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The Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department was a department of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1936 to the dissolution of the Army in 1945. While its public mission was to prevent the spread of disease and monitor water supply, several field armies also assigned units the mission of manufacturing biological weapons.^[1] Many units also performed unethical human experimentation, such as Unit 731, in which thousands of prisoners of war and civilians were tortured to death over the course of years.

Organization

The department was organized under the following system:

Unit 691 was under control of the Kwantung Army.
- The central office of Unit 691 was Unit 731, infamous for its secret commitment to chemical and biological weapons and performing human experimentation. It had several branches, all of which were involved with biological warfare research:^[2]
  - Unit 162 (Linkou)
  - Unit 643 (Hailin)
  - Unit 673 (Sunwu)
  - Unit 319 was another sub-unit, which apparently were principally devoted to water purification.^{[citation needed]}
Unit 1855 (Beijing) was under control of the Japanese Northern China Area Army and performed human experimentation.^[3]
Unit Ei 1644 or Tama Unit (Nanjing) was under control of the Japanese Central China Area Army and performed human experimentation.^[4]^[5]
- 12 different sub-Units (Unknown names) (Unknown locations)^[2]^: 307
Unit 8604 or Nami Unit (Guangzhou) was under control of the Japanese Southern China Area Army and performed human experimentation.^[6]
Unit 9420 or Oka Unit (Singapore), under control of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group and probably performed human experimentation.^[7]
Unit 100 was operated by the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police. It was located in Mokotan, Manchukuo, a village just south of the city of Changchun.
- Unit (Unknown name) (Dairen)^[2]^: 313
- Unit 543 (Hailar)^[2]^: 313
Unit 516 (Qiqihar)
- Unit 525
- Unit 526
Unit 160, possibly a typo (referring to unit 100).^[2]^: 243

The 1996 book Germ Warfare Units (細菌戦部隊) contains testimonies that all of these units engaged in biological weapon development.^[8]

Equipment

Each office was equipped with water purification facilities and trucks to transport water to where it was needed. The water filtration equipment was designed by Shirō Ishii of Unit 731.^[9]

References

^ 『在満兵備充実ニ関スル意見』(April 23, 1936), a document addressed by Kwantung Army chief of staff Seishirō Itagaki to army general Yoshijirō Umezu. 「其三、在満部隊ノ新設及増強改編」の項目第二十三には「関東軍防疫部の新設増強予定計画の如く昭和十一年度に於いて急性伝染病の防疫対策実施および流行する不明疾患其他特種の調査研究ならびに細菌戦準備の為関東軍防疫部を新設す又在満部隊の増加等に伴い昭和十三年度の以降其一部を拡充す関東軍防疫部の駐屯地は哈爾賓附近とす」
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Materials on the Trial of Former Servicemen of the Japanese Army Charged With Manufacturing and Employing Bacteriological Weapons. Foreign Languages Publishing House. 1950.
^ Harris, PhD, Sheldon H. (2003), "Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era" (PDF), Military Medical Ethics Volume 2, Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America, p. 487
^ Gold, Hal (2004). Unit 731 Testimony. Tuttle Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-8048-3565-7.
^ Harris, PhD, Sheldon H. (2003), "Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era" (PDF), Military Medical Ethics Volume 2, Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America, p. 484
^ Harris, PhD, Sheldon H. (2003), "Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era" (PDF), Military Medical Ethics Volume 2, Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America, p. 477
^ Harris, PhD, Sheldon H. (2003), "Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era" (PDF), Military Medical Ethics Volume 2, Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America, pp. 481–482
^ 「細菌戦部隊」晩聲社 (1996/08). ISBN 489188259X
^ 関亮『軍医サンよもやま物語―軍医診療アラカルト』光人社〈光人社NF文庫〉、1997年。

[1] 『在満兵備充実ニ関スル意見』(April 23, 1936), a document addressed by Kwantung Army chief of staff Seishirō Itagaki to army general Yoshijirō Umezu. 「其三、在満部隊ノ新設及増強改編」の項目第二十三には「関東軍防疫部の新設増強予定計画の如く昭和十一年度に於いて急性伝染病の防疫対策実施および流行する不明疾患其他特種の調査研究ならびに細菌戦準備の為関東軍防疫部を新設す又在満部隊の増加等に伴い昭和十三年度の以降其一部を拡充す関東軍防疫部の駐屯地は哈爾賓附近とす」

[trialmaterials-2] Materials on the Trial of Former Servicemen of the Japanese Army Charged With Manufacturing and Employing Bacteriological Weapons. Foreign Languages Publishing House. 1950.

