Unit 731

Unit 731 (731??) was a secret military medical unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that researched biological warfare and other topics through human experimentation during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and World War II era. For information on its origin see Kempeitai Political Department and Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory.

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The unit was disguised as a water purification unit. It was based in Pingfan, near the city of Harbin in northeastern China, the region which was then part of the puppet state of Manchukuo. It is estimated that over 3,000 Chinese, Korean, and Allied POWs were killed in the Unit 731 facilities. Many more people died in field experiments directed by Unit 731, but there is no well-established number.

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There were other units besides Unit 731, which serves as a general term in describing the Japanese biological warfare program. Other units include Unit 543 (Hailar), Unit 773 (Songo unit), Unit 100 (Changchun), Unit 1644 (Nanjing), Unit 1855 (Beijing), Unit 8604 (Guangzhou), and Unit 9420 (Singapore). The acts of Unit 731 are one of many major war crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army from the occupation of Manchuria in 1931 to the end of World War II in 1945.

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After these laboratories were destroyed by the Japanese to hide their activities, many of the scientists involved went on to prominent careers in politics, academia and business. The United States granted amnesty, allowing these scientists to go unprosecuted in exchange for their experimentation data.

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Imperial Japanese Army: The Imperial Japanese Army (??????? Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945. It was controlled from the Imperial General Headquarters and the Ministry of War of Japan....

Biological warfare: Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. It is meant to incapacitate or kill an adversary....

Human experimentation: Medical experiments on human beings are an important part of medical research, and many people volunteer for clinical trials of medical treatments. Some people also volunteer to be subjects for experiments in basic medical science and biology....

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