Interview: Avoiding truth of history makes it difficult to escape shadow of militarism: Japanese historian

TOKYO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government has always deliberately avoided and covered up the crimes committed by Unit 731, Japanese historian Kai Abe said, adding many historical facts have long been "hidden" in Japan, which has led to a lack of awareness and sense of responsibility among many Japanese people regarding war crimes.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Abe, a Japanese folk history researcher, expressed his deep concern about it. Abe has lived in Europe and the United States for many years, during which he collected a large amount of English materials related to Unit 731 and compiled and translated them into Japanese.

At the beginning of this year, an English book he translated, which focused on the core member of Unit 731, Shiro Ishii, was published in Japan, allowing Japanese readers to access a wealth of historical materials that directly reveal Japan's war crimes through overseas archival information.

In early December, Abe gave a lecture at a community center in Tokyo, recounting many horrifying accounts he had read in English historical materials. "The prisoners of war sent to Unit 731 were subjected to inhumane treatment. There, they lost their names and were left with only a number," he told the audience.

"Based on the information available, Shiro Ishii, knowing that the Geneva Protocol prohibits the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of bacteriological methods of warfare, still secretly developed bacteriological weapons under the guise of 'epidemic prevention' or 'defense,' which demonstrates the cunning of this person and the dark militaristic ideology lurking in his heart," Abe added.

Despite the heinous crimes committed by Unit 731 members, led by Ishii, many of them were not held accountable after the war. Abe said that in the years following the war, the United States sent several groups of experts to Japan to investigate the 731 issue. However, the focus of these investigations was not on Ishii's war crimes, but rather on the large amount of biological warfare data accumulated by Unit 731 during the war.

"Ishii made a deal with the U.S. by handing over these experimental results, thus escaping accountability," Abe added.

"Humanitarianism was overwhelmed by the national interests of the U.S., and democracy and the rule of law were trampled upon to the point of total destruction by the muddy boots of collusion," Abe said, stressing that "just as the evidence of Unit 731's crimes was destroyed before the end of the war, the shady deals between Shiro Ishii and the U.S. were covered up."

Abe said he is currently continuing to translate English books on the relationship between the U.S. military and members of Unit 731 after the war, hoping to further trace the chain of interests between Ishii and the United States.

Abe told Xinhua that the Japanese government has always been unwilling to acknowledge the existence of Unit 731, and this long-term avoidance has resulted in a lack of substantial understanding of the atrocities committed by Unit 731 within Japanese society. "Not only do young people not know about it, but even many older people are unaware of Unit 731 because this history has been concealed for a long time," he noted.

What is even more ironic is that many members of Unit 731 who were involved in human experimentation, vivisection, and research on bacteriological weapons were not only not punished after the war, but instead smoothly entered large Japanese pharmaceutical companies, medical schools, and other institutions, enjoying prominent social status, Abe said.

"Currently, Japan's defense spending has been increasing year after year, and the situation in East Asia remains tense. At the same time, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi frequently visited the Yasukuni Shrine before taking office, which itself indicates that she lacks the necessary historical understanding," said Abe, adding that this attitude towards history, combined with her current policies, has caused him great concern.

In a social media post, Abe wrote: "Nowadays, people in Japan often accuse other countries of being belligerent. However, what did Japan do to Asian countries during the war? Japan should first face up to historical issues such as the Nanjing Massacre, forced labor, comfort women, and Unit 731." In his view, Japan cannot escape the shadow of militarism if it ignores the historical truth of its aggression against other countries. ■