New book exposes germ warfare crimes of Japan's notorious Unit 731

A book launch in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Sunday unveiled previously unpublished archival evidence exposing the germ warfare crimes perpetrated by notorious Japanese Unit 731 during WWII.

Written by historian Jin Chengmin, "Black Box: Unit 731," which was officially released at the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army in Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, documents a complete chain of irrefutable evidence against the unit.

More than 100 historians, researchers and experts attended the launch, co-hosted by the museum and Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, where Jin, a senior researcher at the museum, shared important aspects of his decades-long work.

For more than 30 years, Jin has dedicated his work to studying the germ warfare history, preserving former sites of the Unit 731 and conducting historical education.

Having made more than 30 research trips to Japan and carried out interviews with former Unit 731 members, he has preserved over 400 hours of oral video archives, more than 20,000 criminal relics and 300,000 pages of original historical documents.

The book's title carries two core implications, Jin explained. It symbolizes the classified core secrets and deadly human experimentation chambers of Unit 731, as well as the post-war backroom deal – the United States acquired the Japanese unit's germ warfare data in exchange for covering up its heinous crimes.

This year marks the 81st anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, and the 77th anniversary of the 1949 Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials.

Attending experts said the new publication advances the study of the war history and facilitates evidence-based historical education for the public. Recognizing documented facts and reflecting on wartime atrocities lay a solid foundation for justice and lasting global peace, they added.