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How the Japanese turned prisoners into guinea pigs for gruesome experiments

dailymail.co.uk — After more than 60 years of silence, World War II's most enduring and horrible secret is being nudged into the light of day. One by one the participants, white-haired and mildmannered, line up to tell their dreadful stories before they die.

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  • calenti, on 10/12/2007, -13/+19
    Read the story and see how matter-of-fact those stories are told. This capability exists in all of us. When you think of the enemy as non-human you get a whole new license for depravity.

    And I don't remember that scene where the USA allows Japanese war criminals to be avoid the same punishment we were handing out to the Germans because we wanted the information in that "Proud To Be An American" music video.




    • thesauce, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18It was indeed a very graphic and horrible picture I got from reading that article. It shocks me that any human being without obvious extreme mental problems could do anything like that.
    • fiftyeggs, on 10/12/2007, -18/+56Common knowledge here in korea.

      They calculated that world domination using bullets would cost "too much."

      So they experimented chemical weapons, and various gas type warfare on Korean, and Machurian Men.

      I'm thinking the reason most "Americans" do not know of such cruelty is because it isn't on their tri-state news.

      Now go buy another Honda Civic, and a PS3 to play on your Toshiba HDTV.

      And did I mention that Japan has NEVER issued an apology for their war crimes from WWII?
    • KibibyteBrain, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13An even sadder fact is that horrors like this probably occur much more frequently than any of us can imagine. There so so many half crazy regimes in the world right now(not the ones FOX News spends all day talking about either) looking for power where they shouldn't. Western medicine performed similar experiments on prisoners only several hundred years ago regularly to advance their knowledge of medicine and anatomy. The fact is, this is far from a unique condition that can develop, so it is very important that every one of us be on the ready to prevent such things from ever happening within our reach.
    • TomP, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25I feel sick after reading that.
    • gamasutra, on 10/12/2007, -7/+24The Japanese Government should apologize and compensate the victims of the of these war crimes done during WWII, but instead the reality is that Japan is once again getting nationalistic, and the right-wingers have firm control of their government.

    • blaze03, on 10/12/2007, -11/+15Indeed, the frustrating thing is not the acts committed in this article. Tthe victims were at least anaesthetised, which is arguably no worse than some things done to some Jews in WW2 Germany or a lifetime of slavery in the South.

      The frustrating thing is that Japan will not only not apologize for these war crimes, they will not even ACKNOWLEDGE them. They have gone even as far as to revise textbooks to "distort the past and gloss over atrocities committed by Japanese troops before and during World War II".

      This is entirely contrary to similar modern societies. The USA is constantly apologizing to its black citizens, has given reparations to the Japanese held in internment camps during WW2, and has given land back to Native Americans. The youth of Germany have a non-existant sense of national pride...and it is in fact ILLEGAL to deny the holocaust there. It's just fascinating just how proud Japan as a country is that it won't even acknowledge nor apologize for its war crimes, which is something China and Korea have repeatedly demanded.
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -27/+11Stop bashing Japan. This bs has to stop. Nearly every country has their black history. My Lai by US forces, for example, is one of many. @Gamasutra: When the USA compensates Vietnam for the chemical and generational destruction, then you can talk. Until then S.T.F.U
    • gamasutra, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19@ohgr

      Look, nobody's trying to focus blame on the current Japanese population. These stories need to be told so they don't happen again. Regardless of what nationality you're from.
    • aegis9975, on 10/12/2007, -16/+10Lots of anti-Japanese stories on Digg recently it seems.
    • plannters, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Sad that the first post in this thread is a lame attempt to excuse the crimes. There's always some guy who thinks he's being cool and insightful by flying against the obvious answer and coming up with some BS; it's a tolerable nuisance in most threads, but in ones like these it's just shameful.
    • Saiing, on 10/12/2007, -10/+31>Look, nobody's trying to focus blame on the current Japanese population.

      Well who are cynical comments like "Now go buy another Honda Civic, and a PS3 to play on your Toshiba HDTV" aimed at then? The Dutch?

      While I'm not denying the depravity of these war crimes, I am starting to wonder what is up with Digg at the moment. There seems to have been a disproportionate number of anti-Japanese stories lately. I haven't seen many articles recently about the barbarism of Europeans and North Americans during the slave trade, or the mass slaughter by the British while building an empire. Or how about Stalin, Mao, Amin or any number of other ruthless tyrants who have unleased mass-slaughter on their own people let alone others?

      The fact is, whatever Japan has done in the past, it remains one of the few remaining developed countries in the world that has not been involved in armed conflict with anyone, at any time, since World War 2 ended. Yes, they did some truly horrible things. And yes their political leaders often seek to hush things up. But many Japanese are no happier about this, than the average American is about their administration seemingly condoning torture interrogation methods to question suspects from the middle-east.

      Oh and one more thing. Let's not forget the name of the country which has killed more innocent civillians than any other in the last few years. What country would that be? Ahh yes... the United States.

      Digg me down if you want. But unless we can face up to our own problems, we're in no position to keep pointing the finger at others. Particularly when it happened before most of us were born.
    • Saiing, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8And as a final piece of irony, you might be interested to know that in the run-up to World War 2, the newspaper on whose website you can find the featured article came out in support of a certain German character called Mr. A. Hitler - I'm looking forward to their next article exposing their own dirty little past.
    • Price, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13blaze03, only a few of the victims were anaesthatised. It's just the guy featured at the start who has them anaesthatised. All the 'logs' at unit 731 were completely un-anaesthatised (?)
    • gaoshan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9It is common knowledge in China as well. The full extent of the horrors perpetrated by Japan throughout Asian will never be known but rest assured that it was barbaric on an unimaginable level. Next time you hear people angry at Japan for not owning up to their crimes, perhaps Westerners will have a little more understanding of the depth of feeling that exists.
    • Gwyddyon, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4>While I'm not denying the depravity of these war crimes, I am starting to wonder what is up with Digg at the moment. There seems to have been a disproportionate number of anti-Japanese stories lately. I haven't seen many articles recently about the barbarism of Europeans and North Americans during the slave trade, or the mass slaughter by the British while building an empire. Or how about Stalin, Mao, Amin or any number of other ruthless tyrants who have unleased mass-slaughter on their own people let alone others?

      You've missed the point. European powers and the US have apologized for those attrocities. Japan refuses to admit they even DID anything.

      >The fact is, whatever Japan has done in the past, it remains one of the few remaining developed countries in the world that has not been involved in armed conflict with anyone, at any time, since World War 2 ended.

      That's because they cannot, by law, develop a military. It's easy to not get into armed conflicts if you are bound by international agreements not to have the capability to do so in the first place. Read up on your history before posting such nonsense.

      >Oh and one more thing. Let's not forget the name of the country which has killed more innocent civillians than any other in the last few years. What country would that be? Ahh yes... the United States.

      http://www.iraqbodycount.org/ lists 63,428 civilians dead in Iraq. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060914-darfur-deaths.html points out that estimates in Sudan should be revised upwards by HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS. I know it's cool to bash the US and all, and as a Spanish socialist I do it quite often myself, but, again, get your facts straight and THEN talk.
    • PaulOwen, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12You've missed the best bits, folks which they won't tell you in high school.

      Immediately after the war, the results of these experiments were seized by the US occupation under General McArthy and made secret. In fact the US government laster bought the classified documents for their own research from the Japanese government.

      As a more useful analogy, who is the more guilty, the people doing those acts or the people funding those acts?

      Not nice, but then again neither is war.
    • designer, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2We corrected their society with a couple nukes. Now they love baseball and make the best electronics.
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Stop bashing Japan. This bs has to stop. Nearly every country has their black history. My Lai by US forces, for example, is one of many.
    • SerialMouse, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5THIS IS *****: WHY? Because not only has JAPAN APOLOGIZED, they paid 1 TRILLION DOLLARS in War reparations. This doesn't excuse what they did, but to claim Japan never apologized and never paid anything is a huge lie.