[3] Harris, PhD, Sheldon H. (2003), "Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era" (PDF), Military Medical Ethics Volume 2, Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America, p. 487

[Gold-pg75-4] Gold, Hal (2004). Unit 731 Testimony. Tuttle Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-8048-3565-7.

[5] Harris, PhD, Sheldon H. (2003), "Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era" (PDF), Military Medical Ethics Volume 2, Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America, p. 484

[6] Harris, PhD, Sheldon H. (2003), "Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era" (PDF), Military Medical Ethics Volume 2, Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America, p. 477

[7] Harris, PhD, Sheldon H. (2003), "Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era" (PDF), Military Medical Ethics Volume 2, Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America, pp. 481–482

[8] 「細菌戦部隊」晩聲社 (1996/08). ISBN 489188259X

[9] 関亮『軍医サンよもやま物語―軍医診療アラカルト』光人社〈光人社NF文庫〉、1997年。

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+{{Short description|Department of Imperial Japanese Army}}
-'''Special Research Units''' were covert medical experiment units of the ''[[Imperial Japanese Army]]'' which conducted [[biological warfare]] research and development through [[human experimentation]] during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] (1937 - 1945) and [[World War II]]. These units are responsible for some of the most notorious [[Japanese war crimes|war crimes carried out by Japanese personnel]]. Initially set up as a political and ideological section of the [[Kempeitai]] [[military police]] of pre-[[Pacific War]] [[Japan]], they were meant to counter the ideological or political influence of Japan's enemies, and to reinforce the ideology of military units.
+The '''Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department''' was a department of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] from 1936 to the dissolution of the Army in 1945. While its public mission was to prevent the spread of disease and monitor water supply, several field armies also assigned units the mission of manufacturing [[biological weapons]].<ref>『在満兵備充実ニ関スル意見』(April 23, 1936), a document addressed by Kwantung Army chief of staff [[Seishirō Itagaki]] to army general [[Yoshijirō Umezu]]. 「其三、在満部隊ノ新設及増強改編」の項目第二十三には「関東軍防疫部の新設増強予定計画の如く昭和十一年度に於いて急性伝染病の防疫対策実施および流行する不明疾患其他特種の調査研究 ならびに細菌戦準備の為関東軍防疫部を新設す 又在満部隊の増加等に伴い昭和十三年度の以降其一部を拡充す関東軍防疫部の駐屯地は哈爾賓附近とす」</ref> Many units also performed [[unethical human experimentation]], such as [[Unit 731]], in which thousands of prisoners of war and civilians were tortured to death over the course of years.
+==Organization==
-In military campaigns, the Japanese army used biological weapons on Chinese soldiers and civilians. This employment was largely viewed as ineffective, due to inefficient delivery systems. However, information has surfaced in the last decade, which alleges a more active Japanese usage. For example, firsthand accounts testify the Japanese infected civilians through the distribution of plague-infested foodstuffs, such as dumplings and vegetables. There are also reports of contaminated water supplies. Such estimates report over 580,000 victims, largely due to plague and cholera outbreaks. In addition, repeated seasonal outbreaks after the conclusion of the war bring the death toll much higher. During [[Changde chemical weapon attack]] attacks, the Japanese also employed [[biological warfare]] by intentionally spreading [[cholera]], [[dysentery]], [[typhoid]], [[bubonic plague]], and [[anthrax]].  Other battles include [[Kaimingye germ weapon attack]].
+The department was organized under the following system:
+* '''Unit 691''' was under control of the [[Kwantung Army]].
-==Related activities==
+**  The central office of Unit 691 was [[Unit 731]], infamous for its secret commitment to [[chemical weapons|chemical]] and biological weapons and performing human experimentation. It had several branches, all of which were involved with biological warfare research:<ref name="trialmaterials" />
-*Running [[prisoner of war]] and forced labor and special camps (The Kempeitai apparently provided guards for several 'human experimentation' units which housed 'difficult' prisoners, including [[China|Chinese]], Russian, American and other nationalities as well as some [[Japanese people|Japanese]] criminals from the Japanese mainlands <ref>[http://www.aiipowmia.com/731/731caveat.html AII POW-MIA Unit 731] "BE OFFENEDED that the survivors of this nightmare, the Chinese people, American POWs, Russian and other nationalities, have received no reparations for their suffering, nor an apology or answers."</ref>. sent to [[Unit 100]] and [[Unit 731]].
