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Newly discovered document exposes evaluation system of technicians under wartime Japan's germ warfare unit

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Newly discovered document exposes evaluation system of technicians under wartime Japan's germ warfare unit

2024-09-18 23:48 Last Updated At:09-19 00:17

Japanese Army Unit 731, a biological and chemical warfare unit stationed in northeast China during World War II, had a strict evaluation and assessment system for technicians, allowing those who conducted live human experiments to be promoted, according to a newly discovered document of the notorious unit.

The new document was disclosed by Japanese scholar Seiya Matsuno, a specially-appointed professor at Heilongjiang International University, in September ahead of the 93rd anniversary of the September 18 Incident of 1931. The archive is important evidence for deepening the research on Japan's bacterial warfare system and is of great significance to fully exposing Japan's biological warfare crimes.

The September 18 Incident of 1931 taking place in the city of Shenyang in northeast China was a precursor to Japan’s launch of a full-scale invasion of China, and a key event ahead of the outbreak of World War Two in Asia.

The new files include the evaluation forms of Unit 731 technicians. On these forms, red words such as "excellent" and "good" are marked. For example, Yoshimura Hisato,a war criminal and leader of the unit’s frostbite study squad, has four "excellent" and one "good" ratings. During this period, Hisato compiled the relevant content of the experiments conducted in Unit 731 into a paper and published it in Japan.

"This paper is a confidential document written by Yoshimura Hisato, a technician with Unit 731, about frostbite. It was published on October 26, 1941. There is a table called Experiment 5, which contains the frostbite resistance index of people under various living conditions. The subjects are marked with ABCDE, and then the data of frostbite resistance indexes are counted under various living conditions, such as soaking in cold water, soaking in warm water, fasting for two days, fasting for three days, and the subjects staying awake day and night. Such data obtained through live human experiments can be seen everywhere in the paper," said Tan Tian, researcher at the exhibition hall of evidence of crimes of Unit 731 in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

According to staff from the International Research Center of Unit 731 under the Harbin Academy of Social Sciences, Hisato joined Unit 731 in March 1938 as a sixth-class technician. While conducting frostbite research and experiments, he was also responsible for the management of the special prison where the subjects were detained, making him a researcher as well as a core secrets administrator of the of Unit 731. He was promoted to the rank of fourth-class technician in October 1942.

"From the perspective of Yoshimura Hisato, he joined Unit 731 in 1938 and completed a three-step career jump in less than four years until 1942. Lying behind such fruitful achievements were the bloody live human experiments he made. Yoshimura Hisato published at least 200 medical papers in his career. The Japanese medical community tacitly approved the anti-human atrocities and human experiments of Unit 731, which further reflects the organized nature of these crimes," said Gong Wenjing, director of the International Research Center of Unit 731 under Harbin Academy of Social Sciences.

Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that engaged in lethal human experimentation and biological weapons manufacturing in China during World War II. The unit is estimated to have killed between 200,000 and 300,000 people. It was based in the Pingfang District of Harbin, the largest city in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo (now Northeast China, formerly named Manchuria) and had active branch offices throughout China and Southeast Asia.

Unit 731 was responsible for some of the most notorious war crimes committed by the Japanese aggressor troops. It routinely conducted tests on people who were dehumanized and internally referred to as "logs". Experiments included disease injections, controlled dehydration, biological weapons testing, hypobaric pressure chamber testing, vivisection, organ procurement, amputation, and standard weapons testing. Victims included not only kidnapped men, women (including pregnant women) and children but also babies born from the systemic rape perpetrated by the staff inside the compound.

Newly discovered document exposes evaluation system of technicians under wartime Japan's germ warfare unit

Newly discovered document exposes evaluation system of technicians under wartime Japan's germ warfare unit

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Guterres announces launch of UN80 Initiative for reform

2025-03-13 09:47 Last Updated At:10:37

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Wednesday the launch of the UN80 Initiative, a major reform to the very global organization at its 80th anniversary this year.

Speaking to the media in New York, the secretary-general highlighted the multiple crises facing the globe which have placed heightened demands on the organization.

"The United Nations has never been more needed. Our values have never been more relevant. And the needs have never been greater. At the same time, we know the more the UN does together to address big challenges around the world, the less the burden on individual countries to do it alone," said Guterres.

He then stressed that a liquidity crisis has severely hampered the UN's ability to effectively fulfill its mandate, given the fact that "not all member states pay in full, and many also do not pay on time".

"It is essential that an organizational system as complex and crucial as the United Nations, subjects itself to rigorous and regular scrutiny to assess its fitness for purpose in carrying out its goals efficiently. And this 80th anniversary year of the United Nations is a prime moment to expand all our efforts, recognizing the need for even greater urgency and ambition. That is why I have informed yesterday UN member states that I am officially launching what we call the UN80 Initiative," Guterres explained.

To address these challenges, Guterres announced the formation of a dedicated working group. This group will be tasked with proposing reforms to member states, focusing on three key areas.

"The objective will be to present to member states proposals in three areas. First, rapidly identifying efficiencies and improvements in the way we work. Second, thoroughly reviewing the implementation of all mandates given to us by member states, which have significantly increased in recent years. And third, a strategic review of deeper, more structural changes and program realignment in the UN System," said Guterres.

Guterres announces launch of UN80 Initiative for reform

Guterres announces launch of UN80 Initiative for reform

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