Page 215 - MaterialsTrial-JapaneseArmy-1950

Question: At any rate, it was quite clear from Colonel Tamura's report that Detachment
731 was conducting experiments on human beings?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Consequently, the inhuman experiments we are speaking of, and which were
conducted by Detachment 731 while General Umezu was Commander-in-Chief of the
Kwantung Army, were also conducted while you were Commander-in-Chief?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Will you tell us what were the chief methods of employing the bacteriological
weapon adopted by the Japanese Army, and by the Kwantung Army in particular?

Answer: I know of three methods: first, by means of bombing, second by means of direct
dispersion from aircraft, and, lastly, by means of dissemination from the ground.

Question: What procedure was adopted by the Kwantung Army for studying methods of
bacteriological warfare?

Answer: For the study of methods of employing the bacteriological weapon, special
commissions were set up under the Kwantung Army Headquarters composed of the Chief of
Staff, the Chief of the Operations Division, the Chief of the detachment concerned, and
several staff officers. When the commission's decisions were favourable, the results were
reported to the Commander-in-Chief.

Question: And did the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, in his turn, when he
approved one or another method or type of weapon, make a report or communication on the
subject anywhere else?

Answer: No reports were made in the name of the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung
Army, but the Kwantung Army Headquarters informed the Japanese General Staff of such
matters.

Question: Did the Kwantung Army Headquarters receive instructions from the Japanese
Ministry for War to expand the production of bacteriological weapons?

Answer: Yes, such an instruction, as far as I remember, was received in March 1945.

Question: For what reason was Lieutenant General of the Medical Service Ishii again
appointed Chief of Detachment 731 in March 1945?

Answer: This appointment was a concrete measure in furtherance of the designs of the
Ministry for War and the General Staff.

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