+*** [[Unit 162]] ([[Linkou County|Linkou]])
-*Provision of [[Comfort women|"comfort" women]] (''jugun ianfu'') for the "comfort houses" (These were [[brothel]]s maintained by the IJA for the use of its troops. Originally Japanese volunteers were used but as these became rare or limited to the use of officers, many Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, and some European women were kidnapped and placed in these facilities to be "used" by members of Japan's military.  The Kempeitai also regulated the accommodation facilities of the brothels, checked the identities of their customers, and controlled the violence and drunkenness within.)
+*** [[Unit 643]] ([[Hailin]])
+*** [[Unit 673]] ([[Sunwu County|Sunwu]])
-==The Units==
+*** [[Unit 319]] was another sub-unit, which apparently were principally devoted to water purification.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}
-{{Weapons of mass destruction}}
+* [[Unit 1855]] ([[Beijing]]) was under control of the [[Japanese Northern China Area Army]] and performed human experimentation.<ref>{{Citation | last = Harris, PhD | first = Sheldon H. | title = Military Medical Ethics Volume 2 | publisher = Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America | year = 2003 | page = 487 | chapter-url = https://ke.army.mil/bordeninstitute/published_volumes/ethicsVol2/Ethics-ch-16.pdf#page=25 | chapter =  Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era }}</ref>
-[[Unit 731]] was the headquarters of many subsidiary units used by the [[Japan]]ese to research biological warfare; other units included
+* [[Unit Ei 1644]] or Tama Unit ([[Nanjing]]) was under control of the [[Japanese Central China Area Army]] and performed human experimentation.<ref name='Gold-pg75'>{{cite book | last = Gold | first = Hal  | title = Unit 731 Testimony | publisher = Tuttle Publishing | year = 2004 | page = 75 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cprBEpxvexgC&pg=PA75 | isbn = 978-0-8048-3565-7}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Harris, PhD | first = Sheldon H. | title = Military Medical Ethics Volume 2 | publisher = Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America | year = 2003 | page = 484 | chapter-url = https://ke.army.mil/bordeninstitute/published_volumes/ethicsVol2/Ethics-ch-16.pdf#page=22 | chapter =  Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era }}</ref>
-* [[Unit 100]] ([[Shenyang]])
+** 12 different sub-Units (Unknown names) (Unknown locations)<ref name="trialmaterials" />{{rp|307}}
-* [[Unit 200]] ([[Manchuria]])
+* [[Unit 8604]] or Nami Unit ([[Guangzhou]]) was under control of the [[Japanese Southern China Area Army]] and performed human experimentation.<ref>{{Citation | last = Harris, PhD | first = Sheldon H. | title = Military Medical Ethics Volume 2 | publisher = Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America | year = 2003 | page = 477 | chapter-url = https://ke.army.mil/bordeninstitute/published_volumes/ethicsVol2/Ethics-ch-16.pdf#page=15 | chapter =  Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era }}</ref>
+* [[Unit 9420]] or Oka Unit ([[Singapore]]), under control of the [[Southern Expeditionary Army Group]] and probably performed human experimentation.<ref>{{Citation | last = Harris, PhD | first = Sheldon H. | title = Military Medical Ethics Volume 2 | publisher = Office of The Surgeon General Department of the Army, United States of America | year = 2003 | pages = 481–482 | chapter-url = https://ke.army.mil/bordeninstitute/published_volumes/ethicsVol2/Ethics-ch-16.pdf#page=19 | chapter =  Japanese Biomedical Experimentation During the World War II Era }}</ref>
+* [[Unit 100]] was operated by the [[Kempeitai]], the Japanese [[military police]]. It was located in [[Mokotan]], [[Manchukuo]], a village just south of the city of [[Changchun]].
+** Unit (Unknown name) ([[Dairen]])<ref name="trialmaterials" />{{rp|313}}
+** [[Unit 543]] ([[Hailar District|Hailar]])<ref name="trialmaterials" />{{rp|313}}
 * [[Unit 516]] ([[Qiqihar]])
-* [[Unit 543]] ([[Hailar, China|Hailar]])
+** [[Unit 525]]
-* [[Unit 731]] ([[Pingfang]])
+** [[Unit 526]]