      Most of it went to China and Korea. The people who still make ruckus about this are Nationalists from Korea and China looking to ignore facts and history.

      APOLOGIES:
      1970s
      29 September 1972. Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. "The Japanese side is keenly conscious of the responsibility for the serious damage that Japan caused in the past to the Chinese people through war, and deeply reproaches itself. Further, the Japanese side reaffirms its position that it intends to realize the normalization of relations between the two countries from the stand of fully understanding 'the three principles for the restoration of relations' put forward by the Government of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese side expresses its welcome for this" (Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/china/joint72.html ).

      [edit]
      1980s
      24 August 1982. Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki. "I am painfully aware of Japan's responsibility for inflicting serious damages [on Asian nations] during the past war." "We need to recognize that there are criticisms that condemn [Japan's occupation] as invasion" (Press Conference on Textbook issue. qtd. in Tahara, Soichiro (田原総一朗). Nihon no Senso (日本の戦争). Shogakkan, 2000: Tokyo, Japan. p. 161.)
      26 August 1982. Chief Cabinet Secretary Kiichi Miyazawa. "1. The Japanese Government and the Japanese people are deeply aware of the fact that acts by our country in the past caused tremendous suffering and damage to the peoples of Asian countries, including the Republic of Korea (ROK) and China, and have followed the path of a pacifist state with remorse and determination that such acts must never be repeated. Japan has recognized, in the Japan-ROK Joint Communique, of 1965, that the 'past relations are regrettable, and Japan feels deep remorse,' and in the Japan-China Joint Communique, that Japan is 'keenly conscious of the responsibility for the serious damage that Japan caused in the past to the Chinese people through war and deeply reproaches itself.' These statements confirm Japan's remorse and determination which I stated above and this recognition has not changed at all to this day. 2. This spirit in the Japan-ROK Joint Communique, and the Japan-China Joint Communique, naturally should also be respected in Japan's school education and textbook authorization. Recently, however, the Republic of Korea, China, and others have been criticizing some descriptions in Japanese textbooks. From the perspective of building friendship and goodwill with neighboring countries, Japan will pay due attention to these criticisms and make corrections at the Government's responsibility. 3. To this end, in relation to future authorization of textbooks, the Government will revise the Guideline for Textbook Authorization after discussions in the Textbook Authorization and Research Council and give due consideration to the effect mentioned above. Regarding textbooks that have already been authorized, Government will take steps quickly to the same effect. As measures until then, the Minister of Education, Sports, Science and Culture will express his views and make sure that the idea mentioned in 2. Above is duly reflected in the places of education. 4. Japan intends to continue to make efforts to promote mutual understanding and develop friendly and cooperative relations with neighboring countries and to contribute to the peace and stability of Asia and, in turn, of the world" (Statement on History Textbooks. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/postwar/state8208.html ).
      6 September 1984. Emperor Hirohito. "It is indeed regrettable that there was an unfortunate past between us for a period in this century and I believe that it should not be repeated again" (Meeting with President Chun Doo Hwan. TIME, September 17, 1984).
      7 September 1984. Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. "There was a period in this century when Japan brought to bear great sufferings upon your country and its people. I would like to state here that the government and people of Japan feel a deep regret for this error" ( Economist, September 15, 1984).

