's true, but if the defendant is dead, there isn't anyone to prosecute. Are you implying becasue the crimes were committed 50 years ago, they have no basis in law? No, I'm implying that since the crimes were comitted 50 years ago (actually, 50-70), virtually all the people involved are likely dead.

In any case, reading that article, it doesn't say anything about lawsuits or aything else that should be done with this info, its just reporting facts. In fact, with the recent resurgence of anti-Japan sentiment in China, the purpose of bringing this up again may simply be a justification for hate. So I guess I really need to be asking you: are you interested in lawsuits, prosecuting offenders (do you know for sure some are still alive?), looking for reparations (again, do you know for sure some of the victims are still alive?), or just looking for a reason to hate? What do you hope can be accomplished by pursuing this??

From what I understand, there are no more general reparations being paid by Germany for WWII.

[Skyhunter]

Perpetrating an all-out war for four years and then dropping two nuclear bombs on them doesn't constitute going after them?
I thought that was for Pearl Harbor, not for using chemical weapons on their neighbors.

And I was being sarcastic. :tongue:

[The Smoking Man]

For crimes comitted 50 years ago? I find that a little hard to believe. That's true, but if the defendant is dead, there isn't anyone to prosecute. No, I'm implying that since the crimes were comitted 50 years ago (actually, 50-70), virtually all the people involved are likely dead.

In any case, reading that article, it doesn't say anything about lawsuits or aything else that should be done with this info, its just reporting facts. In fact, with the recent resurgence of anti-Japan sentiment in China, the purpose of bringing this up again may simply be a justification for hate. So I guess I really need to be asking you: are you interested in lawsuits, prosecuting offenders (do you know for sure some are still alive?), looking for reparations (again, do you know for sure some of the victims are still alive?), or just looking for a reason to hate? What do you hope can be accomplished by pursuing this??

From what I understand, there are no more general reparations being paid by Germany for WWII.Russ, all I can say is that I am glad you are posting here because it is people like you that prove the premise of this thread. Thanks.

Let’s see, you assumption is that if this happened 60 years ago then the people all must be dead.

Well, this is exactly what we would expect from the American perspective that only sees their 18 to 20 year olds going off to war.

Unfortunately, when a war is fought ON your soil, even babies get caught up in those nasty little machinations.

In a recent lawsuit in China, one of the victims testified to what happened to her in the war as a ‘comfort woman’. She was raped over 3,400 times. She’s 76 now. The state denied the whole ‘comfort women thing’ happened too. She was only 13 at the time.

Another of the ‘comfort women’ was a victim of venereal disease and a subsequent birth left her child blind, deaf and dumb. Is this child a ‘victim’?

The whole issue of 'comfort women' was brought to light when a recent document proved that it was a MILITARY DIRECTIVE that created the comfort woman program. Until then, the Japanese had claimed that a) the women were willing participants and that b) it was local crime bosses that were responsible for it and not the military.

In the case of Unit 731 (http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/28/1030508070534.html?oneclick=true): It is called the Asian Auschwitz and, in terms of inhumanity and horror, it certainly warrants this description. Yet there remains a fundamental difference with the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis against Jews. While Germany has shown deep contrition and remorse, the leaders of the country that spawned the evil of Unit 731 still struggle to come to grips with what occurred.

This week in a Tokyo court, the world was again reminded of Japan's inability to deal with its march across Asia. In courtroom 103, three judges of the Tokyo District Court rejected a claim for an apology and compensation by 180 Chinese, either victims or the family of victims of Unit 731.

If there was anything positive out of the decision for the Chinese, it was that for the first time, a Japanese court had acknowledged that Unit 731 and other units had engaged in "cruel and inhumane" biological warfare in China, costing many lives.

But that was it. The judges claimed there was no legal basis for the plaintiffs' claim, as all compensation issues were settled by a treaty with China in 1972.
While it had an authoritative legal ring to it, there was a deep sense of injustice around the courtroom and among supporters waiting outside. How could a court acknowledge a crime had been committed, yet fail to do anything about it?

The Chinese are planning to appeal, but regardless of what may come out of that, one positive factor to emerge from this case has been that the international community - and, indeed, the Japanese themselves - has been reminded of one of the darkest hours of the Japanese Imperial Army.

You will note the apology from the government that they are requesting?

Japan has NEVER apologized officially for what happened in the war ... and even if they had ... what have they apologized for when the courts have continually denied what they did due to the 'lack of evidence' due to the official secrets act?

How about this Russ?:CBC News June 8, 2005 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_yu/20050608.html) For 63 years, Mr. Chen Chong Wen has had to change the bandages on his leg daily. His home-style remedy for his oozing wound is to use a playing card to stop the flow. “There’s no medicine for this,” he said, “it hurts very much and it itches.”

The stench of rotting flesh is overwhelming as he shows his leg. His open sore is terrible-looking and has a tofu-like texture. He feels he’s been a burden to his family because they have to take care of him. “It’s my bad luck,” he says and looks down at the ground.

Chen was infected with “rotten leg disease,” it’s also known as glanders, as he was running away from the Japanese Imperial Army in Zhejiang province in 1942. His mother was also infected. And not too long after her heel rotted off, she died in terrible pain.

Yeah, where would be the justice in compensating a man infected with Glanders at the age of 3 who also lost his mother, who has lived in pain for the last 60 years and has had the expenses related to being an invalid all his life?:sarcasm:

Oh, and Russ, the defendant is JAPAN and the Japanese government. Japan can't die.

[The Smoking Man]

I thought that was for Pearl Harbor, not for using chemical weapons on their neighbors.

And I was being sarcastic. :tongue:Well, we all know the USA starts wars and then decides on the reason later.
:tongue:

[MaxS]

Thank you smoking man for pointing this stuff out, nothing makes me more angry than people spouting off bs worthy of tv punditry in its idiocy (gj russ!!). :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Art]

Perhaps the victims would have more success if they were to sue the American gov't for their complicity in covering up these attrocities after the war?

[The Smoking Man]

Perhaps the victims would have more success if they were to sue the American gov't for their complicity in covering up these attrocities after the war?I can just hear Russ' reaction to THAT!!! :rofl:

[The Smoking Man]

Perhaps the victims would have more success if they were to sue the American gov't for their complicity in covering up these attrocities after the war?Ah, the Irony: http://www.aiipowmia.com/testimony/slvlbr1.html
http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter21/in080301va.html
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811718441/701-8672421-9237947

[Hurkyl]

Is anyone else bothered with the small, technical matter that the entity that perpetrated these crimes doesn't exist anymore?

[The Smoking Man]

Is anyone else bothered with the small, technical matter that the entity that perpetrated these crimes doesn't exist anymore?Okay all you people ... pull out your globes and see if you, like I can find the islands of Japan.

