A chilling discovery within the archives of the Imperial Japanese Army has shed new light on the depths of medical atrocities committed during the occupation of China. Newly surfaced reports from a 1940 military medical conference confirm that Japanese surgeons conducted lethal experiments involving the injection of animal blood into human subjects.
The documents, recently highlighted by Japan’s Kyodo News, detail experiments carried out in the autumn of 1938. At least 23 unidentified individuals were subjected to procedures where horse blood was administered to those in critical states of blood loss, while chicken blood was injected into others to monitor its persistence in the human circulatory system.
These trials, which resulted in severe symptoms including high fevers and physiological shock, represent a profound violation of medical ethics. While the Japanese military attempted to destroy most evidence of human experimentation as the war drew to a close, these specific records survived within the internal publications of the "Army Medical Corps."
This revelation adds a gruesome chapter to the legacy of the infamous Unit 731 and other biological warfare divisions. For Beijing, such findings serve as a potent reminder of the wartime suffering and continue to fuel diplomatic friction over how Tokyo acknowledges its imperial past.
The publication of these findings by Japanese media and researchers signals a persistent, albeit contentious, effort within Japan to confront historical truths. Historians argue that a full accounting of these medical crimes is essential for any meaningful reconciliation between the neighboring nations.