Kempeitai Political Department and Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory
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In the Kempeitai military police of pre-Pacific War Japan, the Political department and Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory, now usually associated with the name Unit 731, was initially set up as a political and ideological section. It was to counter ideological or political influence of enemies, and to reinforce the ideological basis of military units.
It worked through political propaganda and as ideological representative of the Imperial Japanese Army's Kodoha (Imperial way faction, or war party). In the first phase this section drove against communist propaganda, but extended its responsibilities in other directions, at home and overseas.
It acted in Manchukuo and other areas on the Asian mainland. It was a rough equivalent to the NKVD political sections and or politruk (political commissar) units of the Soviets; or the German Nazi SS ideological sections. They paid attention to racial superiority, race theories, counterespionage, intelligence, political sabotage and infiltration of enemy lines. They liased with the Manchukuo military police, the Manchu intelligence service, regular Manchu police, Manchu Residents comittees, Local Nationalist Manchu Parties and the Japanese Secret Service detached in Manchukuo. The section in Manchukuo used some agents from White Russian, Chinese, Manchu, Mongol and others of foreign backgrounds for special services or covert actions at home and abroad.
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Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory (Unit 731)
The founder of Unit 731 was General Ishii Shiro. Ishii was placed in command of the Army Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory located in Tokyo Headquarters in 1932. This laboratory concentrated on both the prevention and conduct of chemical warfare and biological warfare. He later organized the satellite laboratory in Harbin and set up the Manchu railway lines for transport of materials and equipment. Ishii organized the secret research group "Togo Unit", for the conduct of chemical and biological investigations in Bei-inho village (100 km south of Harbin). This site is the Zhongma Fortress.
This unit later was integrated into the Kwantung Army as Epidemic Prevention Department, but divided at the same time as "Ishii Unit" and "Wakamatsu Unit" with a base in Hsinking. Finally all these units were known collectively as Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army, or for short "Unit 731" from 1941. They had support from the Imperial Youth Corps, Japanese university research, and the Kempeitai. Some sources link them with the Mitsui zaibatsu group monopoly on poppy farming in Manchukuo (for production of heroin).
Other facilities under the direction of 731 Unit were:
Anta testing site
This was an open air testing area about 120 km from the Pingfan facility. Tests were conducted to see the effectiveness of pathogens and their delivery system in a "real world" environment.
Hsinking (Changchung) HQ
Headquarters of "Wakamatsu Unit" (Unit 100), under command of veterinarian Wakamatsu Yujiro. This facility dedicated itself to both the study of animal vaccines, to protect Japanese resources, and, especially, veterinarian bio-warfare. Diseases were tested for use against the Soviet and Chinese horses and other livestock. In addition to these tests, Unit 100 ran a bacteria factory to produce the pathogens needed by other units. Biological sabotage testing was also handled at this facility: everything from poisons to chemical crop destruction.
Peking (Peiping) HQ
This was the headquarters of Unit 1855. It was also an experimental branch unit based at Chinan, Hopei. Plague and other diseases were extensively studied at this facility.
Nanking HQ
This was the headquarters of the "Tama Unit" (Unit Ei-1644). This section conducted extensive joint projects and operations with Unit 731.
Kwantung (Canton) HQ
The headquarters of the "Nami Unit" (Unit 8604). This installation conducted food and water deprivation experiments as well as water-borne typhus human experimentation. In addition, this facility served as the main rat-farm for the medical units to provide them with bubonic plague vectors for their experiments.
Syonan (Singapore) HQ
Formed in 1942, by Naito Ryoichi, Unit 9420 had approximately 1000 personnel based at the Raffles Medical University. The unit was commanded by Major General Kitagawa Masataka and supported by the Japanese Southern Army Headquarters. There were two main sub units: the "Kono Unit" with specialized in malaria and "Umeoka Unit" which dealt with the plague. In addition to disease experiments this facility served as one of the main rat catching and processing centers. Evidence points towards this facility also supplying a medical sub -unit operating in Thailand with diseases, for unknown operations and or experiments.
Hiroshima HQ
A top secret factory in Okunoshima, it produced chemical weapons for the Japanese military and medical units. Starting with mustard gas production in 1928, the factory moved on to such poisons as Yperite, Lewisite, and Cyanogen. During the 1930s, as the war in China grew worse, the island the factory sat on was removed from most maps to strengthen secrecy and security.
Manchuria HQ (Unit 200)
This unit was associated directly with Unit 731, and worked mainly in plague research.
Manchuria HQ (Unit 571)
This section, with unknown headquarters, was another unit that worked directly and extensively with Unit 731.
Special Mobile Teams
Special units led by Ishii Shiro's elder brother and only staffed with members from Ishii's home town. They operated separately from the regular medical organizations as roving researchers and trouble shooters.
Special Operations Units
Units with special and Unknown assignments in Manchuria and the Asian mainland. It has been suggested that nuclear research was conducted in Manchuria towards the end of the war by this branch.
End of the war
Operations and experiments continued until the end of the war. With the Russian invasion of Manchukuo and Mengjiang in August 1945, these units mentioned above had to abandon their work in haste. All members of these units and their families fled across Manchuria and China to return to Japan. Behind them they left skeleton crews to hide evidence of their atrocities. All facilities were to be demolished with explosives, but most were so well constructed that they survived somewhat intact as testimony to what happened there.
Ishii commanded that every member of the group take the secret of their experiments to the grave with them, threatening to find them if they did and ordering none of them to go into public work back in Japan. All infected rats, bacteria cultures, and human prisoners were killed and the evidence quickly destroyed. Potassium cyanide vials were issued in event the remaining personnel were captured.