Page 106 - Unit 731 Testimony

The citizens' group, on the other hand, interpreted Dr. Sakura's results
as evidence that supported and even exceeded their suspicions, and they
called for a halt to the cremation. They also demanded further investigation

by the ward, the city, and the national government. Such an investigation
has not materialized, but neither have the bones been burned. They
currently remain in the possession of a funeral home in Shinjuku.
The episode made an impact on the international stage, as well. In
December 1994, Japan asked the United States Postal Service to cancel its

plans to issue a postage stamp commemorating the atomic bomb explosion
over Hiroshima. Sensitive to requests to "respect Japan's national feelings,"
the U.S. subsequently abandoned the stamp plan, replacing it with a stamp
memorializing President Harry Truman. Seizing upon this incident, China's
official People's Daily newspaper published an editorial criticizing Japan
for objecting to the American stamp plan while Japan itself had (and has)

still not faced up to its own past aggression in China. The number of
victims in the atomic bombings of Japan and in the Rape of Nanjing were
about equal, the paper stated, and yet "the atomic bomb was the result of
Japanese militarism, while the Rape of Nanjing was the result of Japan's
invading China." The newspaper criticized the Shinjuku officials for trying
to burn the bones quickly, and pointed to the activities of the Shinjuku
citizens' group as an example of the mutual respect which is necessary for

achieving peace. It is interesting to note that the editorial, whose tone was
surprisingly non-vindictive, appeared in the newspaper's domestic edition,
but not in its overseas one.

The May 1994 edition of Tokyo Journal carried an interview with
Professor Tsuneishi Keiichi, the noted researcher into Unit 731, in which he
spoke of family members who are interested in further identification of the
remains found at the Tokyo construction site. Some, he stated, have written
letters, which were personally delivered by members of the Shinjuku
citizens' group to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Then, in 1993, according
to Tsuneishi, members of the same citizens' group went to Harbin and

invited one of the relatives to attend the Unit 731 Exhibition in Japan. With
the assistance of the group, the woman whom they invited tried to visit the
Ministry of Health, which refused to receive her, or allow her to view the
bones.

As far back as 1945, the Japanese government has consistently denied
that the Japanese army conducted human experiments and biological