Verifying Unit 731’s Atrocious Acts, Refuting Japan’s Denial of Its Aggression against China

Recently, for the first time in China, the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army publicly released the full video testimony of former Unit 731 member Masakuni Kurumizawa. The video, recorded in August 1991 and totaling 83 minutes, is footage in which Kurumizawa exposed Unit 731’s crimes to the public during the “Shinshu War Exhibition for Peace” held in Iida City, Japan. In August 2024, the Hall acquired the video from Japanese Unit 731 researcher Fumio Harahara.

近日，侵华日军第七三一部队罪证陈列馆首次在国内公布了侵华日军第七三一部队（以下简称731部队）原成员胡桃泽正邦完整版口述证言视频资料。此次公布的视频录制于1991年8月，总时长83分钟，是胡桃泽正邦在日本饭田市举办的“为了和平的信州战争展”期间，面向公众揭露731部队罪行的影像资料。2024年8月，该馆从日本731问题研究者原文夫处征集。

In the video, Kurumizawa confessed to numerous details of Unit 731’s crimes against humanity, including vivisection, human experimentation, and the waging of bacteriological warfare. Over the years, domestic institutions, including the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731, have continuously excavated, collected, and compiled historical evidence of the Japanese army’s crimes, and have successively released, published, and disseminated a large amount of historical evidence, archives, and research results. Recently, a reporter interviewed Jin Shicheng, a staff member of the Exhibition Hall.

视频中，胡桃泽正邦供述了731部队进行活体解剖、开展人体实验以及实施细菌战等反人类罪行的诸多细节。多年来，包括侵华日军第七三一部队罪证陈列馆在内的国内相关机构，不断挖掘、搜集、整理侵华日军罪证史料，并相继公开、出版、发布了大量史料证据、档案和研究成果。日前，记者就相关问题采访了侵华日军第七三一部队罪证陈列馆馆员金士成。

Verifying Unit 731’s Atrocious Acts

实证731部队残暴行径

*Chinese Journal of Social Sciences*: What specific aspects of the Japanese army’s crimes during its invasion of China does the video testimony of Masakuni Kurumizawa confirm?

《中国社会科学报》：胡桃泽正邦的口述视频资料，印证了日军侵华罪行的哪些具体方面？

Jin Shicheng: First, it confirms that Japan’s bacteriological warfare during its invasion of China was a large-scale, organized state crime from the top down. In the video, Kurumizawa states that he entered Unit 731 through the Japanese Army Medical School and the Manchukuo Continental Academy of Sciences. This again confirms that the Manchukuo Continental Academy of Sciences was a collaborative criminal institution of Unit 731, with operational exchanges and personnel transfers. [1]1 The Manchukuo Continental Academy of Sciences (伪满大陆科学院) was a research institution established by the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo; it collaborated with Unit 731 in bacteriological weapons development. Second, it confirms the atrocities of human experimentation such as vivisection. Kurumizawa confessed to having dissected 300 people, mentioned the composition and efficiency of Unit 731’s dissection teams, and described details such as “the person was still warm, blood spurting out,” confirming the brutal acts of vivisection and other human experiments by Unit 731, and proving Unit 731’s extreme disregard for human life.

金士成：一是印证了日本侵华细菌战是自上而下有规模、有组织的国家犯罪。胡桃泽正邦在视频中讲述自己是通过日本陆军军医学校、伪满大陆科学院进入的731部队。这可以再次证实伪满大陆科学院是731部队的协同犯罪机构，同731部队存在业务往来与人员流动。二是印证活体解剖等人体实验暴行。胡桃泽正邦供述自己曾解剖过300人，还提及731部队人体解剖小组的构成及解剖效率，描述了解剖时“人还是温热的，有血喷出”等细节，印证了731部队进行活体解剖等人体实验的残暴行径，证实了731部队对人类生命的极端漠视。

*Chinese Journal of Social Sciences*: The book *The Devil’s Gluttony* by Seiichi Morimura once included the oral testimony of Masakuni Kurumizawa, but later revised editions deleted this section. What is the reason?

