Page 99 - MaterialsTrial-JapaneseArmy-1950

Detachment 731 needed the rats to breed fleas designated for the spread of plague germs. I
do not know the total number of rodents procured and delivered to Detachment 731.

Question: What called forth the need to appoint Ishii a second time to the post of Chief of
Detachment 731, in 1945?

Answer: I do not remember exactly. I believe that this appointment of Ishii followed from
the War Ministry's instructions to increase the production of germs and activize the
preparations for bacteriological warfare. Hence Ishii, as an experienced worker, was
reappointed to Detachment 731.

Question: What relation did Kajitsuka have to the work of Detachment 731 in developing
and producing bacteriological weapons?

Answer: As far as I know, with respect to the preparation of bacteriological weapons
Kajitsuka exercised general supervision of research in developing the most effective methods
of employing germs as a combat weapon.

I have already said that Kajitsuka took part in the conferences at which questions of the
practical employment of the bacteriological weapon were discussed, and hence he was
undoubtedly posted on all this work. Kajitsuka was able to receive in the Operations Division
all the information interesting him in his field, that is, connected with various scientific
problems, but actually there was no need for him to do this, since these questions, as a rule,
were settled at special conferences in which I participated, and Kajitsuka simply had no need
to come to the Operations Division. It was thus, for instance, with Kitano's report on the
employment of plague-infected fleas.

Question: What necessitated the destruction of detachments 731 and 100?

Answer: The order to destroy detachments 731 and 100 was issued by Commander-in-
Chief Yamada. I think that the destruction of the detachments was necessitated by the
following reasons: firstly, all the equipment of these detachments was secret, and it could not
be left to fall into the hands of the adversary's army. In addition, the very work conducted in
the detachments was also secret, hence measures had to be taken to conceal evidence of this
work, or, in other words, to obliterate the traces of the work which the detachments
conducted in preparing bacteriological warfare and of the experiments on living people:

And, finally, the swift advance of units of the Soviet Army did not permit the complete
evacuation of these detachments into the interior of Manchuria or to any other place.

Question: What were the reasons why the Kwantung Army did not employ the
bacteriological weapon against the Soviet Union?

Answer: I regard the basic reason why the bacteriological weapon was not employed
against the Soviet Union from the beginning of hostilities to be the swift advance of the units

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