Now look a little closer and see if you can find the Yasukuni Shrine.

See if you can catch a glimpse of the little pamphlets.

http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/08/13/japan.shrine/

Where war criminals are venerated

Tuesday, January 14, 2003 Posted: 12:08 AM EST (0508 GMT)

The Yasukuni Shrine is dedicated to about 2.5 million people who have died in Japan's conflicts between 1853 and 1945.

Their names are inscribed in the shrine's Book of Souls, and venerated as "gunshin", or war gods.

In 1978, 1,068 convicted war criminals, among them executed wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo and 13 other Class A war criminals, were secretly enshrined there.

The shrine's authorities are reluctant to accept the verdict of war crimes tribunals, and history.

"War is a really tragic thing to happen, but it was necessary in order for us to protect the independence of Japan and to prosper together with Asian neighbors," explains a pamphlet published by the shrine, aimed at children.

Referring to the convicted war criminals, the pamphlet says: "Some 1,068 people, who were wrongly accused as war criminals by the Allied court, were enshrined here."

About eight million people a year visit Yasukuni, according to the shrine's website, many to pay respects to their ancestors' "mitama," or souls remaining on earth to watch over their descendants.

The shrine, situated in central Tokyo just outside the moat to the Imperial Palace, was established in 1869 as the Tokyo Shokonsha, or Shrine for Inviting the Spirits, during the reign of Emperor Meiji.

The shrine was intended to venerate those who died in the struggle to reassert imperial rule in place of shogun warlords.
shrine protests
Protesters have tried to dissuade Koizumi from visiting the shrine

Ten years later it was renamed Yasukuni Shrine, which means Shrine for Establishing Peace in the Empire.

More than two million people killed in the Pacific region during World War II are commemorated.

"Owing to the meritorious services of the spirits of the deities worshipped, the nation enjoys peace and security," the shrine explains on its website.

After the war ended, the US-led occupation forced the shrine to become a private religious foundation.

It has remained so, despite the efforts of members of the conservative, ruling Liberal Democratic Party to restore state protection.

Koizumi, who took office in April, is the third Japanese premier to visit the shrine since 1978. There was a 1985 trip by Yasuhiro Nakasone and a visit by Ryutaro Hashimoto on his birthday in July 1996. They not only exist but they have forgiven those executed of missdeeds and made them war heros.

Yasukuni is a shrine for the country's WAR DEAD ie. those killed in battle.

In 1978, they enshrined the people executed after the war ended for war crimes.

At what point do they acknowledge the date these people died?

At what point do they see what was done was wrong?

[The Smoking Man]

Is anyone else bothered with the small, technical matter that the entity that perpetrated these crimes doesn't exist anymore?What I meant by that Hurkyl was that one of the people convicted for 'life' by the tribunal was let out in 1956 and went on to become the Prime Minister of Japan.

Another went on to become the Governor of Tokyo.

Others, the crowd working for Unit 731, started up the Pharmaceutical company 'Green Cross' and sat on the board of directors for a number of years. It is now the largest Pharmaceutical in the world.

It doesn't exist in your mind however becasue you have your hero 'Douggie MacArthur' who rebuilt their economy in return for favours.

It really DOES exist and they want to be armed again.

And they want a UN veto on the Security Council before all the secrets are out.

[russ_watters]

Is anyone else bothered with the small, technical matter that the entity that perpetrated these crimes doesn't exist anymore? I was thinking about that, (and I've argued it in the past), but people who want to hate don't tend to accept that - they look for any connection to the previous entity. That's the entire basis for nationalistic/racist hatreds that exist in many places in the world, going back centuries. It doesn't matter that we deconstructed the country "Japan" and made an entirely new one from its ashes - people want to hate the new one for the crimes of the old one. That's the main reason WWII happened in the first place! TSM, your mindest is the reason why wars happen.

TSM, Germany is a fully-functional member of the world community. Do you understand how that is possible? Tell me why it is possible for Germany and not possible for Japan.

TSM - Comfort Women? I know about them. This thread isn't about them. Honored war dead? It isn't about them either... Or is it? - is the whole point of this thread simply a random rant of anti-Japanese hate? Any reason to hate the Japanese, you'll bring up? Hey, while we're at it, why don't I bring up Tienanmen square again...? The Great Leap Forward? Hey, how 'bout Ghengis Khan?

And glanders? I'm sorry, but I don't see any evidence in that article that it has anything to do with biological warfare. It apparenly used to be a more common disease coming from animals in 3rd world countries. This allegation seems equivalent to Americans accusing Great Britain of biological warfare for foot-and-mouth disease.

TSM, my gut reaction to the OP was that this was a looking-for-a-reason-to-hate thread, and by bringing up half a dozen unrelated issues, you've confirmed that for me. If you want to talk about that one issue, talk about that one issue. Explain precisely what you think should be done about it. Otherwise, this just looks like one big anti-Japan rant....nothing makes me more angry than people spouting off bs worthy of tv punditry in its idiocy. Ironic - I was thinking exactly the same thing!

[russ_watters]

Big point: It really DOES exist and they want to be armed again. Could you elaborate? Are you saying that the Japan of today is planning on starting another world war? Are they poised to invade China right now? Poised to attempt another takeover of the southeast Asian islands? And how much power does the Emperor have today? What does Japan's military look like today?

Japan today is one of the most peaceful and benevolent nations on the planet. Its a shocking change from the Japan that started WWII, but its real. They are quite happy to not have a real military(mandated by the treaty ending WWII) - they see no need for one.

Heck, I brought up Germany vs France before, but Japan didn't just attack China, it attacked the US as well, in the worst single attack on the United States since its inception. Japan also comitted plenty of war crimes against the US during the war (specifically, in its treatment of our POWs) So why is it that I can let that go and you can't? I mean - I was in the US Navy. If there is anyone who should despise Japan for Pearl Harbor, its me. Why don't I - why should I?

Why do you cling to hate, TSM?

[TheStatutoryApe]

No, I'm implying that since the crimes were comitted 50 years ago (actually, 50-70), virtually all the people involved are likely dead.
Remember.. they tend to live longer than we do.

Perhaps the victims would have more success if they were to sue the American gov't for their complicity in covering up these attrocities after the war?
That was my meaning about putting those on trial who set up the arrangements to keep the Japanese war criminals from being taken to trial. You still have to prove that these people did something illegal. On top of that those people most likely ARE all dead.
Is anyone else bothered with the small, technical matter that the entity that perpetrated these crimes doesn't exist anymore?
In 50 some years Japan has never so much as apologized. Even if none of those who perpetrated those crimes exist any longer the way in which Japan views these matters of honour should lead their families to apologize for them. If these crimes are recognized it is attached to the family, not just the criminal. By their own manner of dealing with such issues they are showing that they do not recognize a crime has been made or that the victims of these crimes are worthy of an apology.
What I meant by that Hurkyl was that one of the people convicted for 'life' by the tribunal was let out in 1956 and went on to become the Prime Minister of Japan... ect
Do you know if any of these people or their families still exist? Do you know if any individuals, or family members, have come forward with an apology on their own(without government endorsment)?

