Kaimingjie germ weapon attack

The kaimingjie germ weapon attack occurred during the Second Sino Japanese war (1937–45). This was a military conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. the war broke out as a resistance to the Japanese expansion and influence on Chinese territory.

1937 Japanese pictorial map of East Asia during the Second Sino-Japanese War

In 1931 Japan's Kwantung army occupied Manchuria in an event known as the mukden incident. Manchuria consisted of China’s three north-eastern provinces. Before 1937 china and japan fought in localised engagements but refrained from fighting a major war.[5] In Manchuria, Japan established the puppet state of Manchukuo, this became a colony of Japan.[4] Japan then continued to further expanded their occupation of China. These activities created a growing resistance against Japanese expansion.[6] The Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937 marked the beginning of full-scale hostilities between there republic of china and the Empire of Japan.[6]

Japan’s occupation of China was Declared illegal by the League of Nations; however, they were not able to pass sanctions to cease the occupation [3] as Japan had withdrawn from the league in 1933.[6] In China, the Second Sino Japanese war is known as the “war of resistance”.[7]

Japan had signed the Geneva convention, which prohibited biological and chemical warfare, however, it had not ratified the treaty and was thus not bound to the conditions of the treaty and therefore could develop a chemical and biological weapons program.[5]

Japan developed a chemical and biological weapons program, under japans top-secret weapons program, founded and led by General Shirō Ishii.

Ishii played a large role in pushing for the funding of the biological weapons program from the high command,[4] general Ishii was said to have been “eccentric…flamboyant and arrogant man”.[4] Ishii was accepted into the medical department of Kyoto Imperial university, there he illustrated his fast and quick mind, much advanced for his age.[4] Throughout university japan instilled a solid sense of nationalism and patriotic duty unto their students. General Shirō Ishii has been described as an "ardent ultra-nationalist".[4]

Shiro-ishii

Ishii understood science and medicine as an avenue to further Japans nationalistic goals. Ishii joined the army where he was appointed as lieutenant. Along his journey Ishii created a network of ties with people of high standing in university and the military, these connections would later facilitate the founding of the biological weapons program, and subsequent research. His argument for the use of chemical weapons was that biological warfare would be a cheaper alternative to traditional forms of weaponry.[8]

the main units of this program were units 731 and 1644,[3] both units operated under the guise of the epidemic prevention and water purification department. This was a department of the Imperial Japanese army, and it had the public mission of preventing the spread of disease through monitoring Japans water supply.[3]

much of the research and experimentation took place in China and Manchukuo, although some experimentation also occurred at Imperial Navy hospitals and hospitals where wounded soldiers were being treated for their injuries. experimentation occurred at these hospitals on islands across the Pacific wherein various prisoners of war from different countries were used as subjects for the experiments, including Soviet and Chinese prisoners.[4]

Unit 731

Main article: Unit 731

Building on the site of the Harbin bioweapon facility of Unit 731

The plan for the kaimingjie germ weapon attack was devised by General Shirō Ishii within unit 731. Unit 731 was a biological and chemical weapons development unit.[9] This unit was tasked with performing experiments into chemical agents that had the potential to be used and developed into biological weapons. The unit conducted experiments, with infectious diseases in which researchers subjugated Chinese captives and captured insurgents to cholera, syphilis, the bubonic plague. Additionally, the unit performed vivisection on their human subjects after they were infected with these various diseases.[3] invasive surgeries were performed on humans where individual organs would be removed from live subjects and studied to understand the effects of diseases.

Unit 731 also studied the effects of various toxins.[4] Specific experiments conducted included testing poison gas on prisoners, testing bubonic plague bombs, testing frostbite and its remedies on live people. Additionally this unit studied malnutrition, tetanus, anthrax, dysentry, glanders and more.[10][11]

Most of these experiments were carried out in a facility called ping fan[4] in Harbin, Manchukuo.[11] ping fan was an important site for the study of frostbite, wherein living people’ limbs were frozen and then thawed out.

Unit 731 - Complex

Those who were conducting experiments did not employ anaesthesia and left their subjects fully awake whilst they were being operated on, as claimed by a Japanese army doctor Yasua Ken.[4]

it has also been alleged that British and American prisoners of war were subject to biological weapons experimentation at a detention camp near Mukden.[11] Although in 1986 The British ministry of defence denied any evidence of these events.

unit 731 was involved in production and delivery of poison gasses, in 1929 a factory on Okunoshima was established to produce various poisonous gasses such as; mustard gas and phosphene gas. These gasses were then transported to the city of Kokura and packaged into artillery shells to be used on Chinese combatants and civilians, it is alleged that the gasses were used on these groups over 2000 times.[12]

unit 731 bred yellow rats and fleas in order to spread pathogens. this took place mainly at ping fan. rats would be infected with the plague and flees would be raised on the blood of these infected rats.[10]