      [edit]
      1990s
      18 April 1990. Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Nakayama. "Japan is deeply sorry for the tragedy in which these (Korean) people were moved to Sakhalin not of their own free will but by the design of the Japanese government and had to remain there after the conclusion of the war" (188th National Diet Session Lower House Committee of Foreign Affairs. qtd. in Kenichi Takagi, Rethinking Japan's Postwar Compensation: Voices of Victims. tr. by Makiko Nakano. Retrieved from http://home.att.ne.jp/sun/RUR55/E/epage16.htm ).
      24 May 1990. Emperor Akihito. "Reflecting upon the suffering that your people underwent during this unfortunate period, which was brought about by our nation, I cannot but feel the deepest remorse" (Meeting with President Roh Tae Woo. 宮中晩餐会での今上天皇の盧泰愚大統領歓迎の勅語. (Nakano Bunko), Retrieved from http://www.geocities.jp/nakanolib/choku/ch02.htm ).
      25 May 1990. Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu. "I would like to take the opportunity here to humbly reflect upon how the people of the Korean Peninsula went through unbearable pain and sorrow as a result of our country's actions during a certain period in the past and to express that we are sorry" (Summit meeting with President Roh Tae Woo in Japan. 大韓民国大統領盧泰愚閣下ご夫妻歓迎晩餐会での海部内閣総理大臣の挨拶. 海部演説集 pp. 326-328. qtd in The World and Japan Database Project website, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, Retrieved from http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~worldjpn/documents/texts/JPKR/19900525.S1J.html ).
      16 January 1992. Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. "We the Japanese people, first and foremost, have to bear in our mind the fact that your people experienced unbearable suffering and sorrow during a certain period in the past because of our nation's act, and never forget the feeling of remorse. I, as a prime minister, would like to once again express a heartful remorse and apology to the people of your nation" (Speech at dinner with President Roh Tae Woo. 大韓民国大統領盧泰愚閣下ご夫妻主催晩餐会での宮澤内閣総理大臣のスピーチ. 宮澤演説集 pp. 89-91. qtd in The World and Japan Database Project website, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, Retrieved from http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~worldjpn/documents/texts/JPKR/19920116.S1J.html ).
      17 January 1992. Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. "What we should not forget about relationship between our nation and your nation is a fact that there was a certain period in the thousands of years of our company when we were the victimizer and you were the victim. I would like to once again express a heartful remorse and apology for the unbearable suffering and sorrow that you experienced during this period because of our nation's act." Recently the issue of the so-called 'wartime comfort women' is being brought up. I think that incidents like this are seriously heartbreaking, and I am truly sorry" (Policy speech at the occasion of the visit to the Republic of Korea. 宮澤喜一内閣総理大臣の大韓民国訪問における政策演説（アジアのなか、世界のなかの日韓関係）. 外交青書36号，383-388. qtd in The World and Japan Database Project website, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, Retrieved from http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~worldjpn/documents/texts/exdpm/19920117.S1J.html ).
      6 July 1992. Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Kato. "The Government again would like to express its sincere apology and remorse to all those who have suffered indescribable hardship as so-called 'wartime comfort women,' irrespective of their nationality or place of birth. With profound remorse and determination that such a mistake must never be repeated, Japan will maintain its stance as a pacifist nation and will endeavor to build up new future-oriented relations with the Republic of Korea and with other countries and regions in Asia. As I listen to many people, I feel truly grieved for this issue. By listening to the opinions of people from various directions, I would like to consider sincerely in what way we can express our feelings to those who suffered such hardship" (Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Kato on the Issue of the so-called "Wartime Comfort Women" from the Korean Peninsula. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/postwar/state9207.html ).
      4 August 1993. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono. "Undeniably, this was an act, with the involvement of the military authorities of the day, that severely injured the honor and dignity of many women. The Government of Japan would like to take this opportunity once again to extend its sincere apologies and remorse to all those, irrespective of place of origin, who suffered immeasurable pain and incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women" (Statement by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono on the result of the study on the issue of "comfort women." (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/state9308.html ).
      11 August 1993. Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. "I myself believe it was a war of aggression, a war that was wrong" (First Press Conference after inauguration. qtd. in Margot S. Strom, Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior. p. 488).
      23 August 1993. Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. "After 48 years from then, our nation has become one of nations that enjoy prosperity and peace. We must not forget that it is founded on the ultimate sacrifices in the last war, and a product of the achievements of the people of the previous generations. We would like to take this opportunity to clearly express our remorse for the past and a new determination to the world. Firstly at this occasion, we would like to express our deep remorse and apology for the fact that invasion and colonial rule by our nation in the past brought to bear great sufferings and sorrow upon many people" (Speech at 127th National Diet Session. 第127回国会（特別会）細川護熙内閣総理大臣 所信表明演説. (The World and Japan Database Project website, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo) Retrieved from http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~worldjpn/documents/texts/pm/19930823.SWJ.html ).
      24 September 1993. Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. "I used the expression war of aggression and act of aggression to express honestly my recognition which is the same as the one that the act of our nation in the past brought to bear unbearable sufferings and sorrow upon many people, and to express once again deep remorse and apology" (128th National Diet Session. 第128回国会. (国会会議録検索システム (National Diet Conference Minutes Search system)), Retrieved from http://kokkai.ndl.go.jp ).
      31 August 1994. Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. "Japan's actions in a certain period of the past not only claimed numerous victims here in Japan but also left the peoples of neighboring Asia and elsewhere with scars that are painful even today. I am thus taking this opportunity to state my belief, based on my profound remorse for these acts of aggression, colonial rule, and the like caused such unbearable suffering and sorrow for so many people, that Japan's future path should be one of making every effort to build world peace in line with my no-war commitment. It is imperative for us Japanese to look squarely to our history with the peoples of neighboring Asia and elsewhere. Only with solid basis of mutual understanding and confidence that can be build through overcoming the pain on both sides, can we and the peoples of neighboring countries together clear up the future of Asia-Pacific.... On the issue of wartime 'comfort women,' which seriously stained the honor and dignity of many women, I would like to take this opportunity once again to express my profound and sincere remorse and apologies. With regard to this issue as well, I believe that one way of demonstrating such feelings of apologies and remorse is to work to further promote mutual understanding with the countries and areas concerned as well as to face squarely to the past and ensure that it is rightly conveyed to future generations. This initiative, in this sense, has been drawn up consistent with such belief" (Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on the "Peace, Friendship, and Exchange Initiative" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/state9408.html ).
      9 June 1995. House of Representatives, National Diet of Japan. "On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, this House offers its sincere condolences to those who fell in action and victims of wars and similar actions all over the world. Solemnly reflecting upon many instances of colonial rule and acts of aggression in the modern history of the world, and recognizing that Japan carried out those acts in the past, inflicting pain and suffering upon the peoples of other countries, especially in Asia, the Members of this House express a sense of deep remorse" (Resolution to renew the determination for peace on the basis of lessons learned from history. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/address9506.html).
      07/na/1995. Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. "The problem of the so-called wartime comfort women is one such scar, which, with the involvement of the Japanese military forces of the time, seriously stained the honor and dignity of many women. This is entirely inexcusable. I offer my profound apology to all those who, as wartime comfort women, suffered emotional and physical wounds that can never be closed" (Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on the occasion of the establishment of the "Asian Women's Fund." (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/state9507.html ).
      15 August 1995. Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. "During a certain period in the not-too-distant past, Japan, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly those of Asia. In the hope that no such mistake will be made in the future, I regard, in a spirit of humanity, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology" (Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama 'On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end.' (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/9508.html ).
      23 June 1996. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. Hashimoto mentioned the aspects of Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula such as the forced Japanization of Korean people's name and commented "It is beyond imagination how this injured the hearts of Korean people" Hashimoto also touched on the issue of Korean comfort women and said "Nothing injured the honor and dignity of women more than this and I would like to extend words of deep remorse and the heartfelt apology" (Joint press conference at summit meeting with President Kim Young Sam in South Korea. 日韓共同記者会見（橋本総理大臣・金泳三大統領共同記者会見）. (Official website of Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet), Retrieved from http://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/hasimotosouri/speech/1996/kisya-0625.html ).
      8 October 1996. Emperor Akihito. "There was a period when our nation brought to bear great sufferings upon the people of the Korean Peninsula." "The deep sorrow that I feel over this will never be forgotten" (Speech at dinner with President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea. 宮中晩餐会での今上天皇の金大中大統領歓迎の勅語. (Nakano Bunko), Retrieved from http://www.geocities.jp/nakanolib/choku/ch10.htm ).
      28 August 1997. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. "I believe that Japan has learned its lessons from history and that the people of Japan widely share the view that we must learn from the past for the future, without forgetting what is behind us. The year before last, former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued these words: '... through its colonial rule and aggression, [Japan] caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. ... I regard, in a spirit of humility, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology.' I am of the same mind as the former Prime Minister. Even though there are some elements in Japan that are quite capable of arousing Chinese sentiment with their rhetoric, Japan will not become a military power in the future. Our determination to continue treading the path of a peaceful nation is self-evident to us, the Japanese people. Still, however clear this may be to us, we must continue our persistent efforts so that China and the other nations of Asia have no reason to doubt us" (Speech by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Seeking a New Foreign Policy Toward China. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/china/seeking.html ).
      6 September 1997. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. "In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Government of Japan expressed its resolution through the statement by the Prime Minister, which states that during a certain period in the past, Japan's conduct caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, including China, and the Prime Minister expressed his feeling of deep remorse and stated his heartfelt apology, while giving his word to make efforts for peace. I myself was one of the ministers who was involved in drafting this statement. I would like to repeat that this is the official position of the Government of Japan. During the summit meeting that I had during my visit to China, I have made this point very clear in a frank manner to the Chinese side. Premier Li Peng said that he concurs completely with my remarks" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Conference on: Visit of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to the People's Republic of China. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/china/conference.html ).
      13 January 1998. Press Secretary. "Statement by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on World War II prisoners of war. Q: At the meeting last night with Prime Minister Blair, did Prime Minister Hashimoto really apologize for the prisoners of war. Spokesman Hashimoto: The important thing is that the Prime Minister of Japan expressed the feelings of deep remorse and stated heartfelt apologies to the people who suffered in World War II directly to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This was the second meeting between Prime Minister Hashimoto and Prime Minister Blair and we considered the meeting very important, especially this year. Making use of this opportunity, Prime Minister Hashimoto expressed his remorse and apology on behalf of the Government of Japan; this is very important. Prime Minister Blair fully understands the importance of the statement made by Prime Minister Hashimoto on this issue. His press opportunities after the talks objectively reflect what the two gentlemen talked about" (Press Conference by the Press Secretary. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/1998/1/113.html ).
      16 January 1998. Press Secretary. "Apology to prisoners of war. Q: This week, Prime Minister Hashimoto apologized to British prisoners of war for actions taken during World War II. Does the Japanese Government have any plans to extend that apology to Australian prisoners of war, and if not, why not? Spokesman Tanaka: Our sense of apology and our sense of remorse was addressed to all the countries which have gone through the experiences of the last world war. You may recall that, at the time of the 50th anniversary of World War II, then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued a statement by the Government of Japan to express its sincere feeling of deep remorse and heartfelt apology for the damages and suffering for the one-time past of Japan. This apology was addressed universally. Since the time of this apology, Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom has been elected to his current position and has just concluded a visit to Japan. Therefore, we took the opportunity of this recent visit to once again express our feeling, so that this new bilateral relationship would be cemented in the future. Please be reminded that our apology is extended to all the countries who shared the same disastrous experiences. Q: So, are you saying that Prime Minister Hashimoto's statement from this week was just a restatement of what then-Prime Minister Murayama said on the 50th anniversary? Spokesman Tanaka: No, it is not really a restatement, but a new determination. Every time we make this type of statement, it is our expression of a new determination to build a new era together with other countries, particularly this time with Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is a young, fresh face in the international community and who has shown sufficient capability to lead that country and Europe into the 21st century. So, we wanted to share with him our perception for the new era. Q: So, you do not see a need to extend that apology to particular countries? Spokesman Tanaka: Whenever the opportunity arises and whenever necessary, we do not hesitate to renew our determination" (Press Conference by the Press Secretary. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/1998/1/116.html ).
      15 July 1998. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. "The Government of Japan, painfully aware of its moral responsibility concerning the issue of so called "wartime comfort women," has been sincerely addressing this issue in close cooperation with the Asian Women's Fund which implements the projects to express the national atonement on this issue. Recognizing that the issue of comfort women, with an involvement of the Japanese military authorities at that time, was a grave affront to the honor and dignity of large numbers of women, I would like to convey to Your Excellency my most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women.... By the Statement of Prime Minister in 1995, the Government of Japan renewed the feelings of deep remorse and the heartfelt apology for tremendous damage and suffering caused by Japan to the people of many countries including the Netherlands during a certain period in the past. My cabinet has not modified this position at all, and I myself laid a wreath to the Indisch Monument with these feelings on the occasion of my visit to the Netherlands in June last year" (The contents of the letter of the then Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto sent to the Netherlands Prime Minister Willem Kok on July 15, 1998. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/women/fund/project0107-3.html ).
      8 October 1998. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. "Looking back on the relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea during this century, Prime Minister Obuchi regarded in a spirit of humility the fact of history that Japan caused, during a certain period in the past, tremendous damage and suffering to the people of the Republic of Korea through its colonial rule, and expressed his deep remorse and heartfelt apology for this fact. President Kim accepted with sincerity this statement of Prime Minister Obuchi's recognition of history and expressed his appreciation for it. He also expressed his view that the present calls upon both countries to overcome their unfortunate history and to build a future-oriented relationship based on reconciliation as well as good-neighborly and friendly cooperation" (Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration A New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership towards the Twenty-first Century. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/korea/joint9810.html ).
      26 November 1998. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. "Both sides believe that squarely facing the past and correctly understanding history are the important foundation for further developing relations between Japan and China. The Japanese side observes the 1972 Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China and the 15 August 1995 Statement by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. The Japanese side is keenly conscious of the responsibility for the serious distress and damage that Japan caused to the Chinese people through its aggression against China during a certain period in the past and expressed deep remorse for this. The Chinese side hopes that the Japanese side will learn lessons from the history and adhere to the path of peace and development. Based on this, both sides will develop long-standing relations of friendship" (Japan-China Joint Declaration On Building a Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site), Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/china/visit98/joint.html ).