《中国社会科学报》：森村诚一撰写的《恶魔的饱食》中，曾经有过胡桃泽正邦的口述证言，但是后续修订的版本却删除了这一部分内容。这是什么原因？

Jin Shicheng: In 1981, when Seiichi Morimura wrote *The Devil’s Gluttony*, he interviewed Masakuni Kurumizawa. [2]2 Seiichi Morimura (森村誠一) is a Japanese author; *The Devil’s Gluttony* (『悪魔の飽食』) is a book exposing Unit 731’s crimes, first published in 1981. Kurumizawa told Morimura about his criminal acts in Unit 731, including vivisection, bacterial experiments, and bacterial production, providing a large amount of core oral testimony for the book. However, as *The Devil’s Gluttony* became popular in Japan, Kurumizawa denied the content of his own testimony. Therefore, in subsequent revised editions of the book, these contents were deleted. In 1991, Kurumizawa once again publicly recounted his criminal experience, and this time left behind video recordings. So the core content of the 83-minute testimony released this time was all present in the first edition of *The Devil’s Gluttony*. The oral testimony, from the perspective of the perpetrator, provides the criminal details of Unit 731’s human experiments and vivisection, exposing Unit 731’s crimes against humanity from a micro perspective.

金士成：1981年，森村诚一撰写《恶魔的饱食》时，曾采访过胡桃泽正邦。胡桃泽正邦向森村诚一讲述了自己在731部队的犯罪行为，包括活体解剖、细菌实验、细菌生产等内容，为《恶魔的饱食》撰写提供了大量核心口述证言。但伴随着《恶魔的饱食》在日本风靡，胡桃泽正邦又否认了自己的口述内容。所以，在后续《恶魔的饱食》修订版中，就删除了这些内容。1991年，胡桃泽正邦再一次面向公众讲述了自己的犯罪历程，更是留下影像记录。所以说，此次公布的83分钟证言内容，其相关核心内容在第一版《恶魔的饱食》中都有呈现。口述证言从加害者视角供述了731部队人体实验与活体解剖的犯罪细节，从微观视角揭露了731部队的反人类暴行。

Refuting Japan’s Denial of Its Aggression against China

驳斥日本否认侵华言论

*Chinese Journal of Social Sciences*: How does the material released this time help relevant academic research?

《中国社会科学报》：此次公布的资料，对相关学术研究有哪些帮助？

Jin Shicheng: First, it supplements historical research materials. As a dissection technician in Unit 731, Masakuni Kurumizawa personally participated in the relevant crimes. His oral testimony video is a primary source that can directly present Unit 731’s criminal activities such as human dissection and bacteriological warfare, providing precious details for research and effectively supplementing research materials on Unit 731. It helps scholars to understand the full picture of Unit 731’s crimes more comprehensively and deeply.

金士成：一是补充历史研究资料。作为731部队解剖技师，胡桃泽正邦亲身参与了相关罪行，其口述影像是一手史料，能直观呈现731部队人体解剖、细菌战等罪恶活动，为研究提供了珍贵细节，有效补充了731问题研究资料，有助于学者更全面深入地了解731部队的犯罪全貌。

Second, it corroborates existing research findings. The testimony mentions that the subjects of the experiments were called “maruta” (logs), including Chinese and Koreans, and that the standing number of prisoners in the special prison exceeded 40, with constant replenishment. It also mentions the production of two tons of bacteria per day. These details corroborate previous research on Unit 731, further confirming Unit 731’s extreme disregard for human life and the authenticity of its crimes. [3]3 “Maruta” (丸太, “logs”) was the euphemism used by Unit 731 for human subjects of experimentation.

二是印证已有研究成果。证言中提到被实验者被称为“马路大”，包括中国人、朝鲜人等，且特设监狱常备人数在40人以上，并不断补充。还提及一天生产两吨病菌等内容，与此前关于731部队的研究成果相互印证，进一步证实了731部队对人类生命的极端漠视和所犯罪行的真实性。

Third, it reveals the unit’s secrecy mechanisms. Kurumizawa said, “Disclosure of secrets to outsiders was forbidden; you couldn’t even tell your family,” reflecting Unit 731’s high level of secrecy. This explains why the crimes of Unit 731 were concealed for a long time after the war, and is of great significance for studying Unit 731’s organizational structure, operational mode, and the Japanese militarists’ attempts to cover up their crimes.

