Page 249 - MaterialsTrial-JapaneseArmy-1950

Answer: It is.

EVENING SITTING, DECEMBER 27
EXAMINATION OF ACCUSED HIRAZAKURA RESUMED

State Prosecutor: What do you know about the expedition of Detachment 100 in the region
of the river South KhanGol in March 1945?

Accused Hirazakura: The expedition was sent to the region of the river South Khan-Gol in
March 1945. It was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Osaka who was later replaced by Major
Yamaguchi.

The group included more than 20 researchers. When the group arrived I accompanied it
from Hailar to its destination in the Hauno area, 20 kilometres to the south of Hailar.

Question: Tell the Court for what purpose this expedition was organized.

Answer: From what Major Yamaguchi told me about this after the manoeuvres, the object
of the expedition was to ascertain the conditions and possibility of infecting cattle and sheep
with plague in winter conditions by spraying snow and grass with bacteria.

Question: Do you confirm your testimony given during the interrogation on November 23,
1949? Then you stated the following:

"As I have earlier stated these experiments had as their aim to test how the vitality of
bacteria could be preserved under different conditions so as to employ the results obtained for
bacteriological sabotage. " (Vol. 17, p."116.)

(The testimony is read in Japanese.)

State Prosecutor: Do you confirm this testimony?

Accused Hirazakura: Yes, I do.

Question: Accused Hirazakura, tell us how many times you reported to Lieutenant General
Takahashi on the results of your bacteriological experiments in the areas bordering on the
Soviet Union.

Answer: I reported on two occasions.

Question: Did Lieutenant General Takahashi tell you anything at the time about the
methods whereby the cattle in those areas were to be infected in the event of bacteriological
warfare?

Answer: In March Major General Wakamatsu told me that bacteriological warfare would

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