      [edit]
      2000s
      August 10, 2000. Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong Itaru Umezu. "In fact, Japan has clearly and repeatedly expressed its sincere remorse and apologies, and has dealt sincerely with reparation issues. These apologies were irrefutably expressed, in particular in Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's official statement in 1995, which was based on a cabinet decision and which has subsequently been upheld by successive prime ministers, including Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. Mr. Murayama said that Japan 'through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. In the hope that no such mistake be made in the future, I regard, in a spirit of humility, these irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology'" (Japan Has Faced Its Past. Far Eastern Economic Review, August 10, 2000. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site) Reprinted at [1].)
      August 17, 2000. Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Ryuichiro Yamazaki. "The fact is that Japan has repeatedly expressed its remorse and stated its apology for wartime actions with the utmost clarity. A notable example is then Prime Minister's official statement in August 1995, based upon a Cabinet decision. In the statement, Mr. Murayama said that Japan 'through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations,' and he expressed his 'feelings of deep remorse' and stated his 'heartfelt apology.' As recently as 1998, then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi reiterated gist of this statement to Chinese President Jiang Zeming when he paid a state visit to Japan" (Letter written in response to the article "Miffed Chinese Sue Japan Companies" in New York Times on 7 August 2000. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site) Retrieved from [2].)
      August 30, 2000. Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono. "I believe that Japan's perception of history was clearly set out in the Statement by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issued, following a Cabinet Decision, on the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II. As a member of the Cabinet, I participated in the drafting of that Statement. The spirit contained therein has been carried forth by successive administrations and is now the common view of the large number of Japanese people" (Address by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono During His Visit to the People's Republic of China. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site) Retrieved from [3].)
      April 3, 2001. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda. "Japan humbly accepts that for a period in the not too distant past, it caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations, through its colonial rule and aggression, and expresses its deep remorse and heartfelt apology for this. Such recognition has been succeeded by subsequent Cabinets and there is no change regarding this point in the present Cabinet" (Comments by the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yasuo Fukuda on the history textbooks to be used in junior high schools from 2002. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site) Retrieved from [4].)
      September 8, 2001. Minister for Foreign Affairs Makiko Tanaka. "We have never forgotten that Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries during the last war. Many lost their precious lives and many were wounded. The war has left an incurable scar on many people, including former prisoners of war. Facing these facts of history in a spirit of humility, I reaffirm today our feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology expressed in the Prime Minister Murayama's statement of 1995" (Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Makiko Tanaka at the Ceremony in Commemoration of 50th anniversary of the Signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site) Retrieved from [5].)
      October 8, 2001. (Chinese President Jiang Zemin met with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on October 8, 2001) Koizumi thanked President Jiang for the meeting. He said that this was the first time he had visit China and the Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge) as well as the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance against Japanese aggression. He had come to understand the miseries of war and offered “heartfelt apology and mourning" for the Chinese people who died in Japan's aggressive war half a century ago. Koizumi said, “I have seen for myself the brutal scenes of war exhibited in the Memorial Hall, and I come to know that the wound of war was immeasurable. Japan would learn from its deep introspection into history and would not let such a war reoccur”. He said, “in those days, Japan rejected the advice of international community, cling obstinately to its own course, which led to the consequence. Japan will learn from its history, take a peaceful road and continue to coordinate and cooperate with the international community”. Japan highly values the relations with China, which are vital for the basic interests of people in both countries and for the peace and stability of Asia and the world at large. Retrieved from [6].
      October 15, 2001. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "During the talks, President Kim highly appreciated the words of the Prime Minister Koizumi at Sodaemun Independence Park, in which he expressed remorse and apology for Japan's colonial domination" (Prime Minister Visits the Republic of Korea. (Official website of Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet), Retrieved from [7].)
      2001. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (Also signed by all the prime ministers since 1995, including Ryutaro Hashimoto, Keizo Obuchi, Yoshiro Mori). "As Prime Minister of Japan, I thus extend anew my most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women. We must not evade the weight of the past, nor should we evade our responsibilities for the future. I believe that our country, painfully aware of its moral responsibilities, with feelings of apology and remorse, should face up squarely to its past history and accurately convey it to future generations" (Letter from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the former comfort women. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site) Retrieved from [8].)
      September 17, 2002. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "The Japanese side regards, in a spirit of humility, the facts of history that Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of Korea through its colonial rule in the past, and expressed deep remorse and heartfelt apology" (Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Web Site) Retrieved from [9].)
      August 15, 2003. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "During the war, Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. On behalf of the people of Japan, I hereby renew my feelings of profound remorse as I express my sincere mourning to the victims" (Address by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the 58th Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead. (Official website of Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet) Retrieved from [10].)
      April 22, 2005. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "Japan squarely faces these facts of history in a spirit of humility. And with feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology always engraved in mind, Japan has resolutely maintained, consistently since the end of World War II, never turning into a military power but an economic power, its principle of resolving all matters by peaceful means, without recourse to use of force. Japan once again states its resolve to contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world in the future as well, prizing the relationship of trust it enjoys with the nations of the world." (Address by the Prime Minister of Japan at the Asia-African Summit 2005), Retrieved from [11].
      August 15, 2005. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "In the past, Japan, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. Sincerely facing these facts of history, I once again express my feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology, and also express the feelings of mourning for all victims, both at home and abroad, in the war. I am determined not to allow the lessons of that horrible war to erode, and to contribute to the peace and prosperity of the world without ever again waging a war." Retrieved from [12].
    • SerialMouse, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Its surprising that Gamasutra can claim that Japan is getting nationalistic. How about offer any evidence?

