Yoshio Shinozuka
Yoshio Shinozuka (篠塚良雄; 1923 – 20 April 2014) was a Japanese Imperial Army soldier who served as an army physician with a top secret biological warfare group called Unit 731 in World War II.[1] He was a member of the Association of Returnees from China.
According to his testimony, he was conscripted into Unit 731 at the age of 16.[2] He claimed that he was involved in conducting experiments and vivisections on Chinese captives near the northern Chinese city of Harbin. He was held in detention in China for many years, finally being released in 1965.[2]
In 1997, Shinozuka gave testimony on the activities of Unit 731 on behalf of 180 Chinese who are suing the Japanese government for compensation and an apology for deaths of family members they say were killed in experiments at the biological warfare laboratory. "I was a member of Unit 731 and I have done what no human being should ever do," said Yoshio Shinozuka.
In 1998, he wanted to give a speech on a peace conference in the USA and Canada. However, the government administrations denied his entry into their countries because he had been a war criminal. This happened in spite of the fact that immediately after World War II ended, the USA had guaranteed the heads of the Unit 731 immunity from prosecution in exchange for providing results of their experiments.[3]
References
- ^ According to Asahi Television and other sources
- ^ a b Yoshio Shinozuka. アメリカ・カナダの入国を拒否されて. 1998. archive
- ^ Hal Gold, Unit 731 Testimony, 2003, p.109
External links
- Japan germ program in dock, BBC News
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