+* [[Unit 160]], possibly a typo (referring to unit 100).<ref name="trialmaterials">{{cite book |publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House |date=1950 |title=Materials on the Trial of Former Servicemen of the Japanese Army Charged With Manufacturing and Employing Bacteriological Weapons}}</ref>{{rp|243}}
-* [[Unit 773]] ([[Songo, China|Songo]])
+The 1996 book ''Germ Warfare Units'' (細菌戦部隊) contains testimonies that all of these units engaged in biological weapon development.<ref>「細菌戦部隊」 晩聲社 (1996/08). {{ISBN|489188259X}}</ref>
-* [[Unit Ei 1644]] ([[Nanjing]])
-* [[Unit 1855]] ([[Nanjing]])
-* [[Unit 2646]] or Unit 80 ([[Hailar, China|Hailar]])
-* [[Unit 8604]] or Nami Unit ([[Guangzhou]])
-* [[Unit 9420]] or Oka Unit ([[Singapore]])
-==Activities==
-A special project code-named ''Maruta'' used human beings for experiments. Test subjects were gathered from the surrounding population and were sometimes referred to euphemistically as {{nihongo|"logs"|丸太|maruta}}.<ref name = depravity>{{cite news |title=Doctors of Depravity |publisher=Daily Mail |author=Christopher Hudson |date=2 March 2007 |url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=439776&in_page_id=1770}}</ref> This term originated as a joke on the part of the staff because the official cover story for the facility given to the local authorities was that it was a lumber mill.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=439776&in_page_id=1770 Doctors of Depravity | Mail Online<!--Bot-generated title-->]</ref> The test subjects were selected to give a wide cross section of the population, and included common criminals, captured bandits and anti-Japanese partisans, [[political prisoner]]s, and also people rounded up by the [[secret police]] for alleged "suspicious activities" and included infants, the elderly, and pregnant women.
-===Vivisection===
-* Prisoners of war were subjected to [[vivisection]] without anesthesia.<ref name = depravity/><ref name = dissect>{{cite news |title=Dissect them alive: order not to be disobeyed |author=Richard Lloyd Parry |publisher=Times Online |date=February 25, 2007 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1438491.ece}}</ref>
-* Vivisections were performed on prisoners after infecting them with various diseases. Scientists performed invasive surgery on prisoners, removing organs to study the effects of disease on the human body. These were conducted while the patients were alive because it was felt that the decomposition process would affect the results.<ref name = depravity/><ref>
-[http://www.technologyartist.com/unit_731/ Interview with former Unit 731 member Nobuo Kamada]
-</ref> The infected and vivisected prisoners included men, women, children, and infants.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2D71630F934A25750C0A963958260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=print "Unmasking Horror"] Nicholas D. Kristof (March 17, 1995) New York Times. A special report.; Japan Confronting Gruesome War Atrocity</ref>
-* Vivisections were also performed on pregnant women, sometimes impregnated by doctors, and the [[fetus]] removed.<ref>[http://www.nesa.org.uk/html/unlocking_a_deadly_secret.htm Unlocking a deadly secret] Photos of vivisection </ref>
-* Prisoners had limbs [[amputation|amputated]] in order to study blood loss.<ref name = depravity/>
-* Those limbs that were removed were sometimes re-attached to the opposite sides of the body.<ref name = depravity/>
-* Some prisoners' [[Limb (anatomy)|limb]]s were frozen and amputated, while others had limbs frozen then thawed to study the effects of the resultant untreated [[gangrene]] and rotting.
-* Some prisoners had their [[stomach]]s surgically removed and the [[esophagus]] reattached to the [[intestines]].<ref name = depravity/>
-* Parts of the [[brain]], [[lungs]], [[liver]], etc. were removed from some prisoners.<ref name = depravity/><ref name = dissect/><ref>[http://www.ww2pacific.com/unit731.html Japan Admits Dissecting WW-II POWs] James Bauer. "Japanese Unit 731 Biological Warfare Unit" Viewed January 16, 2007</ref>
-In 2007, Doctor Ken Yuasa testified to the ''Japan Times'' that "I was afraid during my first vivisection, but the second time around, it was much easier. By the third time, I was willing to do it." He believes at least 1,000 persons, including surgeons, were involved in vivisections over mainland China.<ref>''Vivisectionist recalls his day of reckoning'', http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071024w1.html</ref>
-===Weapons testing===