[russ_watters]

Remember.. they tend to live longer than we do. Huh? China has a life expectancy of 71, the US of 77. In 50 some years Japan has never so much as apologized. Huh? Of course they have! They've been more apologetic than average (more than Germany has). Its a source of national shame and something deeply regretted in Japanese culture. Here's one example from a 10 second google.... (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050815/ts_nm/japan_war_anniversary_dc) TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi marked the 60th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War Two on Monday with an apology for suffering caused by Japanese military aggression, and pledged that Tokyo would never again go to war.

"Japan caused huge damage and suffering to many countries, especially the people of Asia, with its colonization and aggression," Koizumi said in a statement.

"Humbly accepting this fact of history, we again express our deep remorse and heartfelt apology and offer our condolences to the victims of the war at home and abroad," What I'd really like to know is how many apologies would be enough?

[TheStatutoryApe]

Huh? China has a life expectancy of 71, the US of 77.
Now or then? And sorry I should have thrown in a smily because I was mostly just joking.
Huh? Of course they have! They've been more apologetic than average (more than Germany has). Its a source of national shame and something deeply regretted in Japanese culture. Here's one example from a 10 second google.... (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050815/ts_nm/japan_war_anniversary_dc) What I'd really like to know is how many apologies would be enough?
I mean for these events described and their cover up. It would be like the Germans making a general apology to the world for the war and Hitler but not expressly apologizing for, or even recognizing, what was done to the Jews.

[The Smoking Man]

I was thinking about that, (and I've argued it in the past), but people who want to hate don't tend to accept that - they look for any connection to the previous entity. That's the entire basis for nationalistic/racist hatreds that exist in many places in the world, going back centuries. It doesn't matter that we deconstructed the country "Japan" and made an entirely new one from its ashes - people want to hate the new one for the crimes of the old one. That's the main reason WWII happened in the first place! TSM, your mindest is the reason why wars happen.
No Russ.

The reason wars happen is because people feel an injustice.

Japan has never been punished for what they did during the war. They were in fact REWARDED for their trip through asia.

TSM, Germany is a fully-functional member of the world community. Do you understand how that is possible? Tell me why it is possible for Germany and not possible for Japan.Japan has failed to make war repatriations, acknowledge their crimes and have officially elevated their version of Nazis to 'war gods' in the Yasikuni Shrine.

TSM - Comfort Women? I know about them. This thread isn't about them. Honored war dead? It isn't about them either... Or is it? - is the whole point of this thread simply a random rant of anti-Japanese hate? Any reason to hate the Japanese, you'll bring up? Hey, while we're at it, why don't I bring up Tienanmen square again...? The Great Leap Forward? Hey, how 'bout Ghengis Khan? Russ, you asked about victims of this time and stated they were 'probably all dead'. I gave you examples of victims who were very much still alive and had been in the news to prove the longevity of the people.

And glanders? I'm sorry, but I don't see any evidence in that article that it has anything to do with biological warfare. It apparenly used to be a more common disease coming from animals in 3rd world countries. This allegation seems equivalent to Americans accusing Great Britain of biological warfare for foot-and-mouth disease.

http://www.copi.com/articles/guyatt/unit_731.html
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200508/10/print20050810_201486.html
After Unit 731 the Japanese troops set up germ units in many cities such as Changchun, Peking, Nanjing and Guangzhou. These units had over 60 branches or agencies with more than 10,000 personnel. By the end of the war in 1945 Unit 731 still had over 3,000 personnel.

The Harbin-based Unit 731 and Changchun-based Unit 100 manufactured large amount of anthrax and glanders germs. Unit 731 could produce 600 kilogram anthrax in one month. From 1941 to 1942 Unit 100 produced 1,000 kilogram anthrax germs and over 500 kilogram glanders germs.

According to studies almost all the germ units of the Japanese aggressors used living human beings to conduct germ weapon tests and researches on germ warfare and mass-produced germ weaponry. Apart from regular germ units various Japanese army hospitals, units or even normal troops, hospitals and medical associations also took part in the germ warfare.

Since 1938 the Japanese aggressors began to resort to germ warfare. Surveys conducted after the war show that they used germ warfare in more than 20 Chinese provinces. Of them Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hunan saw the largest and most damaging germ warfare with Chinese victims reaching at least 270,000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_100Unit 100 conducted research about bacteria in and from animals. As most armies were still heavily dependent on horses, the IJA was looking for ways to kill them and therefore to weaken military power. The second purpose was to use animals as carrier of diseases. Experiments were also conducted with living human beings, but little record or proof of human experimentation has been found. (Unit 731 was created to develop biological weapons against humans.)

Biological Warfare Agents

The following potential agents were tested:

* Glanders Mr. Kuwabara gave testimony after WW2 that Unit 100 released horses infected with Glanders.
* Anthraxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishii_Shiro

TSM, my gut reaction to the OP was that this was a looking-for-a-reason-to-hate thread, and by bringing up half a dozen unrelated issues, you've confirmed that for me. If you want to talk about that one issue, talk about that one issue. Explain precisely what you think should be done about it. Otherwise, this just looks like one big anti-Japan rant. Ironic - I was thinking exactly the same thing!Well, thank the powers that we don't have to rely upon your reduced capabilities as a person with 'gut' reactions.

Anyone WITH a brain could actually formulate the idea that most of the evidence used to prosecute the Japanese for these atrocities would be held in Japanese military documents.

Since it was precisely this that trigered the government to enact bill s-1902 (http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/s1902.html)and the address to congress in support of the bill:Based on the evidence revealed at the War Crimes trials, as well as

subsequent work by numerous scholars, there is little doubt that Japan conducted these chemical and biological warfare experiments, and that the Japanese Imperial Army attempted to use chemical and biological weapons during the course of the war, included reports of use of plague on the cities of Ningbo and Changde.

And, as a 1980 article by John Powell in the Bulletin of Concerned Asia Scholars found,

Once the fact had been established that Ishii had used Chinese and others as laboratory tests subjects, it seemed a fair assumption that he also might have used American prisoners, possibly British, and perhaps even Japanese.

Some of the records of these activities were revealed during the Tokyo War Crimes trials, and others have since come to light under Freedom of Information Act requests, but many other documents, which were transferred to the U.S. military during the occupation of Japan, have remained hidden for the past fifty years.