      There are like a total of 5 people in the upper echilons of government that are nationalistic and maybe 12 that are right wing. Of course like Creationists they are a minority but a very loud minority but it hardly represents all of Japan. Shinzo Abe, the current Prime Minister isn't even conservative. Most voters in recent surveys by NHK found that about 95% of the populace is against moving away from relative isolationism, about that number is very against militarism and nationalism, and over 80% do not even trust the Japanese military.

      There's gotta be a point to the hundreds of posts pointing out Japan's horrible war crimes and a complete ignorance of the horrible, possibly worse atrocities by Mao Tse Tung, Chiang Kai Shek, or even Soviet Russia, that ended up murdering more civilians than any other regime in history.
    • kleash, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2this is probably the reason why Chinese are always against the Japaneses...and they still didn't apologize
    • ictoan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@serialmouse

      yeah, the Japanese government apologize and then denies it.
      http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/mar/05/japanese_denial_wwii_military_brothels_shocks_form/?city_local

      Even if China and Korea want to accept their apology, it is kind of hard when the said apology is being taken back every half a year or so.
    • Steel_Blue, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1This article must be talking about the "PoW incident".
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1serialmouse. Best Post Ever. See, two people can give an opinion. One of them knows some facts, because they are either smart, informed, educated, and/or care about the truth. The other gives their opinion, but it's false and worthless. It's ultimately up to the individual to take responsibility for their knowledge or lack of, and their attitude to new information.
  • BakuninXXL, on 10/12/2007, -10/+23They made soap and Lamp shades out of Chinese people! They were eating the dead! 6 milion inocent Chinese were gased! They fighting for the devil! They were barbarians! Eating children alive was business as usual. How can these horrible people deny all the Ministry of Truth claims they have done?

    "Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac."
    -- George Orwell


    ^^
    • wenzi, on 10/12/2007, -12/+22So what about the 21 million killed during the cultural revolution. Millions of stonings a beatings. I guess if the Chinese kill 10 times what the japanese did it is ok. At the end of the day they are all dead, so maybe the Chinese need to stop throwing stones untill they fess up to the cultural revolution.

      Sorry to be so crude, but many more people died at the hands of the red guards , but people seem to forget them.
    • WikiEasy, on 10/12/2007, -8/+13@wenzi

      No kidding. As bad as the Japs were in WWI, the Chinese government has been worse to their own people. If you thought the Cultural Revolution was bad enough, just take a look back at 1989. Mothers of slain students, coming to get their kids from Tianamen Square, were shot in their backs running away as the soldiers started spraying bullets at them.

      You think there's an apology coming for them?

      I know this is an off-topic tangeant, but it has everything to do with wrongs and apologies.
    • gbotmbot, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13@WikiEasy

      Two wrongs don't make a right.
    • somewitches, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8@BakuninXXL that post deserves way more than +5 diggs

      Maybe instead of just pointing fingers at the Japanese (lets remember that this happened over 50 years ago and Japan is now one of the most peaceful nations around) perhaps instead we could ask the question "why" did the Japanese do this, what drove them, and most importantly, what can people learn from this to make sure it doesn't happen again?
    • gaoshan, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4@wenzi -> China started the 20th century suffering under foreign rule (thus the Boxer Rebellion), the collapse of thousands of years of imperial control, turmoil between communists and nationalists and then the invasion by Japan in 1937 (preceded by numerous violent incidences starting in 1931). Toss in some warfare and years of brutal atrocities until the end of WWII (which, by the way, is called The Anti-Japanese War in China) in 1945 followed by civil war until the Communists finally win in 1949. War on the Korean Peninsula immediately follows with the Americans putting their Army right on the border of China (after saying they would not and while the U.S. commander Gen. Douglas MacArthur made public statements about nuking China, thus increasing fear of America's intentions within China) forcing China to get involved in the Korean War. After the Korean War, Mao's own shortcomings as a civil leader lead to the failure of the Great Leap Forward which results in mass famine starting in 1959 and continuing for 3 years. Political fall out from this period could be argued to be what led to the Cultural Revolution as Mao was under increased criticism from other leaders (who famously branded the famine to be 30% natural disaster and 70% human error). The number of deaths during the CR is impossible to know. Best estimates, for the record, are generally seen as being in the hundreds of thousands (the CCP admitted to tens of thousands during the trial of the Gang of Four which makes hundreds of thousands seem more likely). In the intervening period there was a brief war with Vietnam (1979) and a number of border skirmishes with Russia. Next up is the Tienanmen Square incident. Though for sheer numbers of deaths it was quite minor (best estimates of deaths being around 2 or 3 thousand) it was nonetheless a very traumatic event and left a black mark on China's international image.

      So, what is the point of all of that? It is that people like wenzi (whose name looks like "mosquito" in chinese) come off sounding like jerks when saying China needs to "own up" to something before criticizing Japan. In case it is not abundantly clear, the people of China spent much of the 20th century suffering horribly. They also (the older ones anyway) are quite aware of all of this. Have a little mercy and show a little sense next time you want to criticize. The people of China deserve nothing less than an abject apology from the government of Japan and any other suffering they endured has not one damn thing to do with this apology.
    • smpx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6@wenzi, wikieasy

      Acts committed by the Chinese government during the cultural revolution, while terrible (what act of violence isn't), doesn't compare to acts of international warfare. Just like you can't compare the American Civil War to the war in Vietnam. The point here isn't that Japan need to apologize for killing people, but that they need to apologize for torturing the innocent while under international laws that prohibits it. There's a very significant difference in shooting a combatant on the battlefield and capturing a villiager to open his chest while he is still alive, or injecting horse urine into their body.

      Most significantly, the Japanese government refuses to even ACKNOWLEDGE that they did this, which is atrocious beyond belief. You'd be hard pressed to find the Chinese government saying Tiennamen square "didn't happen" or that the revolution wasn't bloody. Does a public apology bring back any of the dead? Will it somehow vanish the scars on the victims' bodies? No. But it allows history to accurately mark what happened so that it doesn't get repeated in the future.

      Imagine the Japanese government, realizing that since they could hide the truth about WWII, continue on to perform these acts of terrible inhumanity during the next conflict simply because they know they can get away with it. Or the current Japanese people, who cry victim to the war, quietly refusing to acknowledge that their country had injected Americans, Chinese, and Europeans alike with lethal diseases so that they could easier accept the sympathy of the world.

      There's no question of "right or wrong" here, simply whether the government can man up to it.
    • monkeyrun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5"Maybe instead of just pointing fingers at the Japanese (lets remember that this happened over 50 years ago and Japan is now one of the most peaceful nations around) perhaps instead we could ask the question "why" did the Japanese do this, what drove them, and most importantly, what can people learn from this to make sure it doesn't happen again?"

      How about by first admitting they actually did it ?

      After so many years I get the impression that the Japanese government's just "sorry" for the Chinese and Korean for feeling that way. They are not sorry for anything they did, or any intention to admit to anything they did.
  • frem001, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10To think that all the health benefits we have at the moment could have been derived by barbaric moments from the past (not just by the Japanese). What worries me more is the culture of denial within politics, think of how much has been swept under the rug.
    • GawtMilk, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15Why's that? It's better that way.

