TOKYO — A former soldier of a biological warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army believes he has a duty to tell the truth about Japanese war crimes committed in China during World War II as part of his effort to apologize for his deeds and because much of what happened is still unknown.
Yoshio Shinozuka, 78, has spoken about his war experiences across the country over the decades, vowing not to remain silent about the activities of the notorious Unit 731.
The secret unit is believed by some historians to have conducted germ warfare against the local population and used some 3,000 Chinese and other prisoners of war as test subjects for biological experiments.
"I am conscious of having conducted something unforgivable as a human being," Shinozuka said at a recent talk in Tokyo.
Shinozuka joined Unit 731 in the spring of 1939 at the age of 15 without knowing about what kind of work it was involved in.
Upon becoming part of the unit, which was operating near the northern Chinese city of Harbin, he was ordered to keep everything secret.
Yoshio Shinozuka, 78, has spoken about his war experiences across the country over the decades, vowing not to remain silent about the activities of the notorious Unit 731.
The secret unit is believed by some historians to have conducted germ warfare against the local population and used some 3,000 Chinese and other prisoners of war as test subjects for biological experiments.
"I am conscious of having conducted something unforgivable as a human being," Shinozuka said at a recent talk in Tokyo.
Shinozuka joined Unit 731 in the spring of 1939 at the age of 15 without knowing about what kind of work it was involved in.
Upon becoming part of the unit, which was operating near the northern Chinese city of Harbin, he was ordered to keep everything secret.