And it is precisely for this reason that this legislation is needed: The world is entitled to a full and compel record of what did transpire.

Sheldon Harris, Professor of History Emeritus at California State university Northridge wrote to me on October 7 of this year that:

In my capacity as an academic Historian, I can testify to the difficulty researchers have in unearthing documents and personal testimony concerning these war crimes * * *. Here in the United States, despite the Freedom of Information Act, some archives remain closed to investigators * * *. Moreover, "sensitive documents--as defined by archivists and FOIA officers--are at the moment being destroyed.

Professor Sheldon's letter goes on to discuss three examples of the destruction of documents relating to chemical and biological warfare experiments that he is aware of: At Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah, at Fort Detrick in Maryland, and at the Pentagon.

This legislation establishes, within 60 days after the enactment of the act, the Japanese Imperial Army Records Interagency Working Group, including representation by the Department of State and the Archivist of the United States, to locate, identify, and recommend for declassification all Japanese Imperial Army records of the United States.

This Interagency Work Group, which will remain in existence for three years, is to locate, identify, inventory, recommend for classification, and make available to the public all classified Imperial Army records of the United States. It is to do so in coordination with other agencies, and to submit a report to Congress describing its activities.

It is my belief that the establishment of such an Interagency Working Group is the best way to make sure that the documents which need to be declassified will be declassified, and that this process will occur in an orderly and expeditious manner.And the support documents following: I am the author of "Factories of Death, Japanese Biological Warfare, 1932-45, and the American Cover-up" (Routlege: London and New York; hard cover edition 1994; paperback printings, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999). I discovered in the course of my research for this book, and scholarly articles that I published on the subject of Japanese biological and chemical warfare preparations, that members of the Japanese Imperial Army Medical Corps committed heinous war crimes. These included involuntary laboratory tests of various pathogens on humans--Chinese, Korean, other Asian nationalities, and Allied prisoners of war, including Americans. Barbarous acts encompassed live vivisections, amputations of body parts (frequently without the use of anesthesia), frost bite exposure to temperatures of 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, injection of horse blood and other animal blood into humans, as well as other horrific experiments. When a test was completed, the human experimented was "sacrificed", the euphemism used by Japanese scientists as a substitute term for "killed."

In my capacity as an academic Historian, I can testify to the difficulty researchers have in unearthing documents and personal testimony concerning these war crimes. I, and other researchers, have been denied access to military archives in Japan. These archives cover activities by the Imperial Japanese Army that occurred more than 50 years ago. The documents in question cannot conceivably contain information that would be considered of importance to "National Security" today. The various governments in Japan for the past half century have kept these archives firmly closed. The fear is that the information contained in the archives will embarrass previous governments.

Here in the United States, despite the Freedom of Information Act, some archives remain closed to investigators. At best, the archivists in charge, or the Freedom of Information Officer at the archive in question, select what documents they will allow to become public. This is an unconscionable act of arrogance and a betrayal of the trust they have been given by the Congress and the

[[Page S14543]]

President of the United States. Moreover, "sensitive" documents--as defined by archivists and FOIA officers--are at the moment being destroyed. Thus, historians and concerned citizens are being denied factual evidence that can shed some light on the terrible atrocities committed by Japanese militarists in the past.

Three examples of this wanton destruction should be sufficiently illustrative of the dangers that exist, and should reinforce the obvious necessity for prompt passage of legislation you propose to introduce into the Congress:

1. In 1991, the Librarian at Dugway Proving Grounds, Dugway, Utah, denied me access to the archives at the facility. It was only through the intervention of then U.S. Representative Wayne Owens, Dem., Utah, that I was given permission to visit the facility. I was not shown all the holdings relating to Japanese medical experiments, but the little I was permitted to examine revealed a great deal of information about medical war crimes. Sometimes after my visit, a person with intimate knowledge of Dugway's operations, informed me that "sensitive" documents were destroyed there as a direct result of my research in their library.

2. I conducted much of my American research at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md. The Public Information Officer there was extremely helpful to me. Two weeks ago I telephoned Detrick, was informed that the PIO had retired last May. I spoke with the new PIO, who told me that Detrick no longer would discuss past research activities, but would disclose information only on current projects. Later that day I telephoned the retired PIO at his home. He informed me that upon retiring he was told to "get rid of that stuff", meaning incriminating documents relating to Japanese medical war crimes. Detrick no longer is a viable research center for historians.

3. Within the past 2 weeks, I was informed that the Pentagon, for "space reasons", decided to rid itself of all biological warfare documents in its holdings prior to 1949. The date is important, because all war crimes trials against accused Japanese war criminals were terminated by 1949. Thus, current Pentagon materials could not implicate alleged Japanese war criminals. Fortunately, a private research facility in Washington volunteered to retrieve the documents in question. This research facility now holds the documents, is currently cataloguing them (estimated completion time, at least twelve months), and is guarding the documents under "tight security."

Your proposed legislation must be acted upon promptly. Many of the victims of Japanese war crimes are elderly. Some of the victims pass away daily. Their suffering should receive recognition and some compensation. Moreover, History is being cheated. As documents disappear, the story of war crimes committed in the War In The Pacific becomes increasingly difficult to describe. The end result will be a distorted picture of reality. As an Historian, I cannot accept this inevitability without vigorous protest.

You see Russ, this stuff is all related.

It is all related through the cover-up that has allowed the perpetrators to go unpunished and even prosper while the victims have been forgotten and forced to live in agony.

[Art]

Japan today is one of the most peaceful and benevolent nations on the planet. Its a shocking change from the Japan that started WWII, but its real. They are quite happy to not have a real military(mandated by the treaty ending WWII) - they see no need for one.Really???Japan Defense Agency (Bôeichô)
Japan Self-Defense Force
With nearly 240,000 military personnel and an annual budget of close to $50 billion, Japan's military outstrips Britain's in total spending and manpower, while its navy in particular scores high among experts for its sophistication. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/jda.htm or how about Japanese foreign policy is beginning to adopt a more nationalistic stance. Prime Minister Koizumi participated in a summit with North Korea in 2002. Prior to that, in 2001, A Japanese coast guards boat was attacked by a North Korean spy ship in Japanese EEZ on East China Sea. Japanese coast guards attacked the spy ship as self defence and eventually the spy ship sank itself by a suicide bomb. Following this incident, in 2003, Japan's defense minister suggested that Japan would be willing to contemplate a preemptive attack on North Korea if it saw evidence that a "devastating attack against Japan" was being prepared. The textbook controversy has manifest itself once again, and in 2005 the protests against Japanese 'textbook revisionism' sparked nationalist feelings amongst many Japanese leading to violence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_nationalism Once again I am amazed at how ill-informed you are


Heck, I brought up Germany vs France before, but Japan didn't just attack China, it attacked the US as well, in the worst single attack on the United States since its inception. Japan also comitted plenty of war crimes against the US during the war (specifically, in its treatment of our POWs) So why is it that I can let that go and you can't? I mean - I was in the US Navy. If there is anyone who should despise Japan for Pearl Harbor, its me. Why don't I - why should I?
I believe you are simply following true to form and so patriotic fervor is the reason you are unwilling to criticise Japan over this. The US military's complicity in covering up and shielding the perpetrators of these attocities reflects very badly on America which is where I suspect you are coming from.
As in every other thread you have ever contributed to your instinct is to immediately attack any comment that could be construed as a criticism of US gov't policy no matter how ill-conceived that policy is. You really should try to be a little more open minded and even handed.