三是揭示部队保密机制。胡桃泽正邦称“禁止对外泄密，甚至不能告知家人”，反映出731部队的高度保密性。这解释了731部队罪行为何在战后较长时间内被掩盖，对研究731部队的组织架构、运作模式以及日本军国主义试图隐瞒罪行的企图等具有重要意义。

Fourth, it highlights the nature of crimes against humanity. From an academic perspective, this testimony, from the perspective of the perpetrator, exposes the serious violations of international conventions and medical research ethics by Japanese militarists. The human dissection and bacterial experiments of Unit 731 were outright crimes against humanity, providing a typical case for the study of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

四是凸显反人类暴行本质。从学术角度看，该证言从加害者视角揭露了日本军国主义严重违反国际公约与医学科研伦理。731部队的人体解剖和细菌实验等行为，是彻头彻尾的反人类暴行，为研究战争罪行和反人类罪提供了典型案例。

*Chinese Journal of Social Sciences*: What important value and role do these materials have in refuting the Japanese government and civilian denials of the history of the invasion of China?

《中国社会科学报》：这些材料对于驳斥日本政府以及民间否认侵华历史，有什么重要价值和作用？

Jin Shicheng: After the end of World War II, the United States exempted Unit 731 from criminal liability in exchange for obtaining Unit 731’s experimental data and research materials. Therefore, the vast majority of Unit 731 members remained in hiding after the war, with only a few members brave enough to come forward and expose Unit 731’s crimes. Masakuni Kurumizawa’s 83-minute oral testimony is an important historical material for exposing Unit 731’s crimes, providing key evidence for exposing the atrocities of Japanese militarism and restoring historical truth.

金士成：二战结束后，美国以获取731部队实验数据、研究资料为条件，豁免了731部队罪行。所以，绝大多数731部队成员在战后处于隐匿状态，只有少数成员勇于站出来揭露731部队罪行。胡桃泽正邦的83分钟口述证言是揭露731部队罪行的重要史料，为揭露日本军国主义暴行、还原历史真相提供了关键依据。

First, credibility and authenticity. As a dissection technician in Unit 731, Kurumizawa was a direct participant in the atrocities of the Japanese army during its invasion of China. His testimony is based on personal experience and is a primary source that can directly and truthfully present Unit 731’s criminal activities.

一是可信度与真实性。胡桃泽正邦作为731部队解剖技师，是侵华日军暴行的直接参与者，其证言是基于亲身经历，属于一手史料，能直观真实地呈现731部队的罪恶活动。

Second, it is rich in detail and comprehensive. The testimony elaborates on the specific circumstances of Unit 731’s human dissections, such as the number of dissections and the composition of dissection teams, and also mentions bacterial weapon production and the waging of bacteriological warfare, providing rich details for the study of Unit 731’s crimes and helping scholars to understand the full picture of its crimes more comprehensively.

二是细节丰富且全面。证言详细阐述了731部队人体解剖的具体情况，如解剖人数、解剖小组构成等，还提及细菌武器生产及细菌战实施等内容，为研究731部队罪行提供了丰富细节，有助于学者更全面了解其犯罪全貌。

Third, it reveals the nature and characteristics of Unit 731. The testimony introduces Unit 731’s organizational structure and code name changes, which is of great significance for studying Unit 731’s organizational characteristics and operational mode.

三是揭示了731部队的本质与特性。该证言介绍了731部队的组织机构、代号变更等问题，对研究731部队的组织特性和运作模式具有重要意义。

Masakuni Kurumizawa’s testimony prompts more people to face history squarely, and also allows the Japanese people to learn about the heinous crimes committed by their own country’s military, and enables the international community to more clearly understand the true situation of Japan’s invasion of China. This testimony material can provide key evidence for scholars and organizations concerned with the history of Japan’s invasion of China and Japan’s war crimes, helping the international community to study and judge the history of Japan’s invasion of China more objectively, and prompting international public opinion to face the brutal nature of Japanese militarism, take history as a mirror, and look toward the future.

