Page 207 - MaterialsTrial-JapaneseArmy-1950

experiments on human beings at the proving ground? What functions took you there?

Answer: Inasmuch as the bacteria used in the field experiments were produced by my
section, I was in charge of the transportation of these bacteria to the proving ground. Besides
that, I was interested in the tests of the effectiveness of the bacteria.

Member of the Tribunal Ilnitsky: With what object did the detachment perform
experiments on human beings?

Accused Karasawa: With the object of ascertaining the most effective bacteriological
weapon, and to increase its lethal power.

President of the Court: Accused Karasawa, you stated on December 6, during the
preliminary investigation, that the formation of Detachment 731 in Manchuria was a concrete
measure on the part of the Japanese militarists in preparation for bacteriological warfare
against the Soviet Union. Do you confirm this statement?

Accused Karasawa: I do.

Counsel Lukiantsev: Accused Karasawa, will you state when and under what
circumstances you joined the Japanese Army?

Accused Karasawa: In 1931,1 entered the Medical Institute in Tokyo as a stipendiary of the
Ministry for War, that is, I received an allowance from the Ministry. This carried with it the
obligation, after my graduation from the institute, to serve in the army as a surgeon.

Question: Will you tell us why it was you the command of Detachment 731 chose to send
to the branches to investigate what facilities they had for expanding the mass production of
bacteria?

Answer: As I have already said, I worked for a long time on the production of bacteria, and
in the opinion of the Chief of the detachment I was the most suitable for this mission, as a
man who had had experience in the work.

Question: What is your opinion now of your work in Detachment 731 on the manufacture
of a weapon for the annihilation of human beings?

Answer: As a physician, whose mission it is to heal people, I consider it an evil thing.

EXAMINATION OF ACCUSED YAMADA

President of the Court: Accused Yamada, will you tell us what positions you held during
your period of service in the Japanese Army.

Accused Yamada: From July 1944 to August 1945 I was Commander-in-Chief of the

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