[Hurkyl]

Art: It's kind of silly to claim a bias because Russ defends the U.S. government, because (aside from Israel) the U.S. government is just about the only entity that gets attacked in this forum. :tongue2:

If the quality and quantity of, say, anti-French sentiment matched that of the anti-U.S. sentiment, I would expect to see Russ defending the French with roughly as much fervor.

[Art]

Art: It's kind of silly to claim a bias because Russ defends the U.S. government, because (aside from Israel) the U.S. government is just about the only entity that gets attacked in this forum. :tongue2:Well first it is actually Japan who is being criticised here which sort of ruins your premise but notwithstanding that I have no problem with Russ being biased in favour of his own government. I'm sure most if not all of the people on this forum are patriotic to some degree though perhaps not quite so blindly. I am merely pointing out his post was erroneous in matters of fact and it is important not to allow one's personal bias to distort reality.

If the quality and quantity of, say, anti-French sentiment matched that of the anti-U.S. sentiment, I would expect to see Russ defending the French with roughly as much fervor.Personally I prefer arguments based on facts rather than fervor and that applies to everyone regardless of their political persuasion. It is irritating to have to publish rebuttals to posts from people who should (and probably do) know better but if I and others did not do so other readers would be left with a completely false perspective of world affairs. :tongue:

p.s. You have evidently forgotten the thread where Russ said he hates all French people. Not some of them or something about them but simply all of them. Sorry to dash your expectations.

[Smurf]

Art: It's kind of silly to claim a bias because Russ defends the U.S. government, because (aside from Israel) the U.S. government is just about the only entity that gets attacked in this forum. :tongue2: China and Japan do as well. Israel's not too hot either. Also Iran, Iraq... and Britain has stirred up controversy lately too. Not to mention Islam in general. Christianity to a lesser extent. Zionist groups... Venezuela... "Conservatives"... "Liberals"... "Neocons"... "Socialists"... "Communists"... Guess it depends how you define an 'entity'. The democratic party, the republican party.
If the quality and quantity of, say, anti-French sentiment matched that of the anti-U.S. sentiment, I would expect to see Russ defending the French with roughly as much fervor.
One of the things I like about this forum. People don't blurt out off topic anti-french/german insults for no reason. :smile:

[The Smoking Man]

TSM, Germany is a fully-functional member of the world community. Do you understand how that is possible? Tell me why it is possible for Germany and not possible for Japan.http://www.german-embassy.org.uk/foundation__remembrance__respo.htmlGerman payments have focussed both on restitution and on compensation for individual suffering, loss of life, health, and liberty. To date, Germany has made compensation payments totalling over € 58 billion (approx. £ 38 billion)

The compensation scheme for former forced labourers

In August 2000, the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future" was created by the German Government and German companies in recognition of Germany's moral responsibility towards those subjected to forced labour under the Nazi regime and during the Second World War. The Foundation was endowed with funds of 5.11 billion euros (about ₤3.38 billion), provided in equal parts by the German Government and about 6,000 German companies belonging to the Foundation Initiative of German Industry.There is also a Polish-German Reconciliation Fund for Poles who were used as guinea pigs in pseudomedical experiments by the Nazis.

"I pay tribute to all those who were subjected to slave and forced labor under German rule, and in the name of the German people beg forgiveness," said Johannes Rau, German president in 2000, "We will not forget their suffering."

To date, Over 1.63 Million Slave victims have received compensation from Germany. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1464704,00.html

Germany has also made generous acts of atonement and has paid 88 Billions Mark in compensation and reparations to Jewish Holocaust victims and will spend another 20 Billions Mark by 2005.

In 1963, president Charles de Gaulle of France and chancellor Konrad Adenauer of West Germany signed a historic treaty which reconciled these historic enemies. Without this, it is doubtful whether the European Union (EU) could have been achieved.

On Jan. 21, 1997, a joint reconciliation treaty was signed that Germany apologized for Hitler's invasion of the former Czechoslovakia, and Czech expressed regrets for the postwar expulsion of 2.5 millions of Sudeten Germans.

Germany has also paid pensions to the Jews in Israel and U.S. who were living in Eastern Europe during WWII since 1995, and German-speaking Canadian Jews since 2003.

German has made January 27th a national Holocaust Remembrance Day for the victims of the Holocaust since 1996. The date was chosen to mark Jan. 27th, 1945, the day Soviet soldiers liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp.

On May 10, 2005 Germany opens a new Holocaust memorial south of the landmark Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, marking the 60th anniversary of the end of war. " Today we open a memorial that recalls Nazi Germany's worst, most terrible crime ...." said parliamentary president Wolfgang Thierse. He added Germany now "faces up to its history".

German students are also required to visit former concentration camps as part of their Holocaust studies.

German Government has bought a former labor camp near Berlin to open a memorial to commemorate Slave laborers in 2006.

German government has made displaying the Swastika and other Nazi symbols illegal in Germany. Now German politicians have called for Nazi symbols to be banned throughout Europe.

German government passed a bill to restrict rallies by neo-Nazis and allow courts to impose sentences of as much as 3 years in prison or a fine on anyone found guilty of approving, glorifying or justifying the Nazi regime in public.

German government has even offered its formal apology for the colonial-era massacre of Herero tribe in Namibia happened 100 years ago.

Oliver Raag is one of many Germans doing volunteer work in Israel to atone for the deeds of their parents and grandparents. She is a German geriatric nurse whose grandfather transported disabled Jews and other Germans to a gas chamber. "The more I learned about that period in German history, the more I wanted to come here to show that there are other Germans who are not like the Nazis,"

UN General Assembly held a special session marking 60th anniversary of liberation of Holocaust Nazi death camps for First Time. Kofi Annan said, "It is essential for all of us to remember, reflect on, and learn from what happened 60 years ago......".

"I express my shame over those who were murdered, and before those of you who have survived the hell of the concentration camps," said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, "The vast majority of Germans alive today are NOT to blame for the Holocaust, but they DO bear a "Special Responsibility".