胡桃泽正邦的证言促使更多人正视历史，也能让日本民众了解到本国军队曾犯下的滔天罪行，让国际社会更清楚地认识到日本侵华的真实情况。该证言资料能为关注侵华历史和日本战争罪行的学者、组织等提供关键证据，有助于国际社会更客观地研究和评判日本侵华历史，促使国际舆论正视日本军国主义的残暴本质，以史为鉴，面向未来。

The Excavation of Unit 731’s Criminal Evidence Still Needs to Be Deepened

731部队罪证挖掘仍待深入

*Chinese Journal of Social Sciences*: In recent years, what work has the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 done to collect and compile similar historical evidence of the Japanese army’s crimes during its invasion of China?

《中国社会科学报》：近年来，为搜集整理类似的侵华日军罪证史料，侵华日军第七三一部队罪证陈列馆都做了哪些工作？

Jin Shicheng: Unit 731 was kept secret during the war, and after the war it was covered up by the United States and did not face war trials. Its wartime crimes, war responsibilities, and postwar impacts need to be excavated little by little.

金士成：731部队在战时处于保密状态，战后在美国掩盖下，没有受到战争审判，其战时犯罪、战争责任及战后影响需要一点点挖掘出来。

Since the 1980s, we have successively carried out the investigation, confirmation, protection, and utilization of Unit 731’s crime sites. Currently, 27 former sites are under protection, 23 of which have been listed as Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level. Especially from 2014 onward, we have successively completed projects for the individual protection, repair, and exhibition of the core area sites, as well as the archaeological clearance and concentrated exhibition of seven sites, including the bacterial laboratory and the special prison site. The protected and open area exceeds 248,000 square meters, and the sites have been included in China’s tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage status.

从20世纪80年代开始，我们陆续开展了731罪证遗址的调查确认与保护利用工作。现保护旧址27处，其中23处被列入全国重点文物保护单位。尤其是2014年至今，先后完成了核心区遗址的单体保护、修缮展示等项目，以及细菌实验室、特设监狱遗址等7处遗址的考古清理与集中展示，保护开放面积逾24.8万平方米，目前已入选中国世界文化遗产预备名单。

In addition, scholars studying Unit 731, represented by Jin Chengmin, director of the Exhibition Hall, have since the 1990s conducted “cross-border evidence collection” in Japan, visiting former Unit 731 members, and have preserved and protected more than 400 hours of oral testimony. At the same time, scholars have traveled to various parts of China, as well as to the United States, Russia, Europe, and other places, to collect evidence materials. Currently, more than 300,000 pages of archives and documents on the theme of Japan’s bacteriological and chemical warfare during its invasion of China are preserved.

此外，以侵华日军第七三一部队罪证陈列馆馆长金成民为代表的731问题研究学者，从20世纪90年代开始赴日本进行“跨国取证”，寻访731部队原成员，保存、保护了逾400小时的口述证言资料。同时，学者赴全国各地乃至美国、俄罗斯、欧洲等地搜集罪证资料。现保存日本侵华细菌战与毒气战主题档案文献资料逾30万页。

At the same time, relying on National Social Science Fund projects, we have united research forces at home and abroad, including Japanese scholars, to carry out material collation, publication, and dissemination. In recent years, we have successively undertaken 12 national and provincial social science projects, including the National Social Science Fund’s special project for the study of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, “Collation of Historical Evidence of the Japanese Army’s Bacteriological Warfare during Its Invasion of China and Database Construction,” and “Research on Bacteriological Warfare Crimes from an Interdisciplinary Perspective.” We have published more than 100 specialized papers and more than 90 edited works, and have put forward the conceptual idea of applying for Unit 731 sites to become UNESCO World Heritage and for the archives of Japanese bacteriological warfare to be included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, accurately completing the organic combination of content interpretation, value assessment, and achievement transformation. [4]4 The National Social Science Fund (国家社科基金) is China’s main state-level funding body for philosophy and social sciences research.

