Page 192 - MaterialsTrial-JapaneseArmy-1950

Answer: Rats were first infected by inoculating them with plague vaccine, and then the
fleas were infected by these rats.

Question: Who was your predecessor in Detachment 731 as Chief of the 1st Division?

Answer: Colonel Kitagawa.

Question: It was from him you took over the affairs of the 1st Division?

Answer: Yes.

Question: The so-called laboratory experiments on living people were conducted by the 1st
Division?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Will the accused please tell us where Detachment 731 got the people for the
experiments?

Answer: As far as I know, the detachment got the people from the Harbin Gendarmerie
Administration.

Question: Will you tell us what you know about the experiments performed by the 1st
Division on living people?

Answer: The prisoners kept in Detachment 731 's inner prison were used for various
researches in preparation for bacteriological warfare. The object of the researches was: to
increase the toxic effect of the lethal germs of various infectious diseases, and to study
methods of employing these germs on human beings. I myself was never present at these
experiments, and I am not in a position to give any details.

Question: Where were these experiments performed?

Answer: They were performed in the prison. In addition to the prison, there were special
laboratories in which experiments were also performed on human beings.

Question: How many prisoners was the prison designed to hold at one time?

Answer: From 200 to 300, but it could hold up to 400.

Question: How many prisoners were sent to the detachment's prison in the course of a
year?

Answer: I have no statistics on this point and do not know the exact figures, but roughly
from 400 to 600 a year.

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