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fi eld operations in China, especially from late 1940 until 1942. China conducted a formal inquiry into one of
this unit's BW attacks - on Ningbo in October 1940 - for example.
"Details from this period were suppressed during the Cold War. The US government cut a secret deal
with these Japanese doctors, giving them immunity from prosecution in exchange for their medical data," said
Chang in 2004. [2]
Decisions made years ago by the Japanese government to undertake government-funded construction
projects at these troubling sites are seen by many as no mere coincidence. "According to the former nurse, the
public housing for government offi cials was constructed immediately after the war so that no one could dig
up the human subjects buried there," Tsuneishi, who represents the Association Demanding Investigation,
was quoted as saying by the Mainichi Daily News. "The search may uncover the facts that the government had
sought to conceal." [3]
Asia Times Online's attempts to contact Tsuneishi were unsuccessful.
Tsuneishi gave a speech at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies last March in
Philadelphia entitled, "The Purchase of the Data of 'Experiments' Conducted in the Japanese BW Program
by the US in 1947."
The truth about the role of Unit 731 in so many BW-related deaths in China and the US government's
deliberate attempt to cover up this war crime really did not emerge until the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Japanese and American researchers pursued every shred of evidence. Professor Sheldon Harris at California
State University at Northridge stood out early on in this regard.
However, while Harris and others helped to expose the fact that the US secretly decided to overlook the
criminal acts perpetrated by members of Unit 731 and not prosecute them as war criminals once the US had
obtained the data derived from countless human experiments performed by the Japanese, the fact that the US
actually paid Ishii and other members of Unit 731 an enormous sum in order to obtain this data only recently
came to light, due to Tsuneishi's diligent research.
There was no mention of any payment from a secret US fund in this 1947 memorandum to US General
Douglas MacArthur, for example. "For all practical purposes, an agreement with Ishii and his associates that
information given by them on the Japanese BW program will be retained in intelligence channels is equivalent
to an agreement that this [US] government will not prosecute any of those involved in BW activities in which
war crimes were committed. Such an understanding would be of great value to the security of the American
people because of the information which Ishii and his associates have already furnished and will continue to
furnish." [4]
In Philadelphia, according to one person who was in the audience, Tsuneishi spoke about the many errors
that can be found in English publications and books about Unit 731, and he criticized authors for not doing
thorough research on this topic. However, while historical inaccuracies and distortions are unwelcome and
distracting, this does not excuse the conduct of the Japanese government which bears much if not all of the
responsibility for concealing the truth about Shinjuku.
Among other things, the Japanese Health Ministry has repeatedly denied Chinese requests for DNA tests.
[5]
According to Koga, one Japanese Health Ministry offi cial said during the 164th Diet (parliament) session
in 2006 that although several DNA investigations were undertaken, sampling was diffi cult and because a
substance known as hormaline might be present in the human bones in question, it would be diffi cult to reach
defi nitive conclusions. There is no fi rm indication of any substantive DNA work done prior to 2006 on any
remains recovered in Shinjuku.
In late 2010, there might be a change of heart in Tokyo. "The DNA technology may be what makes a
more objective and scientifi c study possible," said Green.
While analyzing DNA evidence might reopen the door to another dark dimension of this chapter in
Japanese history, it must be done. "As for DNA analysis, yes, it will be very useful to have concrete proof of
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