German Chancellor paid tribute at the entrance to Auschwitzand and promised that Germany will fulfill its "Moral Obligation" to keep alive the memory of Nazi's crimes.

Germany led a commemoration of 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazis' Buchenwald Death Camp. "We cannot change History, but this country can learn a lot from the deepest shame of our History," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged the world never to forget the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis, "I bow before you, the victims and their families."

On Mar 16, 2005 German Foreign Minister gave a speech for the "Remembering the Past, Shaping the Future" session and calls the Jerusalem's new Holocaust memorial "A place of 'Deep Shame' for every German, because the name of my country, Germany, is and will forever be inseparably linked to the Shoah, the ultimate crime against Humanity."

Speaking to a special joint sitting of parliament marking the 60 anniversary of the end of the war, Mr Köhler said: "We have the Responsibility to keep alive the memories of all the suffering .... We Germans look back with horror and shame ..... "

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder implied: Japan Can Learn From Germany saying postwar Berlin had won the respect of its neighbors in how it contended with its Nazi past.

However, attending the 60th anniversary of End of War in stark contrast to an earnest apology by German leader Gerhard Schroeder, at a press conference in Moscow, Koizumi said : Japan has done enough "Self-Examination".

[The Smoking Man]

I was thinking about that, (and I've argued it in the past), but people who want to hate don't tend to accept that - they look for any connection to the previous entity. That's the entire basis for nationalistic/racist hatreds that exist in many places in the world, going back centuries. It doesn't matter that we deconstructed the country "Japan" and made an entirely new one from its ashes - people want to hate the new one for the crimes of the old one. That's the main reason WWII happened in the first place! TSM, your mindest is the reason why wars happen.Posts like yours have not gone un-noticed in SE Asia:

http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/37736

Western apathy to Japanese WWII atrocities
K Temoc
Jul 8, 05 1:11pm


Last week, eight 15-year-old Singapore students at a school band leadership camp named their team ‘Hitler’ because they claimed they admired Adolf Hitler's leadership qualities. They considered him 'cool' and 'handsome' and a good leader of the German nation, even though he was evil.

Following the not-unexpected hue and cry from the Western press, they are now required by the Singapore education minister to research on what Hitler had done.

The minister stated that since they weren't thinking or aware of the dark aspects of World War II (WWII) history, rather than berate them, he prefers for them to present their research findings to their schools. I must congratulate said minister for a sensible and constructive approach.

One Western writer to the Singapore press bemoaned his disappointment with the teachers and students attending the camp. To him, they seemed either ignorant of or unconcerned about the evils of Hitler. He criticised the students' history teacher for limiting his only adverse comment on Hitler to the Nazi leader's military error in invading Russia.

He wondered why no mention was made of Hitler's responsibility for the millions of deaths in a world war, as well as the systematic murder of millions of innocent Jews. The answer - to Easterners (like us) - is quite plain and obvious to see, though of course one must not fail to recognise the evils of Hitler and Nazism.

The fact of those Singaporeans' ignorance, lack of concern or apathy towards Hitler and Nazism is no different to the majority of Westerners' ignorance, lack of concern or apathy towards Japanese WWII atrocities or the provocative visits by the Japanese prime minister (PM) to the Yasukuni shrine.

That shrine houses the remains of executed Japanese war criminals, war criminals not unlike the Nazi variety, who were responsible for the most barbaric atrocities against the Chinese, Korean and other Asian people during the last war. The visits to the shrine by the foremost Japanese politician have been tantamount to official acceptance of their evil war records. It could be likened to the German Chancellor laying a wreath at Hitler's tomb, if one exists.

From time to time, whenever the Chinese and Korean people raised Cain over such visits or Japanese rightwing attempts at historical revisionism of its army's wartime conduct in their school textbooks, Western bloggers would without fail criticise the Chinese for not letting go of the past, or for going over the top in their anger against what they see as harmless and legitimate visits to a war shrine by the Japanese PM.

Inexplicably, several even defended the Japanese PM's visits or the more sinister historical revisionism of the Japanese school textbooks, either through ignorance of what the Japanese had barbarically done during WWII or through a lack of empathy with the victims of Japanese atrocities.

So why should the Singapore students be different from those adult bloggers? Only the Dutch and some older Australians seem aware of the evils of the Japanese WWII army.

One Western blogger argumentatively asserted that only Chinese aged 80 and above may have genuine cause to be angry at the Japanese. Could anyone possibly beat this asinine comment? Unbelievable as it may be, the answer has in fact been yes, because another averred that the PM's visit to the Yasukuni shrine was a sincere demonstration of ‘peace’.

Then to finish off, many of those Western bloggers would attribute the whole uproar to either Chinese jealousy of the better-off Japanese – conveniently leaving the Koreans out, or the argument would have collapsed like a house of cards - or a Chinese government manipulating the Chinese people's outrage to divert attention from China's domestic problems – again, the Korean involvement was quietly tucked away out of sight.

There has been hardly any note of sympathy or understanding for the Chinese outrage, or revulsion and concern or anger at the Japanese PM's provocative visits or the attempts at historical revisionism to obscure Japan's evil past.

It has been precisely this Western apathy or lack of sympathy that explains why the East is not so different from the West. So, why should that Western writer be puzzled about Singaporeans, whose grandparents, relatives and family friends suffered untold miseries at the hands of the Japanese military, showing the same lack of concern towards Nazism as Westerners had shown towards the Japanese WWII evil?

[The Smoking Man]

Do you know if any of these people or their families still exist? Do you know if any individuals, or family members, have come forward with an apology on their own(without government endorsment)?Sorry SA. I missed this earlier.

Yes, quite a few of the Japanese have come out and apologized and tried to become active in bringing the attrocities out in the open however, there seems to be a big impediment.

As soon as they make a public statement, they are added to the international list of War Criminals and are then denied the ability to travel internationally.

Yoshio Shinozuka, a former member of Unit 731, now 83, has devoted himself to making amends. In 1997 he testified on behalf of the 180 Chinese Biological victims suing Japan for compensation. however, The court denied them apology and compensation. The court again denied them compensation and apology in 2005. In 1998, he tried to speak at peace conferences in U.S. and Canada, but immigration turned him away as a war criminal. But Shinozuka argued that those like himself who want to tell the truth about war crimes should not be on the watch list.

"It took me a long time to get beyond the excuse that I was just following orders," he said. "I was doing what I was told. And I might very well have been killed had I disobeyed. But what we did was so terrible that I should have refused, even if that meant my own death. But I didn’t do that. And I will never be forgiven."