-* Human targets were used to test [[grenade]]s positioned at various distances and in different positions.<ref name = depravity/>
-* [[Flame thrower]]s were tested on humans.<ref name = depravity/>
-* Humans were tied to stakes and used as targets to test [[germ warfare|germ-releasing bombs]], [[chemical weapons]] and explosive [[bomb]]s.<ref name = depravity/>
-===Germ warfare attacks===
-* Prisoners were injected with inoculations of disease, disguised as [[vaccine|vaccinations]], to study their effects.<ref name = depravity/>
-* To study the effects of untreated [[venereal disease]]s, male and female prisoners were deliberately infected with [[syphilis]] and [[gonorrhea]], then studied.
-* Prisoners were infested with [[flea]]s in order to acquire large quantities of disease-carrying fleas for the purposes of studying the viability of germ warfare.
-* [[Bubonic Plague|Plague]] fleas, infected clothing, and infected supplies encased in bombs were dropped on various targets. The resulting [[cholera]], [[anthrax]], and plague were estimated to have killed around 200,000 Chinese civilians.<ref name = depravity/>
-* [[Tularemia]] was tested on Chinese civilians.<ref>[http://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/epr/historyofbt/wmcc/07_tularemia_cc.wmv Video] adapted from "Biological Warfare & Terrorism: The Military and Public Health Response", [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]. Retrieved October 21, 2007</ref>
-* Unit 731 and its affiliated units (Unit 1644, Unit 100, et cetera) were actively involved not only in research and development, but also in experimental deployment of epidemic-creating biowarfare weapons in assaults against the Chinese populace (both civilian and military) throughout World War II. Plague-infested fleas, bred in the laboratories of Unit 731 and Unit 1644, were spread by low-flying airplanes upon Chinese cities, coastal [[Ningbo]] in 1940, and [[Changde]], [[Hunan]] Province, in 1941. This military aerial spraying killed thousands of people with [[bubonic plague]] epidemics.<ref>Barenblatt, Daniel. ''A Plague Upon Humanity: the Secret Genocide of Axis Japan's Germ Warfare Operation'', HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN 0-06-018625-9
-</ref>
-===Other experiments===
-Prisoners were subjected to other experiments such as:
-* being hung upside down to see how long it would take for them to choke to death.<ref name = depravity/>
-* having air injected into their arteries to determine the time until the onset of [[embolism]].<ref name = depravity/>
-* having horse [[urine]] injected into their kidneys.<ref name = depravity/>
-* being deprived of food and water to determine the length of time until death.
-* being placed into high-pressure chambers until death.
-* being exposed to extreme temperatures and developed [[frostbite]] to determine how long humans could survive with such an affliction, and to determine the effects of rotting and gangrene on human flesh.<ref name = depravity/>
-* having experiments performed upon prisoners to determine the relationship between temperature, burns, and human survival.
-* being placed into [[centrifuges]] and spun until dead.
-* having animal blood injected and the effects studied.
-* being exposed to lethal doses of [[x-ray]] [[radiation]].
-* having various chemical weapons tested on prisoners inside gas chambers.
-* being injected with sea water to determine if it could be a substitute for [[saline (medicine)|saline]].
-* being given a large amount of water to drink and the effect observed
-==See also==
+==Equipment==
+Each office was equipped with water purification facilities and trucks to transport water to where it was needed. The water filtration equipment was designed by [[Shirō Ishii]] of [[Unit 731]].<ref>関亮 『軍医サンよもやま物語―軍医診療アラカルト』 光人社〈光人社NF文庫〉、1997年。</ref>
-* [[Kempeitai Political Department and Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory]]
 ==References==
+{{reflist}}
+{{IJA special research units}}
-<references/>
-* [http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/kempei/index.html U.S. Report on ''Kempei'' (1945)]
-[[Category:Military units and formations of the Imperial Japanese Army]]
+[[Category:Imperial Japanese Army]]
-[[Category:Japanese human experimentation]]
+[[Category:Japanese biological weapons program]]
-[[Category:Empire of Japan]]
+[[Category:1936 establishments in Japan]]
-[[Category:Biological warfare]]
+[[Category:War crimes in Manchukuo]]
-[[Category:Bioethics]]
+[[Category:Japanese war crimes in China]]