“What Japan waged during WWII was an aggressive war, and Unit 731’s deeds were the most horrifying. But Japan has never truly reflected on this, which has resulted in a vague understanding of this history and even influenced local governments,” said Kubota.
“This is the fundamental reason behind the Iida City Board of Education’s refusal to display Unit 731 panels!” he said.
A survey conducted by Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun revealed that only 30 percent of the 85 WWII-related museums across Japan have long-term exhibits regarding the nation’s history of aggression. None of them has exhibits dedicated to Unit 731.
“Cover it up, then forget it without realizing it… The nation’s attitude of making true history vanish is fully evident in the acts of the Iida City Board of Education,” said Kubota, expressing profound sorrow amid the Japanese government’s attempts to conceal the truth of its wartime aggression.
“We must not let the true history disappear,” said the gray-haired man, leaning on his cane.