Tag: POWs

WHO IS HIDING WAR CRIMES?

Ignoring the overwhelming evidence, the Iida City Board of Education still holds its ban on exhibiting Unit 731 panels at the peace memorial museum.

Yoshizawa told Xinhua that the board had presented a 2003 “National Diet response record” and referred to it as the so-called “national standpoint, ” which stated that “although the Japanese government acknowledges the existence of Unit 731, it does not acknowledge the fact that the unit engaged in bacteriological warfare.”

This so-called “national standpoint” has been refuted by Japanese experts, including Fumio Hara, former president of the Research Society for 15 years War and Japanese Medical Science and Service.

Well-versed in the Unit 731 crimes, Hara wrote a letter to the board, criticizing their so-called “national standpoint” as fundamentally untenable.

“In a judgment in August 2002, the Tokyo District Court recognized that Unit 731 had used bacteriological weapons on the Chinese battlefield. While the judgment rejected the plaintiff’s demands for an apology and compensation, it unequivocally recognized the fact that the Japanese military had engaged in bacteriological warfare. This is an official judgment of the Japanese government,” said Hara.

“This is concealing and hiding history, depriving citizens of the opportunity to understand historical truths!” said Nobuharu Goi, a representative of Japan’s civic group 731 Alliance, condemning in a letter sent to the board its decision to ban the exhibition of Unit 731 crimes.

In another letter sent to the board, another citizens group questioned: “The testimonies and evidence of Unit 731 witnesses are extremely valuable. Isn’t it our generation’s responsibility to display the testimony of the perpetrators and prevent the horrors of war from happening again?”

After several dialogues with the board failed, the Iida City Peace Material Collection Committee in January 2023 established a committee for reflecting on the Iida City Peace Memorial Museum.

During its inaugural meeting, Kubota took the stage, wearing a hearing aid, and stated, “The memorial museum must display panels related to Unit 731. We must fight for this! The core issue here is how we address the war, both as perpetrators and victims.”

“The current Japanese government no longer allows any mention of war atrocities,” lamented 93-year-old Hideo, who reiterated his personal experiences within Unit 731 at the gathering.

Under huge pressure, the Iida City Board of Education in February 2023 organized a meeting to discuss the Unit 731 panels. However, the conclusion was that “the content on the exhibition panels is too cruel and goes beyond the scope of Japanese school textbooks.”

When asked to comment on the issue, Hara noted that Japan’s school curriculum scarcely addresses the negative aspects of its wartime aggression, making it exceedingly difficult to present the historical truth of Japan’s wartime atrocities in society and educational institutions.

Incidents similar to the suppression of historical truths through exhibition panels are not confined to Iida City, he said, noting that the practice of concealing Japan’s wartime crimes has gradually spread throughout the country.

The expert, citing the “Peace Osaka” event for example, told Xinhua that due to pressure from right-wing forces, its panels related to crimes like the Nanjing Massacre and Unit 731 were removed. Similarly, the Statue of a Girl of Peace symbolizing “comfort women” victims was removed from an international art exhibition in Aichi Prefecture in 2019.