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Uncovering Unit 731 #3
Unit 731 Cover-up: The Operation Paperclip of the East
During the occupation of Japan after WWII, the US had an important decision to make. Should they hold those responsible for atrocities during the war accountable or should they take the information to advance national interest?
The researchers who worked at Unit 731, the biological and chemical warfare research and development unit, were given immunity in exchange for their research data. Unit 731 included factories filled with humans, tested with various diseases, as well as field tests on civilians of the Soviet Union and China. Imperial Japan had aspirations to develop operative tools of biological warfare, one that was prohibited after World War I. Using alive human captives, the Japanese scientists of the medical profession gathered data on the progression of the diseases until the "human guinea pigs" collapsed. Most of these scientists lived peacefully after WWII, with a few of them having to go through the Khabarovsk Trial, which was deemed by the West as communist propaganda.
Most of the horrors on Unit 731 had been hearsays and rumors until recently with the passing of the Freedom of Information Act. This book is based on documents found in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Russian archival documents, and translations of the Khabarovsk Trial to paint a complete picture of the cover-up of the atrocious act of Unit 731.
Readers could expect to questions themselves with this evidence: Should war crimes be covered up in the name of national interest?
The researchers who worked at Unit 731, the biological and chemical warfare research and development unit, were given immunity in exchange for their research data. Unit 731 included factories filled with humans, tested with various diseases, as well as field tests on civilians of the Soviet Union and China. Imperial Japan had aspirations to develop operative tools of biological warfare, one that was prohibited after World War I. Using alive human captives, the Japanese scientists of the medical profession gathered data on the progression of the diseases until the "human guinea pigs" collapsed. Most of these scientists lived peacefully after WWII, with a few of them having to go through the Khabarovsk Trial, which was deemed by the West as communist propaganda.
Most of the horrors on Unit 731 had been hearsays and rumors until recently with the passing of the Freedom of Information Act. This book is based on documents found in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Russian archival documents, and translations of the Khabarovsk Trial to paint a complete picture of the cover-up of the atrocious act of Unit 731.
Readers could expect to questions themselves with this evidence: Should war crimes be covered up in the name of national interest?
231 pages, Paperback
First published November 25, 2020
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243 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 8, 2026
The writing felt unfinished. Like it didn’t go through a standard copy editing process. The layout of the chapters was not as cohesive as it cold have been either
January 9, 2023
This book is easy to read as it feels like I am reading an undergraduate research paper. Or rather, a few of them. While the research is good and everything is cited well, the book is riddled with spelling errors, formatting issues (sentences cut off mid way through), poor word choices (irregardless), and incorrect dates (Pearl Harbor took place on Dec 7th, not Dec 1st). There are plenty of pictures of primary source documents to back up the research, so that is a huge plus. Overall, with proper editing, I would say this could be 4 stars.
January 26, 2026
An informative read on the tragedies of Unit 731 and the responses of the US, Russia and China. This is book 3/3 of the suggested reading on this topic and this one provided a bit more insight into why the US did not fully prosecute Japanese leaders or make public the limited information they did find. They saw value in what the Japanese had done and the information it generated. Many countries wanted it for themselves – either to use in war, or to protect themselves against attacks from Japan. The information was so valuable because the studies could not be morally or ethically replicated. However, because of the grave injustices, no leaders should have been granted immunity, and I’m appalled that this was done.
In contrast, it could be argued that the US was ‘testing’ atomic bombs and radiation fallout against civilians in Japan in a similar way that the Japanese were testing bacteriological and chemical warfare, but that was also a war crime that went unpunished. After all, the victors of the war were also the prosecutors and felt their actions were justified despite the fact that atomic bombs were unprecedented and targeted civilians in cities rather than direct military targets. But since there were no laws prohibiting the use of atomic weapons, could it really be illegal? The Nuremburg trials indicate yes – crimes against peace and crimes against humanity were newly defined and enforced specifically to prosecute the Nazis. But this controversial concept of victor’s justice grants the victors of war the right to punish others even if their own actions were comparable.
In contrast, it could be argued that the US was ‘testing’ atomic bombs and radiation fallout against civilians in Japan in a similar way that the Japanese were testing bacteriological and chemical warfare, but that was also a war crime that went unpunished. After all, the victors of the war were also the prosecutors and felt their actions were justified despite the fact that atomic bombs were unprecedented and targeted civilians in cities rather than direct military targets. But since there were no laws prohibiting the use of atomic weapons, could it really be illegal? The Nuremburg trials indicate yes – crimes against peace and crimes against humanity were newly defined and enforced specifically to prosecute the Nazis. But this controversial concept of victor’s justice grants the victors of war the right to punish others even if their own actions were comparable.
November 9, 2024
Clearly trying to rip off the cover of the Operation Paperclip book that I just covered, this book attempts to redress the total injustices that occurred at the so-called Tokyo Trials when compared to the Nuremberg Trials (the process in which still let many high ranking Nazis free for military purposes) by showing the blatant disregard for Chinese, Korean and pretty much all Asian life by the American military, giving blanket immunity to not only Hirohito, Japan's Hitler, but to the leader of the most vile war crime in human history Shiro Ishii.
The second half of the book contains the history of the Khabarovsk Trials, which were held after the Tokyo Trials in Soviet territory that does punish some of these criminals for their deeds, albeit much softer penalties than even their own 1930s purging of dissidents within the CPSU due to Cold War propaganda considerations. Seeing as Russian POWs were also subject to these horrific experiments, it makes sense why the Soviets would want to punish the Japanese for the evil that they have committed.
The second half of the book contains the history of the Khabarovsk Trials, which were held after the Tokyo Trials in Soviet territory that does punish some of these criminals for their deeds, albeit much softer penalties than even their own 1930s purging of dissidents within the CPSU due to Cold War propaganda considerations. Seeing as Russian POWs were also subject to these horrific experiments, it makes sense why the Soviets would want to punish the Japanese for the evil that they have committed.
May 26, 2023
Startling war crimes
Did I learn about concentration camps? Yes
Did I have documentaries I could watch? Yes
But Unit 731? No...This book explores why little is known. This is the third book I found.
The crimes committed are horrific, but to duplicate these findings was unethical and with looming Cold War tensions, US took the research.
A really informative book.
Did I learn about concentration camps? Yes
Did I have documentaries I could watch? Yes
But Unit 731? No...This book explores why little is known. This is the third book I found.
The crimes committed are horrific, but to duplicate these findings was unethical and with looming Cold War tensions, US took the research.
A really informative book.
March 4, 2024
This book needs a thorough edit to really shine like it should. The information is solid but it reads like a first draft and uses a little too much speculation at times whilst being repetitive when analysing the accusations.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews