A Japanese civil group claims over 100 human skulls found in Tokyo likely originate from Unit 731, exposing potential wartime medical crimes by the Japanese army.
Beijing, China, May 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
“The likelihood of the ‘Toyama human bones’ originating from the notorious Unit 731 of the Japanese army during its invasion of China is very high. Only by clarifying the historical truth can the medical crimes committed by the invading Japanese army during wartime be revealed to the world,” a representative of the Japanese civil group “Association Demanding Investigation of Human Bones Discovered from the Site of the Army Medical College” told the Global Times in an exclusive interview, when addressing the association’s 36 years of research and investigation of the startling and frightening discovery in Tokyo in 1989 of more than 100 human skulls.
On July 22, 1989, a number of human bones, referred to as the “Toyama human bones,” were discovered at a construction site for the Health and Infectious Diseases (now the National Institute of Infectious Diseases) in Toyama-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Most of the bones were skulls and femurs. The construction site is located at the former site of the Japanese Army Medical School, which is believed to have housed the headquarters of Unit 731. If confirmed, it would undoubtedly serve as further evidence of Japan’s war crimes during its invasion of China.
“While I cannot ‘assert’ it definitively, I believe there is a high possibility that the ‘Toyama human bones’ belong to Unit 731,” explained Kazuyuki Kawamura, a representative from the non-government organization. The association was established in 1990 and has dedicated the past 36 years to investigating the truth behind the human bones.
“We believe it is necessary to treat this issue with seriousness, to uncover the historical facts and to return the remains of those who did not voluntarily become medical specimens to their descendants,” said the representative.
According to Kawamura, the following facts have been established so far: First, the “Toyama human bones” are part of specimens or bodies related to the Japanese Army Medical School. Second, the bones are believed to belong to individuals of Asian descent (Mongoloid). Third, the specimens collected by the Japanese Army Medical School were obtained through two main channels -the dissection of Chinese soldiers’ bodies on the battlefield by the Army Medical School’s pathology department, which were then brought back to Japan as war injury specimens; the other involved Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department of the Imperial Japanese Army, also known as Unit 731, which was established in Harbin (then known as Manchuria), Northeast China, and sent parts of bodies (mainly heads) collected locally to the Japanese Army Medical School.
“Since the ‘Toyama human bones’ are not war injury specimens, they are generally believed to have been brought back to Japan through the second channel,” Kawamura noted.
A report released by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2001 concluded that the human bones belonged to specimens stored at the former Army Medical School before August 1945, which could be part of bodies collected for the purpose of creating specimens and medical education, “which may include specimens from the remains of those who died on the battlefield,” the report stated.
“There are claims suggesting that the bodies or specimens came from overseas areas such as Unit 731, as well as denials of such claims,” the report said. Currently, the human bones are stored in a columbarium at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan. According to Kyodo News, it is estimated that the human bones belong to the remains of more than 100 individuals.
Records from Japanese Army Medical School personnel files indicate that in 1940, a significant number of non-war injury head specimens were transported from Harbin to the school. Although it cannot be directly established that these specimens are linked to the Unit 731, it is hard to imagine that any other military unit would transport such a large number of head specimens from Harbin to the Army Medical School, Kawamura stated.
“Who collected these ‘bodies’ and how? How were they transported from Harbin to the Army Medical School in 1940? We have requested the Japanese government to conduct further investigations into individuals associated with Unit 731.” He revealed that the association is currently engaged in lectures, gatherings and field investigations at the site, where the bones were discovered.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The association plans to hold a commemorative event on July 20 to mark the 36th anniversary of the discovery of the human bones and report the latest findings, and they will continue their thorough investigative work in the future.
When the human bones were first discovered in July 1989, Kawamura was serving as a member of the Shinjuku Ward Assembly in Tokyo. At that time, he stated it was necessary to explore the truth behind the human bones and actively encouraged researchers and citizens interested in the matter to take part in the investigation.
Given that the Japanese government has yet to reflect on its war crimes, what messages does the association hope to convey to the outside world? In response to the question from the Global Times, Kawamura stated that only by uncovering the historical truth of the human bones can the medical crimes committed by the Japanese army during wartime be exposed, and he hopes to convey the meaning of peace to the world through this process.
The article first appeared in the Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202505/1334419.shtml
Company: Global Times
Contact Person: Anna Li
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