      Think: how many wars are going on right now because "something happened" before? World War II was a bad time for everyone...pretty much every nation commited war crimes (American firebombing? Heard of it?), humanity was made up of savages. Mr. Lin knowing Mr. Ichi killed his family...what's that going to do? Look at America's 9/11 motto. "Never forgive, never forget". It's done a hell of a lot of good, right?

      The better solution would be, "Forgive, forget". Nothing wrong with PREVENTING crimes and tragedies, but that doesn't involve having a grudge against people. It leads to hate, racism, protests, further deaths...
    • BeefBaron, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9"humanity was made up of savages"
      'Is' is the proper tense. We aren't any better now.
  • buckeye45, on 10/12/2007, -6/+18I have read a letter from a Nazi official stationed in China in 1937 during the Rape of Nanking, speaking of how brutal the Japanese were durring these times.
    • abid786, on 10/12/2007, -20/+11Worse than we were in Abu Ghraib? Or Guantanamo Bay?
    • scrag10, on 10/12/2007, -6/+19@abid786

      Abu Ghraib is a joke compared to what happened in WWII. The NAZI's did experiments on 100's children, (mostly handicapped ones) and they still have gruesome evidence of it. The place where the did experiments is still around, and the have rooms full of childrens body parts in jars full of fermeldihide (spelled that totally wrong). I saw it in a documentary and I could barely watch it. They tried to get an interview with the lead experimenter, but he would not do it. Imagine the guilt these people must feel.

      It's amazing to think that these evidents happened only 70 years ago, and that many of these people are still alive.
    • BakuninXXL, on 10/12/2007, -24/+4@ scrag10

      Any proof or evidence for your claims? I guess not. All lies, lies and mor lies. Just like Sadams WMD's and his plan to take control of the whole world^^
    • scrag10, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21@BakuninXXL

      Well theres the Documenary and theres a building full of Brains. I also believe there trying to identify all the victims, and getting them buried. Buried like your comment..
    • Frozo, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8abid, you fraking MORON. Did you read the article? You think this is comparable to Gitmo??? Ignorance suits you.
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5My Lai, Napalm on kids, you name it, the US has done it. Are Americans taught their own history? Apparently not.
    • orbitalpunk, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3about half a million people died in the chinese cultural revolution, not 21 million. jesus.
    • fsnuffer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14@abid786 7 hours ago
      Worse than we were in Abu Ghraib? Or Guantanamo

      Yes you tool.
    • mattmoto, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13"My Lai, Napalm on kids, you name it, the US has done it. Are Americans taught their own history? Apparently not."

      Actually, yes we are. It is very common for My Lai to be in a high school history class curriculum. If not there, it's covered in documentaries on TV. As are all of our other morally dark moments, from the removal of the Native Americans to the Bay of Tonkin.

      But, hey, don't let facts get in the way of bashing Americans, right?
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2My Lai, Napalm on kids, you name it, the US has done it
  • Demaskee, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18abid786 a simple question, would you rarther be burned with a flame thrower, cut open without painkillers, have horse urine injected into your kidneys or would you rather have your picture taken naked, threatened with a barking dog, and be served diet that conforms to your religious standards?
  • rochak, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Digging up .. for this should be known to all humanity.
    • d3c0yn4m3l355, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3burried for inaccurate. Sorry to say but yes these events that happened but this doctor wasn't part of unit 731 he was located at the philipines. Somewhere totally different then where unit 731 was located. Now if these details are inaccurate i wonder how much more of this article is messed up. Plz post quality on digg and not crap thats inaccurate.
  • mattxb, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4Heres another article on the same guy

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254618,00.html




  • harbl, on 10/12/2007, -13/+4More evidence that Japan is SUPERIOR!
  • neo912, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14We can't hold the entire Japanese race responsible for what happend. I lived there for 2 years and found them to be an amazing culture and people but I think its a crime that we didn't find and prosecute those monsters that did this. I don't care if you were a soldier just following orders.......I hate to say this and maybe I can't say anything because I never have been in a war but there seems a line between killing and torture. I don't think I would be able to do the things they did.....it just seems way too sub human.....just reading this article made me sick, but I think its good to see that this kind of thing can exist if we are not careful. Let's learn from history!
  • JrGhoull, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7i've heard a little bit about what the germans did to jews during WW2 from my dad (we got off easy and only lost virtually everyone of our family members to the nazis) and inhumane doesnt even begin to discribe it. stuff like removing eyeballs while they were still concious...all sorts of unnessecary surgeries, everything done while they were still cousious....just....who would do this stuff even to someone that they hated? let alone someone whom they didnt even know...
  • Eryin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18We can't hold the japanese people responsible. We can hold the government and the military for pertending this never happened, and silencing anyone in the gov/military who does try to admit and apologize.

    The problem is, japanese nationalists are gaining more and more power now, and they are the ones who want to deny and pertend it never happened.

    Bad.
    • vietvet, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7The problem is, the American nationalists [the Bushies] are in power now, and while they have not yet moved the American military to carry out atrocities on a large scale, they have claimed a right to do so, and have found some willing participants. Will someone 70 years from now be writing, "We can't hold the american people responsible"?
  • Llaunje, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4It was said before, and still bears repeating:
    "man is a Wolf to Man". ~Sartre
  • hardthinker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Power corrupts...Absolute power absolutely corrupts. A cliche..worth repeating too. Human beings have the potential to inflict these gruesome horrors to each other. It does not matter which nationality you are from.
  • Radan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5It's just saddening to see how much resources that has been put in slaughtering of other people. The world war got to the most pathetic time of our civilization...
  • kurotenshi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11It's shameful how we turned a blind eye to this in the aftermath of WWII...

    "[Douglas MacArthur] secretly granted immunity to the physicians of Unit 731 in exchange for providing America with their research on biological warfare. The United States believed that the research data was valuable because the allies had never publicly conducted or condoned such experiments on humans due to moral and political revulsion. The U.S. also did not want other nations, particularly the Soviet Union, to acquire data on biological weapons, not to mention the military benefits of such research.

    The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal has heard only one reference to Japanese experiments with "poisonous serums" on Chinese civilians. This took place in August 1946 and was actioned by David Sutton, assistant to the Chinese prosecutor."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731
    • PaulOwen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3THAT's the real point. The US military bought the experiment results later!
  • biou, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8The Japonese Emperor was Criminal against humanity. But US kept him safe because he should help US control over japaon after war.
  • lkjashdflk, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5if you actually read this as "real true news" i than becomed saddened that diggers can't tell the difference between sensationalist ***** and true journalism.

    hey, as long as it's gruesome it's NEWS/factual/*****.
    • gbotmbot, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6why do all the ***** trolls have names like wqksfdj346q?
    • supperman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3So what is your proof that none of these ever happened? Do you have evidence that all these witnesses were lying?
    • nycmac247, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1WTF?

      There is physical evidence, including films, and also participants_____on both sides____ that have talked over the years.