同时，以国家社科基金项目为依托，团结包括日本学者在内的海内外研究力量，开展资料整理、发表与出版。近年来，先后承担了国家社科基金抗日战争研究专项工程“侵华日军细菌战罪证史料整理及数据库建设”“跨学科视域下细菌战罪行研究”等12项国家级、省部级社科项目，发表专题论文逾百篇，出版编著类成果逾90部，提出731遗址申报世界文化遗产和日本细菌战档案申报世界记忆名录的理念构想，精准完成了内容阐释、价值评估与成果转化的有机结合。

With the strong support and specific guidance of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, Heilongjiang Province, and Harbin City, we have also completed a series of tasks including the construction of the new museum, exhibition layout, academic dissemination, and foreign exchanges. Taking the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 as a “memory site,” we actively expose Unit 731’s and bacteriological warfare’s crimes against humanity to the public both online and offline, elevating the special memory left by this brutal war from a memory of the city of Harbin to a national and ethnic memory. The ultimate goal is to have the Unit 731 crime sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the Unit 731 crime archives inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

在国家文物局、黑龙江省、哈尔滨市的大力支持和具体指导下，目前还完成了新馆建设、陈列布展、学术传播与对外交流等系列工作，以侵华日军第七三一部队罪证陈列馆为“记忆场”，在线上线下积极面向公众揭露731部队及细菌战反人类暴行，使这段残酷的战争留给人类的特殊记忆，从哈尔滨的城市记忆上升为国家记忆、民族记忆，最终目标是将731罪证遗址申报世界文化遗产，将731罪证档案申报世界记忆名录。

*Chinese Journal of Social Sciences*: What further research will be carried out on Unit 731 and bacteriological warfare?

《中国社会科学报》：围绕731部队和细菌战等，后续还将开展哪些方面的研究？

Jin Shicheng: The historical facts and archives of the Japanese army’s bacteriological warfare during its invasion of China are characterized by wartime secrecy, defeat-related control, postwar evasion, and international gamesmanship. The atrocities committed have gradually come to light through the successive evidence-gathering visits, criminal evidence excavation, archive collection, and publication of results carried out by several generations in the postwar years. There is still much work to be done to fully collect and present the historical materials.

金士成：侵华日军细菌战史实及其档案在形成过程中，具有战时绝密性、败退管控性、战后回避性及国际博弈性的特点，其所实施的暴行主要通过战后数年间几代人陆续开展的寻访取证、罪证挖掘、档案搜集、成果出版而逐渐曝光于世。要完整收集和呈现其历史材料，还有很多工作要做。

In recent years, we have conducted research on Unit 731 covering human experiments, bacteriological warfare crimes, war responsibility, and postwar impacts, as well as applied research on the excavation, protection, utilization, and World Heritage nomination of Unit 731 sites. Next, first, we will continue to strengthen the collection, collation, and translation of newly discovered historical materials on the theme of bacteriological warfare from home and abroad, especially the collection and collation of documents, relics, and materials held by the descendants of former Unit 731 members and Japanese civil organizations. Second, we will strengthen the effective combination of academic research and public dissemination. We will further strengthen the full-value interpretation of the history, culture, society, education, culture, and tourism implied by the Unit 731 crime sites, explore the relationship between Unit 731’s wartime crimes and postwar social memory, and fully leverage the advantages of the Exhibition Hall as a base for patriotic education, enhancing the influence of historical narrative and academic dissemination. Third, we will improve the academic quality and standardization of research results, especially promoting the effective transformation and utilization of academic results, strengthening translation, publication, and overseas promotion, enhancing the construction of international communication discourse systems and strategies for improvement, promoting changes in social cognition in Europe and the United States, and thereby forming a historical memory of Unit 731’s “inhumane atrocities” globally.

近些年，我们围绕731部队问题，在人体实验、细菌战犯罪、战争责任和战后影响等方面均有研究，还开展了731部队遗址发掘、保护、利用和申遗等应用研究。下一步，一是继续加强海内外新发现细菌战主题史料文献的搜集整理及编译工作，尤其是对731部队原成员后人及日本民间团体手中保存的文件、遗物、资料进行搜集与整理。二是加强学术研究与公众传播的有效结合。进一步加强731罪证遗址所蕴含的历史、文化、社会、教育、文旅的全价值阐释，探索731部队战时犯罪与战后社会记忆的关系，充分发挥侵华日军第七三一部队罪证陈列馆作为爱国主义教育示范基地的优势，提升历史叙事与学术传播的影响力。三是提升研究成果的学术性和规范性，尤其是促进学术成果的有效转化利用，加强翻译、出版与海外推介，加强国际传播话语体系建设与提升策略研究，推动欧美国家的社会认知转变，进而在全球范围内形成731部队“反人道暴行”的历史记忆。

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心