Though he often wanted to tell his story, "No one wanted to hear what I was saying," he said. "The Japanese prefer to think of themselves as victims in the war. Even the peace movement people told me that talking about Japan’s role as an aggressor wasn’t constructive. But I couldn’t let this piece of history remain in the dark." Japanese war criminal denied forum
Knight Ridder Newspapers

YOKAICHIBA, Japan -- When Yoshio Shinozuka boarded a flight from Tokyo to Chicago last week, he was planning to tell Americans about "the inhuman acts" he helped carry out as a member of the Japanese Imperial Army's infamous Unit 731, which tried to infect Chinese civilians with typhus and bubonic plague and conducted biological experiments on Chinese prisoners of war.

But when Shinozuka, 74, shuffled to the head of the immigration line at O'Hare Airport and handed over his Japanese passport, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service officers greeted him harshly.

"They scanned my passport on a computer," the 74-year-old, white-haired former soldier recalled yesterday. "There was a beep and they took me to another room." Within hours, he was back on a plane to Tokyo, the first Japanese to be barred from entering the United States for "crimes against humanity."

In an interview at the Buddhist temple he helps manage, the ex-soldier said the Justice Department's decision will obstruct efforts to reveal the full extent of Japanese brutality during World War II – brutality that official Japan still denies.

The Justice Department's "watch list," which identifies war criminals barred from entering the United States, "is a tool to distort and cover up the reality of what really happened," Shinozuka charged, as he sat on a straw mat on the floor of a rural temple about 60 miles west of Tokyo.

He said he suspects the Japanese and American governments made a deal to keep him out of America because high-ranking officers in his unit, including commanding officer Shiro Ishii, were never prosecuted after the war. In previous years, he said, prominent doctors and politicians who served with Unit 731 entered the United States regularly.

Saburo Ienaga, a professor of Japanese history who has battled with mixed success to get Japanese high school textbooks to include the facts of the country's conduct in World War II, said he suspects the U.S. government fears Shinozuka's testimony would embarrass American officials.

"The U.S. released members of Unit 731 after the war in order to get the know-how of biological weapons," Ienaga said in an interview. "Even General Ishii was not prosecuted at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. So it is possible that if the U.S. allows Shinozuka in and lets him speak, he will cause them problems, not because of what he did, but because of what he knows."
A Justice Department official, however, said the watch list is to keep war criminals out of the United States, not to prevent Americans from learning the truth about Japanese or German war crimes.

The Justice Department barred Shinozuka as a result of a 1996 decision to add 16 suspected Japanese war criminals to the list, which already contained names of more than 60,000 Nazi war criminals. The list was created by an act of Congress during the 1970s. Last year, 17 more Japanese were added.

But Shinozuka argued that those like himself who want to tell the truth about war crimes should not be on the watch list. He and 86-year-old Shiro Azuma, a witness to the Japanese Army's brutal 1937 occupation of the Chinese city of Nanking, had planned to discuss their wartime activities as part of an exhibit sponsored by the San Francisco-based Global Alliance for Preserving the History of World War II. But Azuma got a severe cold and abandoned his plan to go abroad. The exhibit leaves this week for New York; Washington; Vancouver, British Columbia; and San Francisco.It was until Dec. 3, 1996, U.S. Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations (OSI) which has focused almost exclusively on Nazi war criminals despite its mandate to pursue BOTH Nazis and their allies, finally took its FIRST STEP toward redressing this imbalance by adding the FIRST 16 Japanese war criminal names on the "Watch List" (Holtzman Amendment) since it was legislated in 1978 for denying more than 60,000 Nazi German, Austrian, and Italian war criminals entry to U.S.

However, Japan is blocking probe of War Criminals and refused to cooperate with the Justice Department to put the names of several hundred surviving criminals on the Watch List.

"Japan is the ONLY country in the world from whom we seek assistance that does not provide it." said Eli M. Rosenbaum, director of the Justice Department’s office of Special Investigations. Rosenbaum said his office has been able to identify fewer than 100 Japanese suspects compare to 60,000 Nazi, Austrian, and Italian war criminals on the "Watch List"

"After the war, they were not punished, so why is the U.S. government dealing with this problem now ?" said Masao Okonogi, professor of political science at Keio University in Tokyo.

"This seems to me remarkably hypocritical. At the end of WWII, the U.S. occupying force was aware of the information about Unit 731 but deliberately exonerated the men in return for their agreement to be debriefed on the findings of their atrocious experiments. We agreed to Cover-Up their crimes." said John Dower, MIT professor and specialist on modern Japanese history and US relations.

Saburo Ienaga, a professor of Japanese history who has battled with mixed success to get Japanese high school textbooks to include the facts of the country's conduct in World War II, suspects that the U.S. government fears Shinozuka's testimony would embarrass American officials. "He will cause them problems, not because of what he did, but because of what he knows."

They were scheduled to take part in a historical tour called "The Forgotten Holocaust of WWII in Asia." and forum of "A Glimpse of Reconciliation-Unit 731 Photo Exhibition". It was organized by The Global Alliance for Preserving the History of WWII in Asia. It traveled five cities: Toronto, New York, Washington, D.C., Vancouver and San Francisco from late June to early July. Mr. Koken Tsuchiya, a senior lawyer from Tokyo, was leading the delegation. He is also the chief attorney for the lawsuit of 108 Chinese germ warfare victims against the Japanese government.

Of the 3 eyewitness, only Dr. Takemitsu Ogawa was allowed to enter into the US to give his testimony. In recalling the basis of Japanese military training, Ogawa explained that it was a training of killing with the three-all policy: kill all, burn all, and loot all. Even with the thorough education system at the time to brainwash the Imperial soldiers, many were not psychologically fit to kill and developed autonomic ataxia with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, abnormal fever, incontinent urine, asthma, spasm, paralysis of one side of the body, etc.

"The soldiers knew that if they deserted the three-all order, they would be shot dead. In those extreme situations, they showed abnormal symptoms - that was extreme autonomic ataxia," Ogawa explained. One of "The soldier was so afraid to return to the battlefield that he killed himself." Ogawa's testimony sheds light on Japan's experience on the war -something that its government and people had for a long time kept silent about.

July 31 1998, Japanese new agriculture minister Shoichi Nakagawa, who is opposed to describing Japan's wartime atrocities in school textbooks, said that Asian women may not have been forced to work as sex slaves in Japanese army brothels during WWII. A few hours later, he retracted them. "They were forcibly recruited," He said at a later news conference. The new Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi played down the incident.

In the past Japanese cabinet ministers have frequently made similar public comments DENYING atrocities Japan committed during WWII, with some losing their posts over the statements. As in January 1997, Seiroku Kajiyama, a LDP contender for the premiership, claimed that "comfort women" had provided sex to Japanese troops "for money."