  • lkjashdflk, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2is that your best gbotmbot, you make ad hominem attacks? How about you address the issue at hand?

    yet again, you fail.
  • 574lk3r, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8" In the autumn of 1945, General MacArthur granted immunity to members of the Unit in exchange for research data on biological warfare."

    trust the u.s to capatalise on something such as this,
    in my mind this makes the u.s gov just as bad if not worse,
    but then, why am i not surprised.

    i must admit i am shocked at what the japs did, they hid that well....
    • fsnuffer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Yeah,
      And the Russians, the French, the British and all of the other victors. The reason why you are not surprised is you are blinded by your own version of hatred. There are three types of people. 1) People who know about things before they happen 2) People who are not surprised when they do happen 3) and people like you who stand around going "what just happened". Wake up, get your head out of your a.., and realize it is not a nice world out there.
    • Fartag, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@574lk3r

      So the government that forcibly halted the program, that didn't pursue punishment / execution of the people that actually performed these crimes, and benefited from learning the research that's too ethically revulsive to ever repeat again is _worse_ than those that actually pursued and performed the experiments? What the hell!? It seems to me that your morality scale has a few major points (at least) out of order.
  • guitarromantic, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3Not that I condone these actions or doubt them, but take them with a pinch of salt because the UK newspaper reporting this, the Daily Mail, is known for its reactionary and overblown conservatism and is not a highly respected journalistic source here.
  • x00x, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3But even after the war after the experiments has been terminated their physical pain, deformity. mental anguish never really being over
    only after the death, the untold millions of survivors were forced to be vicitims all over again perhaps at a level even worse than the torture
    could ever be and was a victims of injustice. Egregious, outrageous injustice perpetuated against them by those who seemingly were supposed to to be their redeemers
    • 574lk3r, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1@ fsnuffer
      you are quite right, kind of..
      i am aware its not a nice world out there, but living in my little cacoon its easy to forget,
      im just not that kind of person, so when i hear that someone else is it always surprises me.
      i just cant get into that mentality.
  • x00x, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2But even after the war after the experiments has been terminated their physical pain, deformity. mental anguish never really being over
    only after the death, the untold millions of survivors were forced to be victims all over again perhaps at a level even worse than the torture
    could ever be and was a victims of injustice.

    Egregious, outrageous injustice perpetuated against them by those who seemingly were supposed to to be their redeemers. Instead of ending the war by meting the harsh unforgiving justice the wars 50 million victims made such a priority absolutely imperative, the US government made a Faustian bargain ,where you sell your soul to the devil in exchanging a life of luxury and immense wealth by giving up your first born ,It is this Faustian bargain that allowed these pathological beasts to go unpunished to allow these butchers to demean and dehumanize these poor souls in a manner worse than Watt they did to them physically,mentally. The US allowed them freedom and immunity from their crimes receiving the scientific research necessary tot maintain superiority over the Soviets bu in exchange of their very principles ,their very integrity , the idealism
    inspired by the US Constitution they swore to uphold a very sad moment in the history of the United States
  • Bonzodog, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1And this is one of the reasons the US nuked them. It was the only way of stopping them, and will always be the ultimate deterrent. "Do this...or we nuke you." Did you know that the current Nuclear Warheads on US missiles are some 40 times more powerful then Hiroshima?
    • tooasianguys, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4yeah and did you know that nuclear weapon use will be the end of all mankind? Let's start using nukes again in today's world, see where it gets us.

      Grow up.
  • Mushroonaut, on 07/11/2008, -2/+3I can see the movie "Unit 731" coming.
  • alllie, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Why aren't these people in jail, or executed? Why aren't they being tried today?
    • 2doornot2do, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2They were given amnesty by McArthur in exchange for their biological weapons information. It says right in the article.
  • jorvis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I don't see how this qualifies as 'stories just coming to light.' There are detailed accounts of this in several published books that include interviews with the people who worked in these places, many of whom were forced to do these terrible things. See Tom Mangold's "Plague Wars" or Factories of Death: Japanese Biological Warfare, 1932-45 and the American Cover-Up by Sheldon Harris for more.

  • mattmoto, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Wron reply, gah!
  • calenti, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5
    I don't think the current generation of Japanese is to blame for what's happened. They are denying it as a culture but there's plenty of that to go around (Custer's Last Stand, anyone? Anybody care to detail what mission Custer was on when that happened?) Culturally and politically the Japanese have renounced military aggression. As a culture they have turned their back on the bloodlust and racism that gripped their military in the 1920s and 1930s. So have the Germans. That doesn't mean we should forget and ignore the victims but there has to be a time limit on national guilt or there would never be any progress.

    Maybe it was because they lost. They don't have fond memories of the war, while on the other hand the Allies are still high-fiving over their victory 60 years later and issues like Dresden and Tokyo in March of '45 are, shall we say, sidelights to our collective recollection.

    Maybe only the losers learn anything from a war.

    (and I hope plannters wasn't referring to me - I wasn't excusing anything. I meant that this isn't an abberation and all it takes is the right combination of propaganda and peer pressure to get any human being to cheerfully pick up the whip.)




    • plannters, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1in some ways, but there are core human values that must be abandoned to make get to a point that extreme.
  • somewitches, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3What about the 100,000 people the US blinded, burnt or otherwise condemned to die a slow and painful death over anything from a matter of hours to a matter of months after the nuclear bombing of Japan?

    Oh no you see that was needed to "save millions of American lives" so it was ok.
    • biou, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4After this article, I understand that the A Bomb was just the right weapon to calm these extra-ordinary japonese soldiers!
    • somewitches, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Those 100,000 people were civilians, school children, conscripted factory workers. Go ***** yourself oh and tell your sister no, I ***** her last night - she's so loose let me tell you that and I aint just talking about her ***** - her ***** ***** was as loose as ***** too!
    • iamawesome, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3@ somewitches

      Dropping the atomic bomb was the best possible decision Truman could have made. It was either that or invade Japan which would have caused millions of American AND Japanese deaths. Dropping the bomb saved countless lives so yes it was ok.
      What the Japanese did in Unit 731 however was basically inexcusable. If they just tried to develop biological weapons without torturing innocent people, it might have been alright. But they didn't do that.
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"incinerating civilians and their city was best possible decision Truman could have made"
      Stop parroting your corrupt education. It didn't have to be dropped on a civilian population. A nearby hill would have demonstrated the power and destructive capability easily. The Japanese would have surrendered on the conditions they were denied, but later given.
  • iam93157, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0now compare THIS to the raccoon skinning video. which is worse you pansies?
  • HsoKinees, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1toooo longggggggg ~_~
  • sixdust, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Crazy japanese people.
  • azzurone89, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6"The answer is that the Japanese were allowed to erase Unit 731 from the archives by the American government, which wanted Ishii's biological warfare findings for itself"