Pathogen infected flees would be encased in a weapon called the "Uji" bomb. the "Uji "bomb is a ceramic bomb, it was designed to easily explode hundreds of feet above ground, and shower infected flees over Chinese cities.[10][13] initially the "Uji" bomb was made of a steel casing but this proved inadequate as very few pathogens survived the heat generated by the initial explosion, therefore general Ishii modified the bomb to use a ceramic casing in place of the steel frame.These new "Uji" bombs were tested in ping fan airfields on human subjects.[14] These particular bombs were used to infect large areas with various pathogens.[14]

The Kaimangjie germ weapon attack consisted of; corn and cloth infested with fleas, these fleas had been infected with cholera and the bubonic plague and were airdropped over the area of Ningbo on October 27, 1940. Rats would be infected with these fleas; the fleas would then move on and find human hosts.[5]

On October 29 the first three cases of the plague were diagnosed by local health officials in Kaimingjie. An estimated 26 deaths had occurred by November 2.[5] measures were taken in response to the situation. Quarantines were imposed on affected areas, homes were routinely disinfected. sheets and cloths were burnt as a precautionary measure and Vaccinations were soon introduced by officials. The areas of the city Most affected by the attack were evacuated and later burnt to prevent further outbreaks and completely eradicate the disease.[5]

victim, Jiand Chun Geng suffered flesh-eating ulcers. others suffered untreated infections that led to death.[8]

there were also many casualties Leading up to this attack. Unit 731’s experiments saw many victims, Dr Sheldon Harris estimated that from testing of prototype weapons 250000 civilian men and women died.[14]

There was a second Japanese attack on Kaimingjie that occurred in 1942, this germ weapon attack consisted of airdropping ceramic bombs over the city.[12]

Japan surrendered to American Allies on August 6, 1945. America planned prosecution of Japanese war criminals in both “major tribunals and minor trials” as quoted by General Douglas MacArthur.[5] Very little was known about japans biological weapons until 1944 when breakthroughs in decoding Japanese communications had been made by American intelligence.[14]

However, those who led unit 731 were not put on trial, and although information had surfaced on the Japanese biological weapons program, links were not made to unit 731[4] this was potentially an official coverup, attributed to the perceived military value seen by the USA in the information that unit 731 held, such as the effects of biological agents on humans.[5] As America itself had researched biological and chemical weapons, specifically through the united states army of chemical warfare.[14]

The failure to prosecute those involved in biological warfare may also have been due to lack of due diligence through the investigative process.

It has been speculated that the USA helped with the coverup of a Factory in Okushima that produced mustard gas phosphene gas. During this coverup, thousands of tons of poison gasses were allegedly dumped into the ocean in 1946.[8] General Shirō Ishii provided the Americans with documents revealing secrets of the Japanese warfare program.[15] General Ishii was not prosecuted for his activities.

the Soviet Union captured some unit 731 personnel whilst they were fleeing from Manchukuo,[4] some of these captured men stood trial in the Khabarovsk war crime trials held between 25-31 of December 1949 in the Soviet Union. During these trials, 12 Japanese medical army researchers were convicted of war crimes.[16] within the trials Japanese Major General Yoshiyuki Kawashima testified that unit 731 had dropped plague contaminated fleas on Chinese cities, that caused epidemic plague Outbreaks.[17] However, these trials were labelled as propaganda by the united states .[4] it has been said that the trials do not offer enough independent verification on the subject and certain crucial points[16]

Many of the leaders in japans secret biological warfare program would go on to have successful careers in America. many of the activities undertaken by the Japanese army are emitted from historical textbooks and western culture.[3]

Compared to other histories, the topic of the Japanese biological weapons program is relatively understudied.[4] This is due to the lack of documents and writings available on the topic.[4] Much of the information important to the topic was destroyed, lost and largely covered up. much of the information held by the united states had been kept classified until recent times.

The first notable non-governmental Inquiry into the topic was conducted by journalists Peter Williams and David Wallace,[11] they brought to light the experimentation and attacks committed by Japanese unit 731, and the plans devised by general Shirō Ishii. They also spoke of alleged coverup of the Japanese war crimes. The works of these men brought exposure unto the subject specifically, to the western world.[4]

Historian Sheldon Harris[14] later furthered this work and brought even more exposure onto the subject, with in-depth rigour and evaluation of the subject. Harris collected research from people who had direct knowledge and experience with the events. Additionally. he brought to light the different units involved in the biological weapons program such as units 731, 1644, 100 and more.[4]

• Japanese war crimes