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Japan’s bioweapon war crimes formed basis of still-secret US program, says official

Only 12 people were brought to justice during the Khabarovsk Trial, while most members of Japanese bacteriological units received immunity from prosecution in the United States, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Fedorov said

KHABAROVSK, September 6. /TASS/. Japan’s research turned out to be the basis of the United States’ bacteriological program that is still classified, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee Alexander Fedorov said at the plenary session of a scientific forum dubbed Khabarovsk Process: Historical Lessons and Modern Challenges.

He pointed out that only 12 people had been brought to justice during the Khabarovsk Trial, while most members of Japanese bacteriological units, namely the 731st and 100th units of the Kwantung Army - over 4,000 people in total, including senior officers - received immunity from prosecution in the United States. "The results of the research that those units had conducted became the basis of a US bacteriological program that is still classified. Based on Japan’s research, US troops used bacteriological weapons during the Korean War in 1952," Fedorov emphasized.

He added that after the Khabarovsk Trial was over, the Soviet Union suggested establishing a special international military court to try criminals involved in preparations for bacteriological war, some of whom had already been identified.

"This initiative went unanswered. The US government refused to implement its obligation to bring war criminals guilty of heinous crimes to justice," Fedorov noted.

The Russian Investigative Committee’s deputy chairman stressed that the Japanese authorities had not yet publicly provided an official assessment of the existence of bacteriological units, as well as of their crimes. "Moreover, a monument to the members of Unit 731 is installed in Tokyo’s Central Cemetery," he added.

The Khabarovsk Trial - a trial of former members of the Kwantung Army, held on December 25-30, 1949, - clarified the Soviet Union’s principled position on the development and use of bacteriological weapons by militarist Japan.