    That makes us as horrible as they were...no?
  • mattofasia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5A truly horrifying story. I went to a former Japanese run concentration camp in Seoul (in the Namsan district I think?) back when Imperial Japan stomped down the independence movement there and was trying to crush the natives languages through forced re-education (which was also done in Taiwan at the time) and seen the displays and tried out one of their sensory deprivation chambers (I was able to get out- it wasn't locked for me the tourist. They used to stick needles in and not let them out for weeks without even bathroom breaks...) but it is truly sad what war and the process of training a man to overcome his natural innate aversion to killing others and how we break down people so they can handle running towards death makes men de-evolve into. It is too bad that so many sick people exist even today that we need soldiers to protect us from so that we STILL have to do this to formerly normal people. Anyone can become a monster- its a matter of scale of your monster-ness and weather your leaders have the intelligence to draw lines and stick to what they say and not allow, and weather the population itself is too apathetic to request responsibility from leaders who think Hollywood James Bond propaganda BS is a reality to aspire to.
    You forget the Japanese Bushido code is what what allowed such programming to occur to such a sick level. Hopefully such class-based BS is erased from the society... but it still lurks in the backs of peoples minds. The modern day equivalent is the choice to drown ourselves in trivialities (TV/Net/drink etc.) and not teaching your children with good examples of behavior yourself, and ignoring problems, your own personal flaws, and hoping it wont come to you, personally... until its too late.
    The Japanese are an admirable example of a place that has chosen to move on and -not- teach its children to repeat their past mistakes. I hope they still choose to dwell on future prospects and will be aware of the past mistakes but really people should move on and leave the old men to die and go to the hell they richly deserve and not follow any examples they set by their past mistakes, or else hopefully they atoned for ***** they were ordered to do by doing something good later in their lives and have a ghost of a chance at a peaceful rest.
    That being said, I also hope that other countries can all become aware of the stupid things their grandfathers ALL did and not misplace their respect or emulate from a need for 'tradition' just because its 'traditional' does not make it healthy or good for your society. Everyone across the world has horrifying stories from WW2 and i hope we wont have more stories in 2007 of large scale stupidity... other than GWB and his 'push'. Nature and our own pollution altering our bodies and environment should be the main challenge, we don't need to create false enemies based on color, religion or place of birth. Get over dwelling on past, forgive and forget, or at least be civil and avoid those who were/are truly offensive. People should work together on problems they CAN change- treating their family well, having a cleaner lifestyle, and not dwell on things that they cannot do anything about ie trade center bombings. you cant bring back the dead, you can remember and respect their memories, but revenge is a horrible way to waste your lives and your money upon. The satisfaction will never occur. Life is NOT fair and never will be. Wake up America. get over it. you got used by the oil industry and still are getting used. because you choose to be tools doesn't mean you can not choose to stop being tools.
  • TheKingOfHell, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I find the issue deeply interesting and worthy of notice, i find its treatment in the article in question sensationalist and cheap.
    It is not that I will dig deeper in the subject, but this article must be taken as it is; entertainment and indignation material for housewives.
    -Note the alliterative title; "Doctors of Depravity"
    -"most enduring and horrible secret" that's hyperbole, yes, it is enduring and horrible, but where is the scale to compare it to other genocides? Certainly the extermination of The Sinti and Roma has also gone unnoticed and it is also horrible because they died in greater relative numbers, 25% of them were exterminated and experimented upon.
    -"A swashbuckling womaniser who could afford to frequent Tokyo's upmarket geisha houses, Ishii remained assiduous in promoting the cause of germ warfare" An Ad Hominem attack; call your villain a whoremonger, not a human being.
    -"Why did Dr Josef Mengele, the Nazi 'Angel of Death' at Auschwitz, have to flee to South America and spend the rest of his life in hiding, while Dr Shiro Ishii died at home of throat cancer aged 67 after a prosperous and untroubled life?" Clearly indignation material, the reporter emphasizes it to point at the injustice.
    I AM NOT CONDONING THE ACT, the treatment is not objective, as all history should be treated.
  • Dou6, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Not that I think the entire Japanese people are responible or anything, but I don't feel so bad about Nuking them anymore.
  • pseudononymist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Why is it that whenever the cruelties of a nation are brought to light they can never be discussed and analyzed on their own terms? Why must we always compare them to the cruelties of another? Is there any point to that? Sorry, but Japan's history of organized and deliberate abuse, torture, whoremongering, etc. of its Asian neighbors cannot be compared to what happened in China during the Cultural Revolution just as it can't be compared to Nazi Germany's Holocaust or under the Stalin's reign in Russia, or any of the atrocities committed by the United States. They are all horrible events for their own reasons which need to be discussed on their own terms. Comparing is pointless because it leads to the numbers game (who suffered greater casualties), which can never be rationalized and should therefore be avoided when discussing history

    So my point is that while yes China does need to come to terms with the atrocities its government brought upon its own people, that has no relation to its equally important and justified demand for a government sanctioned apology from the Japanese government.

    And to he who says history should be treated objectively--show me an objectively written historical document and I'll show you monkey with two asses.
    • biou, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3japanese people (the extreme right wing) denies their atrocities always saying they were US a-bomb victimes.
    • kazuhima, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1@biou

      from reading all of your comments, take your inferiority complex ***** someplace else.
  • davids1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"60 years of silence" or 60 years without reading a book.
    • ictoan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Books are censured as well. So even if people read, a lot of facts are not covered simply to disguise the gruesomeness of those acts.
      Just awhile back, about two years ago, there were protests from Korea and China to Japanese textbooks because it failed to mention what they did during WWII. I haven't followed the news since then, so not sure if the Japanese government changed their textbooks yet to correctness.
  • lilzilla, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1China is currently vivisecting incarcerated Falun Gong members to sell their organs to medical tourists. http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0803/p16s01-lire.html

    Just, you know, as an atrocities heads-up.
  • kazuhima, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1whats with all the anti-japanese articles these days?

    theres a lot of people who already know this, its not new news.
    • biou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1sorry if you're japanese, this article does not make a past japan glorieux. if you're a real samourai, kill youself perhaps should a more honorable way for you. your country is not a real country, you're always under rules of US. so sad.
  • superyounan1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5why not show our disdain for Japanese atrocities in the past BY STOPPING N. KOREAN ATROCITIES TODAY?
    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1587181941924362432&q=bbc+korea

    They're treating prisoners worse than animals, people they suspect to be enemies of the state are tortured, along with their entire family, extended family, and even neighbors on the basis of collective responsibility. They're running biological and chemical experimentation on parents and children at the same time
  • Darel99, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm always amazed with the number of people who trust goverments. Futher, I'm equally amazed with the number US citizens who do not beleive our own goverment has allowed terror events with our own population. If one takes a little time to study the subject anyone will confirm this sort of think not only happens in Japen but also our own nation....

    People need to wake up....
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Even when it's spelled out to them, they continue to bury comments. It is absolute, willful ignorance. I find the behavior disgusting and it shows their poor character and moral fiber.
  • mysticalone, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Will someone please think of the Jewish?
    • Darel99, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Mysticalone.... Atrocities have been created against citizens from every major government. Yes, it's a shame the Jewish people have always been at the spear head caused by other nations but guess what your movement isn't blameless and neither is the us...

      Mysticalone I'm nearly done with my first book about Government Sponsored Terror. I can prove from our own government documents our nation has many such events. My book will focus on 30 proven cases. I could have spent another five years working on nearly 200 cases and perhaps there are many more.

      However, I'm sad to report Both the US Government and the Israeli government have often joined in such effects. May I direct your attention to code name: Project Ringworm. This project was a joint effort between the US and Israel. The US government provided radiation equipment and your government carried out a radiation experiment on over 100,000 of your own population. I have the freedom of information act documents but you can also goolge the same project name. In fact in your country a citizen even completed a documentary about the effects of radiation with small children.

      Everyone please take time to study the issue. This issue isn't just a Japanese issue nearly all governments do this sort of thing.
  • ictoan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5One of the reason why crimes such as these weren't announced to the world when the war ended, unlike the Germans, was because U.S. felt that it's best to keep Japan as an ally/puppet in Asia to oppose communism developing fully in Asia. Also, I read somewhere that U.S. also used the results of all those horrible experiments for its own medical researches. I just want to say that I'm Chinese but I don't really hate Japanese people. It is the government who deny these crimes that is spiteful. For people to make up excuse, any excuses, to admen such crimes need to get their facts checked before posting anything valid. Comparing such things to the Cultural Revolution etc... It's like saying why the German should apologize for its crimes since the North never apologized to the South for the American Civil war.
  • bluenash, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2this is what i feel, more than what i know: china remembers the horrors it suffered at the hands of the japanese and it will, one day want its pound of flesh.
    • gbotmbot, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3And the Japanese remember the two A-bombs. And the Americans rembember Pearl Harbour. It's a futile vicious cycle.
  • socrates114, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0@ictoan

    why would the north apologize to thw south? after the war they were one country again it would jst be apologizing to itself and besides the south syated the war and their was no systemic genocided in the war well maybe sherman sould apolgized for the march to the sea but he didnt cause hes a badass
  • Cleanlyness, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1typical britisch propagander
  • asdf2000, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Japan has apologized multiple times for their war crimes.





    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan
  • kd1s, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5The more I learn about some of the horrific things the Japanese did in Manchuria, the more I think the U.S. was justified in dropping atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But then I see that the U.S. benefited most from the information gathered by Unit 731.

    So my own country is complicit. How nice.
  • digthisup, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Sick!!!
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