Trials
Death
Remains

Ishii had been planning to use his biological weapons in the Pacific conflict since May 1944, but each time his plans were foiled by either poor planning, Allied intervention, or other mistakes. With the end of the war imminent, the research Ishii and his associates gathered was secured and the Zhoghma and Pingfang facilities were destroyed. Ishii set forth rules for the men involved in Unit 731, instructing them "to take the secret to the grave." He took all his films and records with him and flew home to Japan shortly after the war's end.

Trials

Upon arriving in Tokyo on the U.S.S. Sturgess in September of 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Murray Sanders was instructed to uncover as much as possible concerning Japanese research in biological weapons. Sanders was himself a researcher in this area back in the States. Waiting for the boat to arrive in Tokyo was Ishii's right-hand man, Naito Ryoichi, someone with a history in dealing with foreigner politics. From here a political struggle ensued resulting in an exchange of Japanese information for immunity from the impending war trials. Because of their wealth of knowledge, America wanted Ishii and his group of colleagues protected as well as the exclusivity of the secrets they held. These men were never brought to trial.

Unit 731 Memorial in Tokyo

Death

Ishii spent the last years of his life in unwilling activity. After being granted immunity by the United States, he could not find work in a field he desired. His lack of social skills made him an undesirable employee to many of his former colleagues that had gone on to other profitable positions. He died at the age of 69 in 1959 of throat cancer.

Face of Unit 731

Remains

Because the facilities at Zhoghma and Pingfang were so well constructed it made their destruction very difficult. Some of Unit 731's satellite facilities remain standing and visitors can go and tour some of these places. For example, at the Tama Unit in Nanjing people can visit the rooms where rats and fleas were raised and where infected test subjects were dissected. A traveling exhibition toured Japan from July 1993 through December 1944 and was presented at sixty-one locations. The display was a huge success in Japan in that a surprisingly large number of people came out and read the vast majority of the large amount of written material. Today tourists can visit the permanent museum in Manchuria where the dark legacy of Unit 731 lives on.

All Pictures on this page courtesy of http://www.sjwar.org/Unit731.htm

This exhibit was researched and designed by John Charles Andris.

This exhibit and museum were created during an introductory seminar on the Asia-Pacific War, taught at Wake Forest University during the spring semester 2002.
The material and opinions are those of their respective authors and do not represent the views of the University or the Department of History.