Member Lists of Ex-Imperial Japan Biowarfare Units Disclosed
Tokyo, May 21 (Jiji Press)--The National Archives of Japan has disclosed to researchers lists of members of some bacterial warfare units the former Imperial Japanese Army had in China.
Researchers hope that the disclosure will uncover many mysteries about such units, of which only Unit 731, involved in bacterial weapon development and human experiments in China, is widely known.
The lists contain the names of members of Unit 1644, which was located in Nanjing, eastern China, and Unit 8604, which was based in Guangzhou, southern China. According to the National Archives, the lists of the two units were transferred to the archives from the Japanese health ministry in fiscal 2024 through March this year.
Katsuo Nishiyama, 83, professor emeritus at Shiga University of Medical Science, applied for access to the lists this spring.
The lists, compiled in 1945, contains members' names, registered domiciles, military ranks and information on their homes. Some 2,000 people are on the list for Unit 1644, while about 850 are on that for Unit 8604. Both lists are believed to encompass all unit members.
(2025/05/21-13:15)
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