Page 185 - Unit 731 Testimony

Then we had bayonet practice. Victims had their hands tied behind
them around a tree, and were used as bayonet targets. We had to watch this
as part of training. This was a shock to me, and for two or three days, food

would not pass through my throat. But, two years later, I became an officer
in charge of a platoon, with about twenty-five men under me. Later, I
became a company commander with one hundred fifty men, and that meant
that if I didn't build strong platoons and a strong company, I would fall
behind. And so I, too, tested the courage of the soldiers under me by using
Chinese prisoners. This was normal training in the Japanese army.

In my first experience in battle, we were about to move into the
combat zone. The Chinese knew we were coming, and their soldiers took
off their uniforms and dressed like farmers. We couldn't tell farmers from
soldiers, so our orders were to kill any men we came across.

We traveled through the night, and by dawn we were approaching the
combat area. Also at dawn, farmers were leaving their homes and heading
for the fields. My men killed them. Some were cut down with swords by
soldiers on horseback. If we saw farmers working in the fields, we shot
them.

What I will talk about next is something that is extremely difficult for
me to say before you. Once, when I was leading my soldiers along the
banks of the Yellow River, we came across a solitary house. My men
opened the door, and there was an old man, a young couple, and two

children inside. They looked at me with terror in their eyes. I ordered my
men to kill them. The soldiers lined them up side by side—the old man, the
married couple, a boy about ten years old, and another boy about seven—
and shot them.

The next day, I thought I'd check the house. The old man, the couple,
and the older child were dead. The seven-year-old boy was sprawled out
face up on the earthen floor, staring at me. I just turned and left the house.
Things like these were normal, daily occurrences. This was just one
operation.

From 1942, the Japanese war front expanded, and there was a shortage
of labor. It was difficult for Japan to meet production requirements. So it
was decided to round up able-bodied Chinese and send them to Japan as
laborers. We held meetings for about a month to figure out how this could
be done. It was like moving pieces around on a game board.