Feb. 1999 Nobukatsu Fujioka, a professor at Tokyo University and the chairman of the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform which aims to erase all Japan's atrocities from text book, "Comfort women were not sexual slaves" said the professor. They were simply prostitutes taken to war zones by private brokers," Fujioka told a luncheon at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.

August 23, 1998 Banned from entering North America, 4 Japanese veterans made a global Internet Web Apology over a satellite video link to panelists at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

[edward]

Japanese atrocities (the other holocaust) during WWII were never properly addressed. There were some war criminal trials against specific persons. But it is obvious that they never were dealt with in a manor anything close to the German war crimes.

http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp82.html
http://www.jpri.org/members/clemons_ABCNEWS_06-11-02.html

Israel was abducting former German soldiers from the :USA, Brazil, and Argentina up until just recently. John Demanuk (sp) was the last one I remember. Most of them were tried and hung.

German companies are still paying reparations to former slave laborers.

Why did China not have the same options? Lets call a spade a spade. China became a communist country during and shortly after WWII. We became close to Japan to fight communism so we conveniently covered up records of atrocities. We also signed an agreement with Japan in 1951 that proclaimed that they would not be held responsible for anything regarding WWII. That was wrong on our part.

But now is the time for China to receive its just deserves. They are a most favored trading partner. They buy U.S. T-bills. But the truth is that the USA seldom admits its mistakes. And from another perspective U.S. and Japanese big business were in bed together for many years.

So we continue with the big coverup, even to the point that former U.S. POW's are not winning their law suits against Japan.

I know that there are some here who can't stand the term LAW SUITS.
These are not frivolous "whip lash Charlie law suits". The Chinese people and Former U.S. POW's have just as much right to justice as any of the Countries or persons who or have collected from Germany.

In law there is need to have a precedent. Germany has set that precedent.

[The Smoking Man]

I know that there are some here who can't stand the term LAW SUITS.
These are not frivolous "whip lash Charlie law suits". The Chinese people and Former U.S. POW's have just as much right to justice as any of the Countries or persons who or have collected from Germany.

In law there is need to have a precedent. Germany has set that precedent.I suppose it must be a b!tch to be 63 years of age and, just when the evidence needed to prosecute the people who infected with glanders is released from the US military, some prick on a website says you're not entitled to it because it is his 'gut feeling' you don't deserve it.

Women in the USA can sue McDonalds for their coffee being too hot and scalding her while she drove with a cup between her legs but get a man infected with glanders at the age of three and it's a no-go zone.

Do you reccon that the womans burns have healed by now there, Russ?

[The Smoking Man]

For a dead issue, it seems to be quite a newsworthy item as of late:

http://english.people.com.cn/200508/16/eng20050816_202708.htmlUPDATED: 08:27, August 16, 2005
Auschwitz museum to cooperate with Unit 731 Exhibition Hall

The Auschwitz Birkenau State Museum and the Unit 731 Exhibition Hall in northeast China on Monday expressed intention to exchange exhibition.

Deputy director of the Auschwitz Birkenau State Museum, Krystyna Oleksy, presented to the Chinese a detailed introduction to the museum and a picture book about those who died in the Auschwitz camp. In exchange, curator of the Unit 731 Exhibition Hall, Wang Peng, presented her a book on how the notorious Japanese military unit conducted germ tests and warfare in China.

"This is the first step towards bilateral cooperation in the future, though a detailed schedule hasn't been set," said director of the information center of the Auschwitz museum Teresa Suiebocka, adding they still need time to study items and documents preserved by the exhibition hall, in a bid to decide what to present in the Auschwitz museum.

Oleksy and Suiebocka paid a visit to the site of Unit 731 on Sunday, and discussed with the Chinese the logistics of exchange of exhibitions. Wang visited the Auschwitz museum in June this year.

Unit 731 was a secretive detachment of the Japanese invading troops which experimented on live humans in order to develop germ weapons, such as bubonic plague, typhoid, anthrax and cholera. At least 3,000 people mostly Chinese civilians and including Russians, Mongolians and Koreans, died in the experiments between 1939 and 1945. Outside the site, more than 200,000 Chinese were killed by biological weapons produced in the unit's laboratories.

Both the sites of Auschwitz museum and the Unit 731 Exhibition Hall are evidence of Fascism's murderous brutality, such as the frozen and germ experiments on live humans, said Suiebocka, adding the cooperation between the two exhibition agencies will provide a more comprehensive picture of history, and an impetus to all the people to the promotion of world peace.

Although many countries suffered a lot in World War II, like Poland, some Europeans don't know what happened outside Europe during the war. The exchange of exhibits will help people know the crimes committed by Fascists across the world.

As for the possible difficulties in their cooperation, Suiebocka said, "If there is any difficulty, we can overcome it. Because we have a similar mission, which is to protect the people against a new world war." http://english.people.com.cn/200508/17/eng20050817_203076.htmlUPDATED: 17:37, August 17, 2005
Expert finds new evidence of Japan's germ warfare in WWII

A Japanese expert has found a series of documents about the Japanese aggressive army's Unit 731 that carried out the brutal germ warfare in China during the World War II, causing deaths of many Chinese people, the Tokyo News reported Wednesday.

The two declassified documents were found in the US National Archives by Keiichi Tsuneishi, professor at Kanagawa University and an expert on biological and chemical weapons, the newspaper said.

One of the top-secret documents was a report on bacteriological warfare for the chief of staff of the Far Eastern Commission, dated July 17, 1947, compiled by Brig. Gen. Charles Willoughby, head of the "G2" intelligence unit of the US-led postwar occupation forces in Japan.

The other was a letter dated July 22 the same year that Willoughby sent to Maj. Gen. S. J. Chamberlin, director of intelligence of the US War Department General Staff, to illustrate the need for continued use of confidential funds without restrictions to obtain such intelligence.

In the documents, Willoughby described the achievements of his unit's investigations, saying the "information procured will have the greatest value in future development of the US BW ( bacteriological warfare) program."

Citing a US War Department specialist in charge of the investigation, Willoughby wrote in the report that "data on human experiments may prove invaluable" and said the information was " only obtainable through the skillful, psychological approach to top-flight pathologists" involved in Unit 731 experiments.

According to Tokyo News, besides the two documents from US archives, Tsuneishi also found a secret book in Japan's national congressional library -- "Reports of epidemic prevention development for medical academy of land forces."

The reports in the book reveal that Unit 731, established by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1936, developed many biological weapons using plague, anthrax and other bacteria, and conducted related human experiments during the war, the daily said.

Headquartered in the suburbs of Harbin in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the unit conducted germ warfare in various places in China and used Chinese as subjects in human experiments, resulting in deaths and injuries of tens of thousands of people.

The documents also indicated that the biological weapons of Unit 731 originally targeted the Soviet Union, the newspaper noted.